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New Code Discovered in DNA?
anthemaniac writes "The NY Times is reporting that scientists have found a second code in DNA that goes beyond the genes. The code is superimposed genetic information and 'sets the placement of the nucleosomes, miniature protein spools around which the DNA is looped. The spools both protect and control access to the DNA itself. The discovery, if confirmed, could open new insights into the higher order control of the genes, like the critical but still mysterious process by which each type of human cell is allowed to activate the genes it needs but cannot access the genes used by other types of cell.'"
like the critical but still mysterious process by which each type of human cell is allowed to activate the genes it needs but cannot access the genes used by other types of cell.
So my body has built in DRM?!
Monstar L
It's not like nucleosomes are anything new though, the real discovery here is that the scientists found a pattern to their binding.
Sadly the times article is filled with a lot of fluff. This isn't really a "second code" nor do I see why it's "hidden".
Is that why we have to crash once a day, and it takes 6-8 hours to reboot?
Self proclaimed wannabe geek. You know how it is. Most of us who read this stuff probably fit in that category.
New Code Discovered in DNA
b-e-s-u-r-e-t-o-d-r-i-n-k-y-o-u-r-o-v-a-l-t-i-n-e
And like any good programmer, you're willing to share the source for free.
Just don't expect you to maintain it.
Error control mechanisms, at the very least, would very much run against the flow of blind Darwinian processes.
No, error correction would counter the mutation process. Given that, generally, more mutations are harmful than beneficial, error-correcting genetics would be a short-term benefit in reducing genetic disorders. The downside would come if another species with a higher mutation rate evolves into a more successful form and crowds out the now-obsolete organism with rigid genetics. The overall winners would likely be organisms within some range of error-correction--neither a total free-for-all, nor a very rigid genome. This seems pretty well reflected in real life, unsurprisingly.
Yes, this discovery does not hurt the ID movement at all.
This is also true; no scientific discovery will hurt the ID movement, since it has precisely nothing to do with science...
In response to a small percentage of posts, I can't help but make this comment: As usual, when there's a new scientific discovery that proves nature is more "complex" (a totally subjective word in and of itself) than we once thought, there's a surge of morons shoving the word "god" in where the words "I personally have no explanation" should be used instead.
Currently theta testing the prototype "Event Horizon" server-scaled desktop box with a 50 Gigameg of Ram.
FTA: "Biologists have suspected for years that some positions on the DNA, notably those where it bends most easily, might be more favorable for nucleosomes than others, but no overall pattern was apparent. Drs. Segal and Widom analyzed the sequence at some 200 sites in the yeast genome where nucleosomes are known to bind, and discovered that there is indeed a hidden pattern."
Honestly, many of us biologists are kind of giggling at how the NYT (and I guess Slashdot) have been hoodwinked by hot headlines. We have known for decades that histones bind DNA and organize it (into nucleosomes), periodically, all along its length. Now, this group has identified some concensus sequences where the nucleosomes are most likely to form. Turns out, yeah, it's what we thought, with the little twist that precise positioning of nucleosomes could help regulate gene expression (also heavily predicted and fully expected). There are new articles about DNA organization weekly. I think the NYT just picked one and labeled it as a "code beyond genetics", which is absurd, since the organization of DNA is controlled ultimately by DNA sequences. Also, if you want to talk about codes beyond genetics, there is a whole field of study called "epigenetics", which is "the study of reversible heritable changes in gene function that occur without a change in the sequence of nuclear DNA".
Nah, they just run the other os in a virtual machine.