RWSchilz
October 3rd, 2007, 10:14 PM
Chunks of shuffled DNA in the human genome could underlie many diseases.
With the help of new high-speed DNA sequencing technology, scientists have uncovered extensive regions in the human genome where chunks of DNA have been deleted, copied, or completely rearranged. Mapping and characterizing these structural variants could be key to understanding human diversity and the origins of many diseases.
Until recently, most researchers believed that differences among individuals were mainly due to changes in single bases, or "DNA letters." Over the past couple of years, however, several studies have shown that rearrangements of large chunks of DNA (imagine shuffling around entire sentences, pages, or chapters in a book) could play a more important role. "These are pretty big changes," says Michael Snyder, a molecular biologist at Yale University. "When you flip around 8,000 bases of DNA, that's likely to have a dramatic impact."
http://www.technologyreview.com/Biotech/19472/
:):hug
With the help of new high-speed DNA sequencing technology, scientists have uncovered extensive regions in the human genome where chunks of DNA have been deleted, copied, or completely rearranged. Mapping and characterizing these structural variants could be key to understanding human diversity and the origins of many diseases.
Until recently, most researchers believed that differences among individuals were mainly due to changes in single bases, or "DNA letters." Over the past couple of years, however, several studies have shown that rearrangements of large chunks of DNA (imagine shuffling around entire sentences, pages, or chapters in a book) could play a more important role. "These are pretty big changes," says Michael Snyder, a molecular biologist at Yale University. "When you flip around 8,000 bases of DNA, that's likely to have a dramatic impact."
http://www.technologyreview.com/Biotech/19472/
:):hug