The gene is in an identity crisis
November 11, 2008 7:30 PM   Subscribe

Now: The Rest of the Genome. "Only 1 percent of the genome is made up of classic genes. Scientists are exploring the other 99 percent and uncovering new secrets and new questions."
posted by homunculus (12 comments total) 4 users marked this as a favorite
 
Carl Zimmer: Hypocrite?
posted by homunculus at 7:31 PM on November 11, 2008


Damn. I thought it said 'The Rest of the Gnome'.
posted by grounded at 7:41 PM on November 11, 2008


Only 1 percent of the genome is made up of classic genes.

The rest, I presume, are designer genes.
posted by jonmc at 7:49 PM on November 11, 2008 [1 favorite]


99 percent of gnomes wear designer genes.
posted by homunculus at 7:59 PM on November 11, 2008 [1 favorite]


The pointy hats, however, are off-the-rack.
posted by jonmc at 8:11 PM on November 11, 2008


Is it Science Day at Metafilter today?
posted by kisch mokusch at 8:37 PM on November 11, 2008


My mother taught me about genetics ...

Frequently she said, "You are just like your father!"
posted by netbros at 9:07 PM on November 11, 2008


With all due respect, I would like to propose a hypothesis: Dr. Eisen blogged about my article without actually reading it all the way through.

Sounds just like MetaFilter.
posted by weapons-grade pandemonium at 9:46 PM on November 11, 2008


Is it Science Day at Metafilter today?

We need more Sarah Palin links.
posted by homunculus at 9:57 PM on November 11, 2008


*rolls eyes, shakes head*

srsly...a very fascinating article...i was unaware that some genes were distributed in parts, some of which are interchangeable...it makes sense tho, if only from an information theory point of view...it reminds me of how data is stored on a hard drive, sort of all over the place. surprisingly, it makes it easier to manage and more stable that way...

i'm glad someones finally putting some money towards figuring out what all the 'junk' dna is up to...although, i'm sure a bunch of it is actually trash. (especially the parts they mentioned near the end of the article that segregate viral dna from the good bits) ...theres a whole new field called 'biophysics' that studies how biological molecules physically act on one another...they're apparently putting together a view that dna is a whole lot more like a machine than it is like a book. hopefully they will find a lot of cool widgets down there that can be cut and pasted into the field of molecular nanotechnology.

so, a bit of trivia...which family of organisms has the MOST dna? A: the lilies. again, because of the bits that separate out the viral dna...long stretches of non-active nonsense...aparrently its because the lilies like to live where its all swampy and germy. neat,huh?
posted by sexyrobot at 2:17 AM on November 12, 2008


>...theres a whole new field called 'biophysics'

Umm. Well, that's not very new. In fact, I know some people who think it's 'old hat' or 'quaint', to my disdain.
posted by gsb at 6:03 AM on November 12, 2008


Damn. I thought it said 'The Rest of the Gnome'.

Me too! I clicked expecting some combination of JRR Tolkien and Paul Harvey, and was seriously disappointed.

'And now you know...the rest of the gnome...'
posted by spamguy at 6:47 AM on November 12, 2008 [1 favorite]


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