For decades, scientists have been puzzled by large portions of the human genome labeled as “junk” DNA, sequences that seemingly serve no purpose. Yet, recent studies suggest these cryptic sequences ...

Like its viral cousins, a somewhat parasitic DNA sequence called a retrotransposon has been found borrowing the cell’s own machinery to achieve its goals. In a new work appearing online Wednesday in ...

Researchers have discovered and characterized a DNA sequence found in jawed vertebrates, such as sharks and humans, but absent in jawless vertebrates, such as lampreys. This DNA is important for the ...

Scientists have found that non-coding 'junk' DNA, far from being harmless and inert, could potentially contribute to the development of cancer. Their study has shown how non-coding DNA can get in the ...

Welcome back to a new semester of Dissertation Diaries. As a reminder, this is the series where we highlight Ph.D. students ...

Like their viral cousins, retrotransposons have been found borrowing the cell's own machinery to achieve their goals. They hijack a little-known piece of the cell's DNA repair function to close ...

Zettabytes—that’s 10 21 bytes—of data are currently generated every year. All of those cat videos have to be stored somewhere, and DNA is a great storage medium; it has amazing data density and is ...