Hailed as the biggest breakthrough in genomics in a decade, the project explained how swathes of DNA once thought to have no purpose, actually form a complex “control panel” for our genes.
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In the new project, named Encode, scientists found that 80 per cent of the “junk” region helps dictate how and where proteins are produced.
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In the past two decades, scientists had begun to realise that “junk” areas must have some function, because they appeared to influence our susceptibility to disease. But the researchers said they had been astonished to find how many parts of the genome were playing an active role.
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Mapping out how the “switches” work will enable other scientists to examine more closely how mutations in each part of the genome can lead to disease, and potentially develop new treatments, he added.
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