Junk DNA: goodbye! (Introduction)

by David Turell , Friday, January 10, 2014, 14:35 (3759 days ago) @ David Turell

Another paper showing how miRNA and ncRNA are n ot junk and modulated gene expression:-"In this study, we tried to simulate the naturally occurring pseudogene phenomena, initially reported for PTENP1 (ref. 32) and later termed as the competing endogenous RNA model. Pseudogenes have been discovered in equal abundance to functional genes and therefore represent a large component of the genome. The human genome has been estimated to have ~20,000 putative pseudogenes33. Previously, pseudogenes were classified as 'junk DNA' based on the fact that they did not code for proteins. However, it has been recently shown that certain pseudogenes have important roles in maintaining homeostasis, specifically as modulators of miRNAs"-
http://www.nature.com/ncomms/2014/140107/ncomms3914/full/ncomms3914.html