Can it be possible that human intelligence could have appeared after being contaminated by a fiber like virus?

Question

Some of you know about the Serial Endosymbiosis Theory (SET), so such things could have happened, but which structures in the brain could have been a virus before being assimilated by our body (by those who have survived the contamination at least)?
I have an idea, but would like some other suggestions if possible...

For those who don't understand this question :
"Darwinism was that she believes the diversity of life arose not through competition but through organisms networking with each other.Recent work on the human genome project has certainly added credence to Margulis's claim. During the talk, Dr. Shiva Singh noted that upwards of 41% of the human genome is comprised of viral DNA. Margulis also noted that the human body is not one singular organism. Rather, like the Earth's ecosystem, the human body is a community of life."
Extract from Lynn Margulis talk at the UWO...

During epidemics there will be a lot of people that will die once infected by viral agents, but those who survived have higher probability to have integrated totally or partially the genetic material of the viral agent. So who survive such epidemics will spread the new genes on and on to other generations. Of course, most of the infected persons may have recover completely and eliminated every viral agents, but the reality, is that those virus are interacting with our systems (AIDs is one of those), and they are very likely capable of spreading their genetic material inside their hosts in a way or another. Of course we are looking into this specific mechanism right now...
By the way the mutation I am refering to, could have happened over 30000 years ago (30000 to 36000y-a).

Answer 1

That is utterly impossible....the sequence DNA in HUMAN NEURONS is quite constant, and has not changes in thousands of years...if there were a change induced by a virus, we would have noticed that already, and any virus carries "antigenicity" that is, the recognition of the white cells of the host, of any foreign RNA or DNA...That would constitute plainly a viral infection of the central nervous system,,,,.that is why viral encephalitis is such a grave disease....the RNA or DNA ff invasive viruses, is inmediately rejected by our mechanisms....
Supposing you theory is correct, ho is that "dormant" viruses such as kuru, and Jakob Kreutzfeld, and scrapie, (mad cows disease) do not change the genoma of the invaded cell (they only cause a disease), not positive or negative mutations.....
As you see, the neuron has a very well balanced and calculated nucleotid environment, and any invasion is inmediately detected, and fought.....in a fierce manner..
Your theory has no basis whatsoever, I am sorry to say...
It does not work like chloroplasts evolving into mithocondria....(evolution of millions of years)

Answer 2

Endosymbiosis refers to organisms at the bacterial/archaea level exchanging genes or one living inside the other in a symbiotic relationship. It's not about viruses.

There is evidence generally accepted by the scientific community that the mitochondria in all of our cells is an ancient form of bacteria that lives on independently in our bodies. I have heard of parasites getting into the brain and making organisms do the wishes of the parasite, but I have never heard of a virus making us smart.

Answer 3

No it is not possible. Viruses have tiny genomes. This sort of question should not be here, but rather in the 'questions from morons' catagory. Sorry, this may be a shock to you if you hadn't previously realised how profoundly ignorant this question is.

PS, the Earth goes around the sun, not vice versa.

Answer 4

Serial endosymbiosis has to do with the transition of prokaryotic to eukaryotic cells, nothing more. Sorry, higher functions did not arise that way.