tl;dr:
“The human genome is “littered” with remnants of ancient retrovirus infections that invaded the germline of our primate ancestors. Only one of these may still be proliferating in modern humans named HERV-K HML-2 (HK2), and not all humans have the same HK2 viruses in their genomes. One specific uncommon HK2, which lies close to a gene involved in dopaminergic activity in the brain (RASGRF2), is more frequently found in drug addicts and thus is significantly associated with addiction.”
“Persons Who Inject Drugs (PWID) are 2 to 3 times more likely to have the integration of HK2 within RASGRF2 (a gene involved in regulating dopaminergic activity in the brain). It is thus a strong indication that HK2 within RASGRF2 predisposes these people in addictive behaviour.”
This is really quite remarkable.
sciencedaily.com: Evidence that addictive behaviors have strong links with ancient retroviral infection
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