Autism in humans could be due to an ancient virus.

Ancient viruses altered the human genome, which could cause some forms of autism in people. These conclusions were reached by Japanese scientists after experiments with mice. The human genome contains fragments of ancient retroviruses - approximately 8% of DNA. In most cases, they do not affect the state of the body, but sometimes they can play a role in some processes. Geneticists need more research to determine exactly how the activation of regions in the genome affects susceptibility to autism. This will help develop new therapies.