Is 98% of Our DNA 'Junk' or a Vast Uncharted Territory?????

One can argue humans are quite high up on the intellect hierarchy chart than other species.??

After all, we've achieved incredible feats like sending people to the moon!??

And it’s reasonable (and a little snob-like, to be honest) to expect our DNA to be the ultimate gold standard with all the genes emphasizing valuable functions crucial for our survival.

But, that’s not the case.

Instead, less than 2% of the three billion base pairs in the human genome are dedicated to proteins. Only around 20,000 protein-coding genes exist among the long strings of DNA sequences. The remaining 98% of our DNA has been deemed "junk," a mysterious collection of letters that seem to serve no obvious purpose.

This stunningly thriftless allocation of genetic material isn’t limited to humans: Even many bacteria seem to devote 20% of their genome to noncoding filler.??

Now, two decades on, we have data against it.??

Its primary function?appears to be?regulating the decoding process, or expression, of protein-making genes.?It controls?how our genes behave in response to environmental pressures.

Non-protein coding regions of the human genome appeared to be littered with sequences of repetitive DNA known as?transposons.

These comprise?nearly half the genome?in all living mammals.

One experiment, where researchers deleted a specific transposon fragment in mice leading to half of the animal's pups dying before birth, illustrated that some transposon sequences may be critical to our survival.

Transposons have been linked to diseases including cancer:

Apart from cancers, many other human diseases can have a molecular origin in chromosomal recombination, alteration of the structure, and/or expression of genes in which TEs are involved.

The “junk DNA” also includes non-coding RNAs.

These have various roles from assembling proteins, to blocking the process of protein production, or helping to regulate gene activity.

In complex diseases like schizophrenia or depression, an entire cacophony of non-coding RNAs may be acting in synchrony to decrease or increase the expression of certain genes.

Solutions in the protein-coding region’s space:

??German-based biotech CureVac is s leading the way by analyzing the non-protein-coding regions in search of targets that can disrupt cancer at its source.

??Haya Therapeutics, focuses on developing drugs that target non-coding RNAs responsible for scar tissue formation in the heart. By tackling these non-coding RNAs, they hope to minimize the side effects often associated with conventional medicines.