There is no such thing as “junk” DNA Until recently, vast areas of the genome had been denounced as “junk” DNA, because they do not encode proteins. However, it has become clear that these regions have a large diversity of other functions, from transcriptional and translational regulation to the protection of genes and genome integrity. [...]

Conserved elements are stretches of DNA sequence that are under purifying selection. That means mutations leading to a change of function in this part of the DNA are detrimental to the organism and will not become fixed in the genome, but rather discarded by natural selection. The level of conservation between species gives an idea [...]

Thanks to plummeting costs of genome sequencing (at least exome and other targeted varieties) and the rise of consumer demands for more interactive health information, what’s done in the lab no longer stays in the lab. The name’s Bond… Sequences on humans can run smack into legal and regulatory problems involving patient privacy. This can [...]

As many who have worked with sequence data can tell you, the biggest bottleneck in publishing papers based on sequence data is the analysis step. Most researchers are faced with a dilemma when they receive sequence data for the first time: “do I try to use these free open source programs or do I shell [...]