Junk DNA News and Research

RSS

In genetics, "junk DNA" or noncoding DNA describes components of an organism's DNA sequences that do not encode for protein sequences.

Study reveals the role of lncRNAs in immune dysfunction during severe COVID-19

Scientific studies rarely focus on long non-coding RNA molecules (lncRNAs), even though they potentially regulate several diseases. The role of several lncRNAs in anti-viral inflammatory response regulation has recently been reported.

28 Apr 2021

Long noncoding RNA plays a vital role in mobilizing immune response after organ transplantation

A long noncoding RNA whose function was previously unknown turns out to play a vital role in mobilizing the immune response following a bone marrow transplant or solid organ transplantation.

17 Mar 2021

Long-range regulation of tumor suppressor genes plays key role in cancer

Enhancers are regulatory elements that play an important role in cancer.Researchers from Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey, the state's only National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center, identified a novel enhancer.

25 Nov 2020

Novel mechanism enhances the formation of hematopoietic stem cells

Hematopoietic stem cells can replenish all the different cell types of our blood system. For this reason, hematopoietic stem cells are the cells used in many blood diseases when patients need transplantations.

17 Nov 2020

Exposure to ancient parasites may be linked to humans’ response to coronavirus

Why are some people more resilient to viruses than others? The answer has eluded scientists for centuries and, in the age of COVID-19, has come to represent one of the holy grails of biomedical research.

16 Oct 2020

Stuttering DNA controls development of mosquito embryos

All organisms have DNA, the genetic material that provides a blueprint for life. The long double-helix-shaped DNA molecules in the body's cells are first translated into RNA molecules and then translated into proteins that ensure the functioning of the cell and the entire organism.

12 Apr 2020

Jumping genes play surprising role in stabilizing DNA folding patterns

"Jumping genes" -- bits of DNA that can move from one spot in the genome to another -- are well-known for increasing genetic diversity over the long course of evolution.

24 Jan 2020

Scientists create 3D images of unique RNA molecule critical for stem cell programming

Scientists at Los Alamos and international partners have created the first 3-D images of a special type of RNA molecule that is critical for stem cell programming and known as the "dark matter" of the genome.

10 Jan 2020

Study sheds light on how ‘junk DNA’ affects inherited cancer risk

A person’s risk of developing cancer is affected by genetic variations in regions of DNA that don’t code for proteins, previously dismissed as ‘junk DNA’, according to new research published in the British Journal of Cancer today (Friday).

6 Dec 2019

Hibernators reveal genetic clues to better understand and treat obesity, metabolic disorders

Hibernation is one of nature's strangest quirks, inducing bears and other mammals to pack on massive weight- amounts that would be unhealthy for humans-;so they can survive months of slumber. Yet when these animals reemerge, they are as fit as ever.

27 Nov 2019

Researchers reveal mechanisms that lead to onset of Type 1 diabetes

Researchers Lorenzo Pasquali and Mireia Ramos-Rodríguez have published recently in Nature Genetics the results of a study on the mechanisms that cause an inflammatory response to trigger pancreatic beta-cell death, leading to the onset of Type 1 Diabetes (T1D).

6 Nov 2019

'Junk' DNA mutations highly significant in autism and stroke

Non-coding DNA, junk DNA, genetic dark matter – these are all names for the 98% of DNA that doesn’t directly code for proteins but is crucial in regulating protein synthesis. This is now the focus of a large new study published in the journal Nature Genetics.

25 Jul 2019

Mutations within junk DNA linked to autism spectrum disorder

Using artificial intelligence, scientists have discovered mutations in parts of non-coding DNA known as “Junk DNA” that can lead to autism.

28 May 2019

Mutations in 'junk' DNA can cause autism, study shows

Leveraging artificial intelligence techniques, researchers have demonstrated that mutations in so-called 'junk' DNA can cause autism.

27 May 2019

Targeting antidiuretic hormone vasopressin shows promise for autism

Autism is a complex neurodevelopmental disorder with no known drug treatment up until now. Researchers have finally found tweaking certain hormones could help patients with autism. There were two independent clinical trials including children and adults with autism that altered the effects of the hormone vasopressin and to assess the effects on social functioning.

2 May 2019

KZFPs play a key role in the regulation of human genome

The human genome is fascinating. Once predicted to contain about a hundred thousand protein-coding genes, it now seems that the number is closer to twenty thousand, and maybe less.

19 Apr 2019

Study shows an unusual mechanism could have thwart the invasion of human genome by junk DNA

In the January 7th edition of Communications Biology, researchers at InsideOutBio argue that an unusual form of DNA with a reverse twist may have helped thwart the invasion of the human genome by junk DNA.

11 Jan 2019

Geneticists discover how sex-linked disorders arise

Researchers have discovered a regulatory gene carried on the Y chromosome that determines whether a baby will be male or female and the risk of disease.

14 Dec 2018

New framework combines three existing methods to find cancer cell mutations

Cancer cells often have mutations in their DNA that can give scientists clues about how the cancer started or which treatment may be most effective. Finding these mutations can be difficult, but a new method may offer more complete, comprehensive results.

10 Sep 2018