Journal Entry #1: Bits of Mystery DNA



Newspaper article: Bits of Mystery DNA, Far From ‘Junk,’ Play Crucial Role
Article by: Gina Kolata (The New York Times)

Summary of the article

The human DNA not only has genes but also gene switches. Previously thought to be junk, these 4 million switches are important in controlling how cells and organs work. Diseases like high blood pressure and psychiatric disorders seem to be caused by changes in these switches. Based on this discovery, new drugs can be made which affect the gene switches and therefore better cure and treat various diseases.


Figure 1: llustration shows a group of protein

bound to a strand of DNA. Small Changes in

DNA can increase a person's vulnerability to

a disease.

http://images.sciencedaily.com/2012/09/120905135000-large.jpg

Analysis

Although the article uses some in-depth scientific terms such as genomes, everyone should be able to understand what the article is about. This article gives a good introduction to what gene switches are, how they were discovered, and what this means for the future. The author has done a fairly good job of keeping the article unbiased because the article is mostly presented in a factual way. Another article regarding this topic in the Financial Times presents the same information but in a summarized way. Both authors of the article seem to have a similar take on the information, i.e. the importance of the discovery and the potential future impacts of this discovery.

Opinion and thoughts

While I was reading this article, I was fascinated to learn that there might now be a new way to fight certain diseases like cancer, and I think that more money and resources should be spent towards researching these gene switches more. This article reminded me of the importance of discoveries and how they can change the principles of science. For example, before I read this article, I used to think that genes were the only things that controlled how the body works. However, thanks to this discovery, now there is another thing that controls the body. After reading this article, some questions that come to my mind are: “How soon will drugs that target gene switches be available?”, “What side effects will these drugs have?” and “Will this discovery lead up to the creation of ‘super-humans’(genetically modified humans with extraordinary abilities)?” I guess only time will tell the answers to these questions, especially the question about super-humans.

Link to main article (New York Times): http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/06/science/far-from-junk-dna-dark-matter-proves-crucial-to-health.html?_r=1&pagewanted=all

Link to article on Financial Times: http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/109bf5e4-f771-11e1-ba54-00144feabdc0.html