--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Viruses don't just make us sick. They can…" description: "\"Viruses don't just make us sick. They can actually sometimes end up in our genomes.\" — Carl Zimmer" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b17/carl-zimmer-16331_ends_viruses-don-t-just-make-us-sick-they-can_2245662.png" --- # Viruses don't just make us sick. They can actually… ![“Viruses don't just make us sick. They can actually sometimes end up in our genomes.” quote by Carl Zimmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b17/carl-zimmer-16331_ends_viruses-don-t-just-make-us-sick-they-can_2245662.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b17/carl-zimmer-16331_ends_viruses-don-t-just-make-us-sick-they-can_2245662.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b17/carl-zimmer-16331_ends_viruses-don-t-just-make-us-sick-they-can_2245662.png) > “Viruses don't just make us sick. They can actually sometimes end up in our genomes.” [Carl Zimmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-zimmer/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Viruses can insert their DNA into host genomes, influencing evolution and disease susceptibility. **In simple terms:** Viruses sometimes become part of our DNA. Key Takeaway Recognize viral contributions to genetics. Themes evolution genetics virology Mood curious analytical Type scientific informative When to use this quote - human evolution - disease research - biotech - personal genomics Key Concepts horizontal gene transfer endogenous retroviruses Questions to Reflect On - How have viral insertions shaped human traits? - What risks do endogenous viruses pose? A Different Perspective Viruses can also cause harmful mutations and disease. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [End Genomes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/end-genomes-5110034/) [Ends](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ends/) [Genome](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/genome/) [Make Sick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/make-sick/) [Sick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sick/) [Sometimes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sometimes/) [Viruses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/viruses/) [Viruses Don](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/viruses-don-5110033/) ## Related quotes > [“Viruses don’t just happen; people write them deliberately.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-h-gregory/viruses-don-t-just-happen-people-write-them-deliberately/) [Peter H. Gregory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-h-gregory/) > [It used to be thought that only a certain kind of virus could get into our genome and it's called a retrovirus and that's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-zimmer/it-used-to-be-thought-that-only-a-certain-kind-of-virus-could-get/) [Carl Zimmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-zimmer/) > [If you're looking for your own idea of your own identity you know the human genome may not be the best place to look…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-zimmer/if-you-re-looking-for-your-own-idea-of-your-own-identity-you-know-the/) [Carl Zimmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-zimmer/) > [We have Borna virus genes. We're part Borna virus, which is weird, but apparently our cells and our genomes in a weird way might…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-zimmer/we-have-borna-virus-genes-we-re-part-borna-virus-which-is-weird-but/) [Carl Zimmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-zimmer/) > [One of the big challenges now is to figure out just how many viruses there really are in the human genome. So far the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-zimmer/one-of-the-big-challenges-now-is-to-figure-out-just-how-many-viruses/) [Carl Zimmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-zimmer/) > [About 1.2% of the human genome is made up of genes, things that encode for proteins, the stuff that we consider us. There is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-zimmer/about-1-2-of-the-human-genome-is-made-up-of-genes-things-that-encode/) [Carl Zimmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-zimmer/) > [Over millions of years the viruses in our genome mutate more and more so the look less and less and less recognizable as viruses…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-zimmer/over-millions-of-years-the-viruses-in-our-genome-mutate-more-and-more/) [Carl Zimmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-zimmer/) > [“Some viruses don’t actually harm the system itself, but all of them cause network slowdowns due to the heavy network traffic caused by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-easttom/some-viruses-don-t-actually-harm-the-system-itself-but-all-of-them/) [Chuck Easttom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-easttom/) > [It turns out that viruses evolve from each other, like everything else. 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Because I adore you so..." ~Space Dementia”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-bellamy/you-make-me-sick-because-i-adore-you-so-space-dementia/) [Matthew Bellamy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-bellamy/) > [Words can make you sick. Or healed. - Words create worlds because the universe is always listening... and so are your cells, your psyche,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danielle-laporte/words-can-make-you-sick-or-healed-words-create-worlds-because-the/) [Danielle LaPorte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danielle-laporte/) > [“Your mind can make you sick, and your mind can heal you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/your-mind-can-make-you-sick-and-your-mind-can-heal-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Selfish people make me sick to my stomach.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/selfish-people-make-me-sick-to-my-stomach/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Carl Zimmer > [“I never knew any man who had once tasted the sweetness of experimental knowledge, that ever afterward fasted after ye Vapour garlick and onions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-zimmer/i-never-knew-any-man-who-had-once-tasted-the-sweetness-of/) [Carl Zimmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-zimmer/) > [If the world goes crazy for a lovely fossil, that's fine with me. But if that fossil releases some kind of mysterious brain ray…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-zimmer/if-the-world-goes-crazy-for-a-lovely-fossil-that-s-fine-with-me-but/) [Carl Zimmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-zimmer/) > [Today, when we look at a brain, we see an intricate network of billions of neurons in constant, crackling communication, a chemical labyrinth that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-zimmer/today-when-we-look-at-a-brain-we-see-an-intricate-network-of-billions/) [Carl Zimmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-zimmer/) > [“The extra clutter adds no important insight; instead, it offers more clutter in which erros can lurk.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-zimmer/the-extra-clutter-adds-no-important-insight-instead-it-offers-more/) [Carl Zimmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-zimmer/) > [Evolution has led to some populations of people being able to digest milk without much trouble when they're adults as well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-zimmer/evolution-has-led-to-some-populations-of-people-being-able-to-digest/) [Carl Zimmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-zimmer/) > [Medicine allows people to live who would otherwise die, so antibiotics will let people survive infections that they might be otherwise very vulnerable to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-zimmer/medicine-allows-people-to-live-who-would-otherwise-die-so-antibiotics/) [Carl Zimmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-zimmer/) > [“Two hallmarks of Homo Sapiens are decoration and self-identification.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-zimmer/two-hallmarks-of-homo-sapiens-are-decoration-and-self-identification/) [Carl Zimmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-zimmer/) > [Over millions of years the viruses in our genome mutate more and more so the look less and less and less recognizable as viruses…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-zimmer/over-millions-of-years-the-viruses-in-our-genome-mutate-more-and-more/) [Carl Zimmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-zimmer/) > [ “\[Writing to Lucretius, on Epicurus' belief that the soul was no different from the rest of the cosmos; made of atoms\] "Death is therefore… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-zimmer/writing-to-lucretius-on-epicurus-belief-that-the-soul-was-no/) [Carl Zimmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-zimmer/) > [We may be sucking in all sorts of viruses and we really don't know the full range of them. Maybe we've got flu virus…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-zimmer/we-may-be-sucking-in-all-sorts-of-viruses-and-we-really-don-t-know/) [Carl Zimmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-zimmer/) > [“It may be hard to imagine a world before antibiotics, but now we must imagine a world where antibiotics are not the only weapon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-zimmer/it-may-be-hard-to-imagine-a-world-before-antibiotics-but-now-we-must/) [Carl Zimmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-zimmer/) > [We really depend on viruses for our complete survival.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-zimmer/we-really-depend-on-viruses-for-our-complete-survival/) [Carl Zimmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-zimmer/) > [“Based on the number of viruses she found in her samples, Proctor estimated that every liter of seawater contained up to one hundred billion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-zimmer/based-on-the-number-of-viruses-she-found-in-her-samples-proctor/) [Carl Zimmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-zimmer/) > [Researchers keep identifying new species, but they have no idea about the life cycle of a given species or its other hosts. They cut…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-zimmer/researchers-keep-identifying-new-species-but-they-have-no-idea-about/) [Carl Zimmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-zimmer/) > [One of the big challenges now is to figure out just how many viruses there really are in the human genome. So far the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-zimmer/one-of-the-big-challenges-now-is-to-figure-out-just-how-many-viruses/) [Carl Zimmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-zimmer/) [Explore all 40 Carl Zimmer quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-zimmer/) ## More Ends quotes > [I understand that it's the music that keeps me alive... That's my lifeblood. 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