DNA 'Knockouts' Reveal Genes Humans Don't Need (sciencemag.org)

sciencehabit writes: Although humans have about 20,000 genes, exactly what most of them do inside our body's cells is still murky. One way to learn more is to find people who lack a working copy of a particular gene and see how that affects their health. Such so-called knockouts are scarce in the general population. But a new study points to a more efficient way to find them: Search the DNA of people from a culture in which marrying a relative is common. The study has found a number of genes that we seemingly can do without, including those thought to prevent serious diseases. And one healthy mother completely lacked a gene called PRDM9 that is involved in shuffling chromosomes during the formation of eggs and sperm. Mice lacking the gene are sterile.

Comments

Jumping to conclusions?

[kheldan]

I'm under the impression that much (if not all) of the so-called 'junk DNA' that seemingly does nothing, is more like 'error handling' or 'conditional' code that rarely, if ever, gets activated -- but that might save our lives. For instance, a recent Slashdot story: Viral 'Fossils' In Our DNA May Help Us Fight Infection