Second DNA Code

Scientists find a second code besides genetics in DNA

RAW STORY

Published: Monday July 24, 2006

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The New York Times will report on Tuesday that researchers believe they have found a second code in DNA in addition to the genetic code, RAW STORY has learned.

The primary genetic code specifies the proteins that a cell makes. This second code specifies the placement of the nucleosomes, miniature protein spools around which the DNA is looped and which control access to the DNA itself.

Biologists have suspected for years that certain positions on the DNA where it bends most easily might be more favorable for nucleosomes, but not until now has it been possible to analyze the hidden pattern.

If confirmed, this discovery could help explain higher-order functions of the genes, such as how each type of cell is able to activate only the genes it needs and not those used by other types of cells.