( ting molecular choir. The majo...)Landmark Study Prompts Rethink of Genetic Code,Health

ting molecular choir.

"The majority of the genome is copied, or transcribed, into RNA, which is the active molecule in our cells, relaying information from the archival DNA to the cellular machinery," said Tim Hubbard of the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, a British research group that was part of the team. "This is a remarkable finding, since most prior research suggested only a fraction of the genome was transcribed."

Francis Collins, director of the US National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI), which coralled 35 scientific groups from around the world into the ENCODE project, said the scientific community "will need to rethink some long-held views about what genes are and what they do." "(...) This could have significant implications for efforts to identify the DNA sequences involved in many human diseases," he said. Another rethink is in offing about how the genome has evolved, said Collins.

Until now, researchers had thought that the pressure to survive would relentlessly sculpt the human genome, leaving it with a slim, efficient core of genes that are essential for biological function. But the ENCODE consortium were surprised to find that the genome appears to be stuffed with functional elements that offer no identifiable benefits in terms of survival or reproduction.

The researchers speculate that there is a point behind this survival of the evolutionary cull. Humans could share with other animals a large pool of functional elements -- a "warehouse" stuffed with a variety of tools on which each species can draw, enabling it to adapt according to its environmental niche.

The ENCODE endeavour flows from the Human Genome Project, which concluded in April 2003 with the publication of a polished draft of the human genetic code. But having the draft is not the same as knowing what is in it or how it works. And this is essential for unlocking knowledge about our evolutionary odyssey, just
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