Freethought & Rationalism Archive

monkenstick · 11-22-2002, 03:17 PM

check it out:

<a href="http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/gate/archive/2002/11/21/jnkdna.DTL" target="_blank">http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/gate/archive/2002/11/21/jnkdna.DTL</a>

Quote:

In a provisional patent application filed July 31, Pellionisz claims to have unlocked a key to the hidden role junk DNA plays in growth -- and in life itself.

Rather than being useless evolutionary debris, he says, the mysteriously repetitive but not identical strands of genetic material are in reality building instructions organized in a special type of pattern known as a fractal. It's this pattern of fractal instructions, he says, that tells genes what they must do in order to form living tissue, everything from the wings of a fly to the entire body of a full-grown human.

I don't think this guy is right, interesting idea though.

I think i'm about to do an honours project which is aiming to explain the same thing (whether introns actually do something) - I think this hypothesis is far more likely -

from my honours handbook:

Quote:

Around 98% of all transcriptional output in humans is noncoding RNA. RNAmediated
gene regulation is widespread in the higher eukaryotes and complex genetic
phenomena like RNA interference, co-suppression, transgene silencing, imprinting,
methylation, and possibly position-effect variegation and transvection, all involve
intersecting pathways based on or connected to RNA signaling. We have suggested
that the central dogma is incomplete, and that intronic and other noncoding RNAs
have evolved to comprise a second tier of gene expression in the eukaryotes, which
enables the integration and networking of complex suites of gene activity. Thus,
although proteins are the fundamental components and effectors of cellular function,
the basis of eukaryotic complexity and phenotypic variation may lie primarily in a
control architecture composed of a highly parallel system of trans-acting RNAs that
relay state information required for the coordination and modulation of gene
expression, via RNA-DNA, RNA-RNA and RNA-protein interactions.

with the recent discovery of siRNAs and PTGS, I think its likely that these have more functions than just protection against viruses and retrotransposons

theyeti · 11-22-2002, 03:37 PM

Quote:

The notion that at least certain parts of junk DNA might have a purpose appears to be picking up steam. Many scientists, for example, now refer to those areas with a far less derogatory term: introns.

The person who wrote this article clearly doesn't know what he's talking about. The term "intron" was coined by Walter Gilbert back in 1972 I believe, and has been part of standard terminology ever since. "Junk DNA" has never been standard terminology, but rather just a catch-all phrase for the huge stretches of genome without any apparent function. This includes a heck of a lot more than just introns.

As for that dude's claims, I don't think I'll be investing in his company.

theyeti

Coragyps · 11-22-2002, 04:05 PM

"In a provisional patent application" - that's kind of cute. A provisional costs you $80, and is anything whatsoever you want to put on a piece of paper and send along, with the proper cover sheet, to the Patent and Trademark Office. They will put it in a file, without looking at it at all, for a year. A provisional's only function is to hold the inventor's "place in line" for that year while he/she checks the waters to see if it's worth the $3000 and up to file a utility patent. One does, however, let the inventor legally say, "Patent pending."

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11-22-2002, 04:05 PM	#3
Coragyps Veteran Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: Snyder,Texas,USA Posts: 4,411	"In a provisional patent application" - that's kind of cute. A provisional costs you $80, and is anything whatsoever you want to put on a piece of paper and send along, with the proper cover sheet, to the Patent and Trademark Office. They will put it in a file, without looking at it at all, for a year. A provisional's only function is to hold the inventor's "place in line" for that year while he/she checks the waters to see if it's worth the $3000 and up to file a utility patent. One does, however, let the inventor legally say, "Patent pending."

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