Category: Science > Regulation
While most people think of DNA as being composed primarily of four nucleotides (adenine, thymine, cytosine, and guanine), a surprising aspect of human DNA is the presence of a significant amount of non-coding regions, often referred to as "junk DNA." These regions, which make up nearly 98% of our DNA, do not code for proteins but play crucial roles in regulating gene expression, maintaining chromosome structure, and influencing evolutionary processes. Recent research has shown that these non-coding sequences can be instrumental in the development of complex traits and may contain regulatory elements that help determine how genes are turned on or off in response to environmental factors. This revelation has changed the way scientists understand genetics, suggesting that the hidden complexities of our DNA are just as important as the sequences that directly code for proteins.