The science of life is undergoing changes so jolting that even its top researchers are feeling something akin to shell-shock. Just four years after scientists finished mapping the human genome - the full sequence of 3 billion DNA "letters" folded within every cell - they find themselves confronted by a biological jungle deeper, denser, and more difficult to penetrate than anyone imagined.
A slew of recent but unrelated studies of everything from human disease to the workings of yeast suggest that mysterious swaths of molecules - long dismissed as "junk DNA" - may be more important to health and evolution than genes themselves.
Meanwhile, a tricky substance called RNA - for decades viewed as the lowly "messenger boy " for genes and proteins - turns out to be a big league player in cell function. It may even represent the cell's command and control system, according to its more vigorous proponents.
In any event, lots of basic biological beliefs are going out the window these days as new discoveries come so rapid-fire that the effect is almost more disorienting than illuminating.
The discoveries have one common theme: Cellular processes long assumed to be "genetic" appear quite often to be the result of highly complex interactions occurring in regions of DNA void of genes. This is roughly akin to Wall Street waking to the realization that money doesn't make the world go 'round, after all.
Recent research has turned what we thought we knew upside down. I think it's going to be quite a while before we find out that HNS is us.
When those who know more about these things than we do used the description 'Junk DNA' I realised they were not as bright as they thought they were.
Why are people so shy of admitting that they don't know, after all, that is the first step towards learning!
First people deny a thing, then they belittle it, then they say it was known all along! Von Humboldt
Meanwhile, a tricky substance called RNA - for decades viewed as the lowly "messenger boy " for genes and proteins
I remember a cute littel educational film, with lots of graphics showing exactly how DNA and RNA work. They had it down pat.
That was in the 60's....when I was in high school.
Something is wrong here. War, disease, death, destruction, hunger, filth, poverty, torture, crime, corruption, and the Ice Capades. Something is definitely wrong. This is not good work. If this is the best God can do, I am not impressed.
Similarly, proponents of extraterrestrial origin theories suggest that junk DNA may be lying dormant, waiting for a signal from the creators of the human race.
I knew that sooner or later someone would be coming to take my husband back to his home planet. I figure that since Denial is not a river in Egypt, it must be a planet out there somewhere.
Similarly, proponents of extraterrestrial origin theories suggest that junk DNA may be lying dormant, waiting for a signal from the creators of the human race.
Yes, that's quite interesting. Of course, there is a premise that extraterrestrials would give a crap about us in the first place ... somewhat similar to the EARTH-IS-THE-CENTER-OF-THE-UNIVERSE thinking. Sorry guys ... we just ain't all that important in the larger scheme of things.
Something is wrong here. War, disease, death, destruction, hunger, filth, poverty, torture, crime, corruption, and the Ice Capades. Something is definitely wrong. This is not good work. If this is the best God can do, I am not impressed.
No point in getting all universal minded. In a sense, the earth is the center of the universe. There is no other intelligent life in our solar system, and we have yet to discover any within our cosmic neighborhood. Sure, we can speculate there is life on distant planets, orbiting stars somewhere in our galaxy, but who cares. Nothing we are doing or thinking is affecting them and vise versa.
