The Two Viruses That We’ve Had For Millions of Years

The video explores the speculative origins of herpes in humans, tracing back to a hominin in Africa who may have contracted the virus from consuming primate meat. It discusses the evolution of herpes viruses, their divergence in primates, and the transmission pathways that led to HSV-1 and HSV-2 in humans. The video also compares herpes to other zoonotic diseases and highlights scientific studies that attempt to map the virus's history. It concludes with a discussion on the scientific method and the challenges of studying ancient viral transmissions.

What does the term 'zoonotic disease' refer to in the context of herpes virus transmission?

What role did Homo erectus play in the transmission of the herpes virus?

How might niche partitioning explain the evolution of HSV 2 as genital herpes?