When an item is labeled as “junk”, usually people assume that it is useless and meaningless. However, not everything labeled “junk” is unimportant. According to Scientific American, a group of scientists have recently discovered that non-coding DNA – also known informally as “junk” DNA - plays a crucial role in genetics. Previously, experts believed that non-coding DNA did not have any meaningful functions. Some experts believed that the name itself slowed down research in non-coding DNA.Thankfully, there were some scientists still interested in studying non-coding DNA. A research project called the Encyclopedia of DNA Elements (ENCODE) has discovered that non-coding DNA has many roles, such as switching other genes on and off. Eric Green, an ENCODE project member and the director of the National Human Genome Research Institute, points out that regulatory switches play an important role in human biology.
Perhaps the most interesting aspect about researching non-coding DNA is the new possibilities that it brings to genetics and other related fields. Not only would the pharmaceutical industry benefit from the ENCODE project, but all other biological-related sciences as well. Genetic diseases that cannot be connected to protein-producing genes may find an explanation in one of the genome’s many regulatory switches.
On a philosophical level, non-coding DNA illustrates the complexity of life on this planet. Discoveries such as these can help others to appreciate the depth and intricacy of the natural world.
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