DNA Study Forces Scientists to Take a New Look at Genetics

As the result of an international study of the human genome (the genetic material present in human cells), scientists are being forced to reconsider the basic concepts of genetics and cell functions that they have held for years. According to a Boston Globe article posted on boston.com, genes may not be as important as previously thought.

Among the conclusions of the study:

1. Some DNA, previously thought to have no real purpose, turns out to be critical in the regulation of the cells
2. DNA that is between genes may cause diseases and may also be a key to curing diseases

The research was published in the journals Nature and Genome Research. According to the Globe article, the research raised more questions than it answered about what is often called "the blueprint for life." According to Francis Collins, who directs the National Genome Research Institute for the federal government, "The instruction manual for life is written in a language that we are only just beginning to understand. There now appear to be thousands of places in the genome that were long thought to be useless or meaningless, but which we now see to have a functional role. But we don't really understand what that role is."

The Globe article reports that the human genome research involved more than 80 groups in North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia, cost $42 million, and took four years. The goal of the study was to analyze and inventory the "biologically functional elements" of human DNA.

Collins compared a large portion of the DNA to "clutter in the attic." As he is quoted by the Globe, "It's like clutter in the attic. Most of the time, the human genome is operating on the 'first and second floor,' with 5 percent of the genome doing what needs to be done on a daily basis. But over evolutionary time, a much larger part of the genome, the stuff in the attic, becomes important. It's waiting for natural selection to call for it."

The most "startling" finding from the study, according to the researchers, is that some areas of the genome that seem to be very important do not contain protein-making instructions. An assumption of prior DNA knowledge said that protein-making was one of the basic functions of DNA.

According to the Globe, the results of the research are seen as a motivation for more research, research that may take years in order to understand the hints and clues that came out of the recent study.

Sources:

www.boston.com/news/science/articles/2007/06/14/dna_study_challenges_basic_ideas_in_genetics/
www.genome.org/current.shtml