Possibly related: Remnants of Ancient Viruses in Human Genome May Play Role in Cancer - SN, 2013 August 14
They also found that the elimination of these vlincRNAs (very long intergenic, non-coding RNAs) caused the death of cancer cells. ..... < snip >
..... "Future research into the role and function of vlincRNAs holds promise for both highly targeted diagnostic tests and more precise cancer treatments.
Up to 98 percent of human genomic matter is known as junk' non-coding DNA, and had for years attracted little interest among scientists who doubted its role in human health and disease.
Recent research has begun to identify that part of that non-coding DNA is used by the cell to make RNA such as vlincRNA, highly tissue-specific RNA chains of unusually large lengths, many of which are only found in embryonic or cancerous cells. ..... < snip > According to an international team of scientists from the United States, Europe and Russia, non-coding parts of the human genome known as vlincRNAs triggered by ancient viruses participate in the development of cancer.
Maybe, "junk DNA" is not all "junk"? If just 1% more is not junk, it increases "non-junk DNA" by 50% - quite a lot for useful research. The discovery of vlincRNA may also explain why embryonic stem cells have not been nearly as useful as adult stem cells in research and developing treatments.
Picture provided in the article is unenlightening, so not displayed here, to save the bandwidth.
"Hidden within the cancer genome are these patterns, these signatures, which tell us what is actually causing cancer in the first place - that's a major insight to have."
We have here an example of why I dislike reading science written for the lay person.
DNA mutates randomly. We have several DNA repair enzymes, which do a pretty good--but not perfect--job of fixing the random mutations. Some things, like high doses of radiation, certain chemicals, or UV light, cause a higher than random rate of mutation. This higher than random rate can overwhelm the repair enzymes, causing a mutation to be "fixed" into the genome. The inaccuracy in this report is that, since there is *always* a chance that a spontaneous and random mutation will be "fixed" in the genome, this process really is not a mystery.
We have thousands of viruses residing in our genome. In some cases, viral DNA (there is no RNA in the genome) is necessary for life. A gene that all mammals use to form the placenta comes from a virus.
That second one could make a nice standalone topic, thanks CP.
In other news, there are only 21 reasons that account for 97% of traffic accidents, only 21 reasons that account for 97% of suicides, only 21 reasons that account for 97% of heart attacks, only 21 reasons that account for 97% of new diabetes cases, etc.