I guess it just hadn't been linked to human genes before.
rolph 22 hours ago [-]
this head line has the wrong end of the stick, the gene in question is a known transposable element AKA a jumping gene, so no a virus didnt steal a gene.
A transposable element partook of vertical gene flow to a conspecific expression system.
Can we please start banning articles with paywalls from being posted at all?
If I cannot read without a subscription (or a damn paywall removed), it shouldn’t be posted here. This is tantamount to posting an ad for an NYT sub.
creatonez 1 days ago [-]
The HN rules are that paywalled content can be posted only if it's trivially bypassable via a free tool. The NYTimes links work on fresh IP addresses as part of a free allowance for new readers, which is why the proxy-based archive website archive.today is able to get through. I'm not a big fan of this being allowed, but there is some thought to it at least, they aren't just allowing anything.
ectospheno 1 days ago [-]
It is a shame that the free tool of choice is a site that put a DDOS attack in its captcha. So my options are not read the article or... not read the article. Nice.
gpm 1 days ago [-]
You say that like "commit a felony to read the article" isn't a valid option (/s).
ojihgfhoniyfc 1 days ago [-]
That’d be sensible reasoning IF the articles were already posted with a paywall-free url, but they are not, so as it stands these are essentially just ads.
creatonez 1 days ago [-]
IIRC the staff will usually intentionally elevate bypass links to the top whenever they see them posted in the comments. (And when a link has already been posted they tend to sink comments like yours that complain without providing a link, lol)
kdkdkdkwkd 1 days ago [-]
Again, why not require the bypassed link right from the gate, then? You’d sidestep people complaining about it and wouldn’t little the comment section with people posting alternative links or asking for them.
NYT is the only one profiting getting free publicity for their subscription service here.
Aquitard 1 days ago [-]
Did you create three accounts just to reply? And if so why not stick to just one?
gumby 1 days ago [-]
I speculated in a different reply that it’s to reduce dups. Two people could post the same article, but if they used different paywall-bypassers they would appear as separate submissions.
_ifton 2 hours ago [-]
Link the original article with a paywall flag. If paywall, require paywall-bypasser, and link both articles to submission.
gumby 1 days ago [-]
My understanding is you’re not supposed to post paywall-cutting links but it’s ok to post them as comments. Perhaps to prevent dupes? Or perhaps there is no such rule.
jasomill 10 hours ago [-]
People do it all the time for LWN. NYT offers subscribers a similar ability to generate free links to paywalled content.
FYI, many US public libraries offer free access to NYT subscription content (which can be used to generate free links).
Terr_ 24 hours ago [-]
IMO a good approach would be to surface the status of links to readers, with an icon for "pay-walled" or "register-walled", then see how organic voting affects things.
tedd4u 23 hours ago [-]
I like that idea but aren't we supposed to read the article before voting?
Terr_ 18 hours ago [-]
So if I posted a link to something nobody can actually read, does that mean all downvotes are unfair violations if the social contract?
Availability is itself a meaningful feature for curating the feed.
Sometimes the comment section rescues things, other times it's a decision between two competing submissions, where—all else being equal—the accessible version ought to win.
baranul 9 hours ago [-]
Probably the problem is ignored because of well known archive sites that circumvent the subscription issue. But, I do agree with the suggestion of marking posts as paywalled, to give people more choice on whether to open them.
metalman 23 hours ago [-]
while that would be nice, generaly there are many knowledgeable comments several pay grades abovethe nyt staff, here in the comments, which if you wait for them to build and then do a page search for your terms of interest, can often take you painlessly to a susinct synopsis of the issues under discussion
Mistletoe 23 hours ago [-]
I’m just always amazed that this many HN readers pay for the NY Times or any of the other publications constantly posted here with paywalls.
theflyingelvis 10 hours ago [-]
Looking forward to the alex jones take on this /s
shevy-java 1 days ago [-]
There was no theft involved. "Genes" are not "owned".
AnimalMuppet 1 days ago [-]
If the virus didn't evolve the gene on its own, then "stole" seems like a fair description of how it got it.
wormius 24 hours ago [-]
You wouldn't download a gene, would you?
Mistletoe 23 hours ago [-]
I’d actually love to, can I swap out many of mine with LeBron and Albert Einstein? Anyone got the torrent link?
SideburnsOfDoom 14 hours ago [-]
"Copied" or "borrowed" might work.
bell-cot 22 hours ago [-]
I suspect the original author's copyright had expired, so the gene was public domain.
Rendered at 22:11:49 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time) with Vercel.
Transposon Molecular Domestication and the Evolution of the RAG Recombinase
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6494689/
Here is the actual study:
Escape of the BC200 gene to a human poxvirus reveals its persistent transposition in primates
https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.aeh3441
It's the first time I hear this. Can't yet say much about it until I can verify that.
Origin of immunoglobulins and T cell receptors: A candidate gene for invasion by the RAG transposon
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40614193/
> It's the first time I hear this. Can't yet say much about it until I can verify that.
How are you going to verify it?
I guess it just hadn't been linked to human genes before.
A transposable element partook of vertical gene flow to a conspecific expression system.
https://news.cornell.edu/stories/2026/09/new-type-human-jump...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transposable_element
https://archive.ph/PpKtR
Earlier iirc someone posted
https://www.cbc.ca/news/health/cancer-infections-9.7361622
Here you go everyone: https://archive.ph/PpKtR
If I cannot read without a subscription (or a damn paywall removed), it shouldn’t be posted here. This is tantamount to posting an ad for an NYT sub.
NYT is the only one profiting getting free publicity for their subscription service here.
FYI, many US public libraries offer free access to NYT subscription content (which can be used to generate free links).
Availability is itself a meaningful feature for curating the feed.
Sometimes the comment section rescues things, other times it's a decision between two competing submissions, where—all else being equal—the accessible version ought to win.