New DNA findings debunk ‘junk’
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September 6, 2012 |
Scientists used to think genes were the only useful parts of DNA. What bamboozled them was why genes only make up a measly 2% of DNA, and what the rest of DNA does.
But not any more.
The very latest research reveals most of your DNA, previously called ‘junk’, is involved in switching your genes on and off at the right times – when you encounter a virus, for example.
This genetic switching in response to your environment is really what makes you who you are. You are an expression of all your DNA and surroundings, not just your genes.
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The latest research reveals your DNA loops the loop when switching your genes on and off. Here, aerialists in the Who am I? gallery at the Science Museum interpret this looping with double strands of silk in a special performance created by experts from the ground-breaking ENCODE research project and Viva Aerial Dance.
Image: Leo Johnson
