On Wed, 25 Feb 2004 17:04:43 +0000 (UTC), 
SeeBelow{at}SeeBelow.Nut  wrote:
> TomHendricks474 wrote:

>> This reminded me of an article I read in Scientific
>> American Nov. 03 titled, Unseen Genome, Gems among
>> the Junk by Wayt Gibbs.
>> "Geneticists have long focused on just the small part of DNA
that contains
>> blueprnts for proteins. The remainder - in humans, 98% of the DNA was often
>> dismissed as junk. But the discovery of many hidden genes that work through
>> RNA, rather than protein, has overturned that assumption."
>> 
>> Has anyone else read much about this?
> 
> Yes.  Sci Am had two articles sequentially, probably in the Nov & Dec.
> issues.

> The main point is that biologists for several decades now have been
> making the false assumption that only the DNA sequences that code for
> proteins are of significance, and that the rest is "junk".  
Now it has
> been discovered that, not only is the non-coding DNA important, even
> though it is not understood, but that in addition there are additional
> molecules attached to the outside of the DNA strands, and these play a
> role in heredity also.  

Hmmm ... that's what the article said but I didn't think that anyone
knowledgeable would actually believe it. 

I've been teaching about regulatory sequences and genes that encode 
functional RNA for 26 years. I don't know of any molecular biologists 
who made the "false assumption" that you allude to. Do you?

Same with DNA modifications. We've known about then for thirty years and 
they've been a popular part of most university courses since the late 70's.
I recall teaching about the mechanism of inheritance of methylated DNA
sequences back in 1978.

> A big revolution has occurred in genetics, and probably most people in
> the fields are not yet really aware of it.

If there was any "revolution" it took place in the 1960's. Any student 
who's taken a biochemistry or molecular biology course since that time
knows all about these things. It may be news to the author of the 
Scientific American article but that's because he hasn't taken such a 
course (or read a textbook).



Larry Moran
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