Re: EXON

> Date:          Mon, 11 Dec 1995 23:10:25 -0800 (PST)
> From:          Rich Graves <llurch@networking.stanford.edu>
> To:            Scott Binkley <SBinkley@atitech.ca>
> Cc:            High Society List <cypherpunks@toad.com>
> Subject:       Re: EXON

> On 11 Dec 1995, Scott Binkley wrote:
> 
> > Could someone please explain to me what this "EXON" thing is??
> 
> A nucleic acid chain (RNA or DNA) is composed of exons, which are 
> "active" sequences of nucleotides that are expressed as polypeptides, and 
> "introns," what is known as "junk DNA." Only about 2% of the 6 billion or 
> so base pairs that make up the human genome are exons.
> 
> (There is some controversy in molecular biology circles as to whether 
> "junk DNA" is really "junk" just because it doesn't build proteins. It 
> could perform a regulatory or "frame-check" function.)

Actually, I think that once the matter is further studied, scientists 
will discover that the "junk DNA" is not junk, but inactive DNA, 
waiting for a "trigger".

> > (There is some controversy in molecular biology circles as to whether 
> > "junk DNA" is really "junk" just because it doesn't build proteins. It 
> > could perform a regulatory or "frame-check" function.)
> 
> Actually, I think that once the matter is further studied, scientists 
> will discover that the "junk DNA" is not junk, but inactive DNA, 
> waiting for a "trigger".

Sorta like that episode of Star Trek where all this DNA gets combined 
into a 3-D Quicktime movie?

Ben.
____
Ben Samman..............................................samman@cs.yale.edu
"If what Proust says is true, that happiness is the absence of fever, then
I will never know happiness. For I am possessed by a fever for knowledge,
experience, and creation."                                      -Anais Nin
PGP Encrypted Mail Welcomed      Finger samman@powered.cs.yale.edu for key

Exon 		<clap, clap>
Exoff 		<clap, clap>
Exon, Exoff
The Censor 	<clap, clap>

On Tue, 12 Dec 1995, Ed Carp (ecarp@netcom.com) wrote:

> > From:          Rich Graves <llurch@networking.stanford.edu>
> >
> > (There is some controversy in molecular biology circles as to whether 
> > "junk DNA" is really "junk" just because it doesn't build proteins. It 
> > could perform a regulatory or "frame-check" function.)
> 
> Actually, I think that once the matter is further studied, scientists 
> will discover that the "junk DNA" is not junk, but inactive DNA, 
> waiting for a "trigger".

Well, there are a couple of interesting things:

	o mutations in non-coding sequences are known to cause certain
	  flavors of cancer, and

	o the amount of redundancy in exons is rather high in comparison
	  to the coding sequences (much like other Exons we know :),
	  approaching that of other naturally arising degradation-resistant
	  signals, such as human language. 

So the signs as of right now are definitely pointing to exons having some 
purpose.  The problem is that exons usually lay outside the start and 
stop sequences, so nobody knows how they are read, which makes it hard to 
give them an interpretation.

Marc.

ObCrypto: Store your private key in your non-coding DNA?  If we all did
that would the Red Cross become the national voluntary key escrow agent? 
Would that actually be good because then they would mislabel all they keys
and destroy half of the lot in the process of collection? If cancerous 
cells had PGP keys, would the immune system destroy them or just detain 
them for a really long time until they withered away of malnutrition and 
stress?  Should I go to bed?

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On Wed, 13 Dec 1995, Marc Ramirez wrote:

> Date: Wed, 13 Dec 1995 00:21:32 -0500 (EST)
> From: Marc Ramirez <mrami@mramirez.sy.yale.edu>
> To: "Ed Carp (ecarp@netcom.com)" <ecarp@netcom.com>
> Cc: Rich Graves <llurch@networking.stanford.edu>,
>     High Society List <cypherpunks@toad.com>
> Subject: Re: EXON
> 
> On Tue, 12 Dec 1995, Ed Carp (ecarp@netcom.com) wrote:
> 
> > > From:          Rich Graves <llurch@networking.stanford.edu>
> > >
> > > (There is some controversy in molecular biology circles as to whether 
> > > "junk DNA" is really "junk" just because it doesn't build proteins. It 
> > > could perform a regulatory or "frame-check" function.)
> > 
> > Actually, I think that once the matter is further studied, scientists 
> > will discover that the "junk DNA" is not junk, but inactive DNA, 
> > waiting for a "trigger".
> 
> Well, there are a couple of interesting things:
> 
> 	o mutations in non-coding sequences are known to cause certain
> 	  flavors of cancer, and
> 
> 	o the amount of redundancy in exons is rather high in comparison
> 	  to the coding sequences (much like other Exons we know :),
> 	  approaching that of other naturally arising degradation-resistant
> 	  signals, such as human language. 
> 
> So the signs as of right now are definitely pointing to exons having some 
> purpose.  The problem is that exons usually lay outside the start and 
> stop sequences, so nobody knows how they are read, which makes it hard to 
> give them an interpretation.


folks, say yes to proof reading.

sorry to perpetuate this thread any more but as one of the resident
biochemists/mol biologists i've got an itch to scratch.

in the lines with the single '>' above, you need to replace the word
'exon' with 'intron'.


    exons --> DNA sequences in a gene that (can) yield protein after splicing

    introns --> DNA sequences that are interspersed between exons in a gene


introns have several known roles, including roles in RNA splicing and
RNA editing (a process that sort of skirts the central dogma of 
DNA -> RNA -> protein by changing the 'code' in the RNA).

non-coding sequences represent the bulk of DNA, and for the most part
it's role is unknown although various people have their pet theories.
gene regulation is often carried out by non-coding sequences,
including sequences that are never transcribed into RNA.  thus, they
can be involved in any cancer process.



patrick finerty = zinc@zifi.genetics.utah.edu = pfinerty@nyx.cs.du.edu
U of Utah biochem grad student in the Bass lab - zinc fingers + dsRNA!
** FINGER zinc-pgp@zifi.genetics.utah.edu for pgp public key - CRYPTO!
zifi runs LINUX 1.2.11 -=-=-=WEB=-=-=->  http://zifi.genetics.utah.edu 


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On Wed, 13 Dec 1995, zinc wrote:

> sorry to perpetuate this thread any more but as one of the resident
> biochemists/mol biologists i've got an itch to scratch.
> 
> in the lines with the single '>' above, you need to replace the word
> 'exon' with 'intron'.

Oops.  Brain fart.

Sorry.

Marc.