A team led by researchers from Princeton has opened the door to a new understanding of the disease’s genetic origins, the discovery involves areas of DNA that do not directly code for the proteins that carry out cellular activities, but instead control how genes are switched on and off. Scientists have long understood that these noncoding regions play an important role in cancer, but describing that role has been formidably difficult. The team said that the discovery will open new lines of research about the development and spread of cancer. These genes are involved in processes that commonly go awry in cancer, such as cell proliferation and development. Other genes affect the status of chromatin, or the way DNA is packaged within the cell, which can markedly impact the expression of genes. Princeton University is a NYSERNet member. Read more here: https://bit.ly/2QqZ6Od
Photo Credits: Ryan Rizzuto.