Wednesday, November 3, 2021

Is Junk DNA What Makes the Human Brain Unique?

In our genome, about 98% of DNA sequences are non-coding regions that were previously dismissed as junk DNA.” However, Junk DNA contains a variety of regions which directly control the expression of genes. Taking this into account, a team of researchers at Lund University has investigated aspects of our DNA that makes human and chimpanzee brains different and found that the answer underlies non-coding DNA.

The study was conducted using stem cells grown in a lab, as a substitute of cells derived from living humans and chimpanzees. The stem cells were reprogrammed from skin cells, and then were developed and examined as brain cells. Using the stem cells, Professor Jackonsson and colleagues were able to grow brain cells specifically from humans and chimpanzees and compared the two types of cells. As a result of their experiment, they found that humans and chimpanzees use a part of their DNA in different ways, which appears to play a role in the development of our brains. This part of DNA was a structural variant of DNA that was previously called junk DNA, a long repetitive DNA string which was claimed to have no function.

Previously, researchers have searched for answers in the part of the DNA where the protein-producing genes are located, which only makes up about 2% of our entire genome, and examined the proteins themselves to find examples of differences. The new findings of Lund University indicate that the differences appear outside the protein-coding genes, suggesting that the basis for human brain’s evolution include genetic mechanisms that are a lot more complex than previously thought, since the answer is not in the 2% of the genetic DNA and is perhaps hidden in the overlooked 98%. These new results may also contribute to genetically-based answers to questions about psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia.

Source: http://www.sci-news.com/biology/human-brain-junk-dna-10156.html 

Tugba Kahveci (5)

7 comments:

  1. Thats interesting! I wonder how that developed differently as humans and chimpanzees evolved separately over time. What is this section of DNA called? How did they end up discovering something like this? Great post overall!

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    1. Hello,
      Junk DNA can also be referred to as non-coding regions of DNA, and can often be called introns.
      - Tugba Kahveci

      Delete
  2. It's interesting to see that even humans ourselves don't know merely as much as there is to know about the complexity of the human genome. Hopefully a lot more information can be learned by examining the 98% of the 'junk' genes, especially about brain abnormalities that cause 'incurable' diseases such as schizophrenia and alzheimer's.

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    Replies
    1. Hello,
      Yes I agree that this information can be used for further research about the human body, as the article also states this research can uncover other aspects of human behavior
      - Tugba Kahveci

      Delete
  3. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  4. From a research perspective it's a bit daunting to consider that the cure to different psychiatric diseases may be within the 98% overlooked region of DNA, however it is very hopeful as well. Maybe junk DNA shouldn't be called "junk" DNA considering it contains a variety of regions which directly controls gene expression, but should rather be renamed...
    - Declan Downing

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  5. Hello,
    Yes I agree that there should be a modified name for this region of DNA since studies revealed it is useful after all.
    - Tugba Kahveci

    ReplyDelete