The sequences of nonsense DNA that interrupt genes could be far more important to the evolution of genomes than previously thought, according to researchers. Their study of the model organism Daphnia ...

During the process of transcription, DNA is converted to RNA, a complex molecule that is able to carry genetic information outside of the cell's nucleus. This page guides you through the biochemical ...

There has been a lively debate over the evolution of eukaryote introns: at what point in the tree of life did they appear and from where, and what has been their subsequent pattern of loss and gain? A ...

The interrupted non-coding regions in pre-mRNAs, termed “introns,” are excised by “splicing” to generate mature coding mRNAs that are translated into proteins. As human pre-mRNA introns vary in length ...

Our genome contains the genes that code for the proteins that carry out most biological functions, as well as a lot of other sequence. Some of that other sequence serves various regulatory roles, and ...

Researchers have shown for the first time that non-coding parts of genes called introns can copy themselves and move around the genome. Nevertheless, these DNA sequences remain mysterious. Scientific ...

DNA is the genetic code that provides the biological instructions for every living species, but not every bit of DNA helps the species survive. Some pieces of DNA are more like parasites, along for ...

Scientists have discovered that some tiny segments of RNA thought to be junk instead have a functional role in suppressing production of certain messenger RNAs and appear to help cells respond to ...

Researchers have long puzzled over why many eukaryotic protein-coding genes are interspersed with segments of noncoding DNA that have no obvious biological function. These so-called introns are ...

One of the most long-standing, fundamental mysteries of biology surrounds the poorly understood origins of introns. Introns are segments of noncoding DNA that must be removed from the genetic code ...