Study: "Jumping Genes" Create Ripples in the Genome- -and Perhaps Species' Evolution

JHMI Office of Communications and Public Affairs ^ | August 15, 2002 | Johns Hopkins, et al

[forsnax5]

"These things are happening by mechanisms never before described ...

New! Amazing! Never before described!

Johns Hopkins embraces Madison Avenue.

[forsnax5]

Can any of you DNA-whizzes tell me why these guys are so excited about this?

[VadeRetro]

My vast expertise tells me to add two more names to your ping list.

[VadeRetro]

You guys may as well have a look too.

[VadeRetro]

"Retrotransposons in humans have certain characteristics, but if you look deeply into the human genome sequence, you find elements common to our primate ancestors," he says. "If you keep looking, you find even older elements. Together, these elements provide a molecular fossil record of our evolutionary history."

This part can't be right, of course. Gore3000 has assured us that all the scientific discoveries of the past 150 years tend to disprove evolution.

[PatrickHenry]

If any of the crevo crowd prefers a no-holds barred discussion of this subject, there's a thread for this purpose in FreeRepublic's new Smokey Backroom forum, where posts are generally not deleted unless they explicitly violate Jim Robinson's long-standing rules (no racism, etc.). The thread is here: WHO ARE THE CREATION "SCIENTISTS"? .

[VadeRetro]

Much to their surprise, the act of insertion caused chunks of existing DNA to be cut out and, in one location, caused neighboring DNA to be inverted, as though it had been removed and re-inserted backwards, say the researchers.

And what does a backwards gene make? Proteins for the other side of your body.

You see, Curly says, "Hey! Half these nails are backwards!" so Moe says "You idjit! They're for that wall over there."

[forsnax5]

Gore3000 has assured us that all the scientific discoveries of the past 150 years tend to disprove evolution.

Maybe he can explain why all these nice people at Johns Hopkins are wasting their time with this stuff, then.

[PatrickHenry]

And what does a backwards gene make?

Actually, there is a rare medical condition known as situs inversus, or "Kartagener's Syndrome," in which the organs of the body are on the opposite side of the body from their customary place. In humans, the heart is on the right side. Whether this is related to backwards genes, I'm unable to say.

[VadeRetro]

Actually, there is a rare medical condition known as situs inversus, or "Kartagener's Syndrome," in which the organs of the body are on the opposite side of the body from their customary place.

I bet their teachers yell at them for doing the Pledge of Allegiance wrong when told to put their hands over their hearts.

[VadeRetro]

New thread ping.

[VadeRetro]

New thread.

[Junior]

The findings on evolution are coming thick and fast. 'Course, the creationists out there will complete ignore or misrepresent the evidence here.

[Physicist]

'Course, the creationists out there will complete ignore or misrepresent the evidence here.

I'm betting on 'misrepresentation'.

[RightWingNilla]

Course, the creationists out there will complete ignore or misrepresent the evidence here.

Let's see how LBB fits this into the moribund "unchangeable program" paradigm.

Of course the whole study can easily be written off as part of the evolutionist conspiracy.

[RightWhale]

I don't know that nomenclature is fully standardized in the area of genetic research, but even if it is, no doubt laymen on FR will have differing views on usage.

---

retrotransposon elements

"Jumping genes" sounds like a catchy name for some sequences in DNA. Are these genes, pieces of genes, or pieces of filler between genes?

"tail" of repeated adenines

Is this similar to telomeres, supposed extra structure at the ends of chromosomes that also get shortened after repeated duplication?

[Doctor Stochastic]

It's important because it is a newly-described (but apparently billion of years old) mechanism for changing genes. Well known mechanisms are mutation which consists of changing one (or more) base(s) and crossing over which consists of exchange part of a gene for part of another (during meiosis), for example:

aaaaaaaaa
bbbbbbbbb

could become:

aaabbbbbb
bbbaaaaaa

where the a's come from one parent and the b's from another.

The new mechanism seems to be a "move anywhere" mechanism which can insert, delete, or even invert parts of a DNA string. This is a very powerful mechanism and perhaps would allow the genetic material to behave as a non-deterministic Turing machine.

[Scully]

Thanks for the ping placemarker

[tallhappy]

Johns Hopkins embraces Madison Avenue.

Yes. As I read this I wondered, "who writes this stuff?"

It is interesting and learning what this so-called "junk DNA" does is important.

But the effusive hyberbole is just that.