A DNA Blockbuster

I know a thing or two about DNA and I have never been comfortable with the way non-coding DNA has been commonly referred to as "junk" DNA.  As the saying goes, "God don't make no junk" and I always felt sure it had a purpose.   And I know countless others have felt likewise.  Turns out we're right.

Today, in a genetic blockbuster, 30 connected papers were simultaneously published in the journals Nature, Genome Biology and Genome Research.  The bottom line is:  The so-called junk DNA contains some four million interrelated genetic switches controlling the expression of the genes in the coding DNA.

To read about it:  Click Here.

This is the most dramatic breakthrough in DNA research since the cracking of the genetic code 50 years ago.  These stunning results represent the work of 440 scientists from 32 labs around the world.

While I am on the subject of DNA, I might as well add the answer to a question I receive from time to time:  There is no DNA test for Melungeon ancestry, and there never will be as there is no uniquely Melungeon DNA signature.  Even if one had the same ancestral mix as the historical Melungeons, assuming that can ever be determined with precision, it would prove nothing as the same mix could come about in any number of ways without Melungeon ancestry being involved.  The only way to prove Melungeon ancestry through DNA testing is to use it to prove descent from a historically known and documented Melungeon.