The Gene Concept is Dead. Long Live FractoGene!
[see article on http://www.junkdna.com/new_citations.html]
Rosetta Genomics identifies hundreds of novel human microRNAs
Medical Research News
Published: Tuesday, 21-Jun-2005
In a study published online this week and to be published as a cover story in the July issue of Nature Genetics, Rosetta Genomics' scientists report identification of hundreds of human microRNA genes, including the first report of primate specific microRNAs.
Using a novel methodology, the researchers successfully cloned and sequenced 89 human microRNAs, nearly doubling the number sequenced in man to date.
MicroRNAs are a recently discovered class of tiny regulatory genes, comprised in the 98% of the genome that does not encode proteins, which until recently were considered 'Junk DNA'. Numerous recent studies have shown microRNA genes, far from being 'junk', are in fact of central importance, regulating at least 30% of all proteins, and involved in a wide range of diseases, including diabetes, obesity, viral diseases, and various types of cancer.
"The finding of large numbers of primate specific microRNAs is exciting because it supports the notion that microRNAs may indeed play an important role in the evolution of complexity of higher organisms," said Aaron Ciechanover, Nobel prize laureate 2004, and Chairman of Rosetta Genomics' Scientific Advisory Board. "We believe that these genes may serve as an important basis for next generation diagnostics and therapeutics."
"We are extremely pleased to report our success in nearly doubling the number of human microRNAs sequenced to date, results which we believe establish Rosetta Genomics as a leading player in discovery of microRNA genes," said Isaac Bentwich MD, founder and chairman of Rosetta Genomics and lead investigator of the study. "We are now aggressively pursuing partnerships for development of diagnostics and therapeutics based on this huge group of novel microRNAs."
MicroRNAs are a recently discovered group of non-protein-coding regulatory genes, shown to be involved in a wide range of diseases in addition to neuronal and stem-cell differentiation. MicroRNAs currently are an intensely researched area, and are believed potentially to be the basis for a new class of therapeutic and diagnostic products
posted by Dr. Andras J. Pellionisz at 9:54 PM
1 Comments:
The science content of this news is not new (see clipping on the http://www.junkdna.com/new_citations.html site on Rosetta Genomics posted on May 30th). What is mind-blowing, that the "Gene concept" (approaching 100 years) and crisply defined for the last 50 years or so (as protein-coding DNA sequence) has spectacularly fallen apart. In fact, it is dead as a doornail. Big Pharma is frozen on its (very expensive) tracks of "gene discovery" since the real discovery is in the 98.7% of (human) DNA that was called "junk" (by definition "non-gene" :-) and now called "regulatory, non-coding 'gene'" - what a confusion!). Affy's "Gene Chip" would be "out of fashion" - but it is already re-designed and re-named to "Genome Chip". The very last sentence of this spectacular piece of journalism now re-defines the axiom, talks about "non-protein-coding regulatory genes". The conceptual meltdown of the "Gene" and "Junk" misconceptions absolutely, and without any question requires not a journalistic but *mathematical* re-definition of the Genome. This is exactly what FractoGene is, and what it does. FractoGene only conceptually generalizes (by fractal geometry) the Gene and JunkDNA misconceptions (brings the disjointed thesis and antithesis into a meaningful synthesis), but provides the mathematical/information technology to generate (now #1 is experimentally supported) quantitative predictions. The 2nd Prediction, coming out in "FractoGene - Decoding JunkDNA" BrowserBook will provide with the experimental-information technology procedure, not only to "print" the Genome DNA sequence, but also "how to read them". Imagine if in the Bible someone declared that only "verbs" make sense, the rest of the words were "junk". Nonsense. Nouns, adjectives (etc) are also essential, and even much-repeated "the" serves a purpose in forming the information. The "finding reported [in Science] will blow open the 'social studies'" of animals, and eventually of the human race. Sooner than anyone thinks, Time Magazine will herald that "if behavioral diversity is determined by the - formerly - 'junkDNA', humanity must invest in finding out what is the clue, 'the mechanism'". "FractoGene - Decoding JunkDNA".
10:01 PM
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