Study reveals a role for jumping genes during times of stress

Only percent of human DNA codes for proteins, and approximately half of the rest of the genome is made up of what used to be called "junk" sequences that can copy themselves into RNA or DNA and jump from one location to another. Previous research led by investigators at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) had revealed a critical role for one of these jumping genes during times of stress. In new research published by the same group in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the investigators report a surprising new property of this jumping RNA.