‘Junk’ DNA can inflate cancer risk, study finds

Genomic stability is crucial for maintaining cellular integrity for preventing errors from DNA replication, endogenous genotoxic stress, and endogenous carcinogen insults. Albeit current evidence hints at certain repetitive sequences—namely non-coding or repetitive patterns of DNA—as being the trigger for impaired replication, their underlying mechanism has not been fully comprehended.??

In a landmark study, a team of scientists from London-based Institute of Cancer Research reconstituted the end-to-end DNA replication process in a test tube to unearth fresh insights. They have not only established that non-coding 'junk' DNA is neither harmless nor inert, but have also explained the mechanism of how it blocks?genome replication and repair, thereby allowing mutations to accumulate. Consequently, the increased risk of errors may in turn cause cancer. This new knowledge, it is believed,?could pave the way for the development of more effective cancer drugs and therapies.?

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