by Ranjini Iyer
If our DNA were an airplane carry-on bag, it would be bursting with around 100,000 retrovirus sequences inside us; all told, genetic parasites related to viruses account for more than 40 percent of all human DNA.
(Source: June 2010 issue of Discover Magazine, published online November 8, 2010, by Douglas Fox)
Endogenous Retroviruses (ERV):
The majority of ERVs that occur in vertebrate genomes are ancient, inactivated by mutation, and have reached genetic fixation in their host species. For these reasons, they are extremely unlikely to have negative effects on their hosts except under unusual circumstances.
Nevertheless, it is clear from studies in birds and non-human mammal species, including mice, cats and koala bears, that younger (i.e., more recently integrated) ERVs can be associated with disease. This has led researchers to propose a role for ERVs in several forms of human cancer and autoimmune disease, although conclusive evidence is lacking.
In humans, ERVs have been proposed to be involved in multiple sclerosis (MS). A specific association between MS and the ERVWE1 or ‘syncytin’ gene, which is derived from an ERV insertion, has been reported, along with the presence of an MS-associated retrovirus (MSRV) in patients with the disease. Human ERVs (HERVs) have also been implicated in ALS.
In 2004 it was reported that antibodies to human ERVs were found in greater frequency in the sera of people with schizophrenia.
Additionally, the cerebrospinal fluid of people with recent onset schizophrenia contained levels of a retroviral marker, reverse transcriptase, four times higher than control subjects. Researchers continue to look at a possible link between HERVs and schizophrenia, with the additional possibility of a triggering infection, inducing schizophrenia.
(Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Endogenous_retrovirus)
Enzymes:
An enzyme is a protein that acts as a catalyst. Enzymes are responsible for accelerating the rate of a reaction. Bacteria release enzymes.
About the author
Ranjini Iyer has been a business consultant, script writer, film producer, and importer of Indian silk bedding. She lives in Chicago with her husband and two sons. This is her first novel.
Acknowledgments
This book wouldn’t have happened if it hadn’t been for the fascinating stories I heard growing up about Bayer AG from my father, Dr. S. Ramanathan Iyer. He worked for Bayer in Germany in the seventies and later in India. Bayer’s Nazi connections, their connection to I.G. Farben, their powerful omnipresence in Germany, and more were all facts that stayed with me over the years.
The book Aspirin by Jeffrey Diarmuid added fuel to those memories, and the seed for The Colossus was sown.
Thank you, dear brother Ravi, for reading early drafts of the novel and providing me with much encouragement to keep going. To Madeleine and Amy, thanks for reading the first draft of the book. Thank you to my cousin Smridula Hariharan for working with me on the early scientific explanations for the bacteria in the Indus pill.
Amma, I am so grateful to you for being there when I needed you most, for willingly babysitting for hours while I wrestled with my manuscript and mainly, for your constant and calming presence.
To Renni Browne of The Editorial Department, thank you for teaching me how to edit a manuscript. Thanks to Hillel Black for his notes. To my editors Jillian Ports and Tequan Wright, I am most grateful. Colossus is a tight, fast-moving story thanks to you. Zach Vinson, thank you for a crisp line edit.
A great many thanks to Robert Astle, my former agent and now publisher. For your patience, your insights, and encouragement. And also for your kind indulgence/blind eye to my occasional email tantrum. Thank you for keeping the faith all these years.
Thank you Danielle Fiorella for a smashing cover design.
And finally, my best friend, strongest and most insightful critic—my husband, Amol, this book is for you. Thank you for reading countless drafts of this book with minimal complaint, all the while saying how poorly qualified you were to offer me meaningful feedback and yet managing to ppssrovide me with some wonderful and brave pointers. Without you, there would be no inspiration, no writing, and certainly no Colossus.