The other code

The discovery of a second code in DNA is a big moment. The human genome is wound into 24 distinct chromosomes with some 20-25,000 genes ?written? in the DNA.

The discovery of a second code in DNA is a big moment. The human genome is wound into 24 distinct chromosomes with some 20-25,000 genes ‘written’ in the DNA. So far, scientists had only the genetic code to work out how genes are controlled. The actual processes that determine how each type of cell activates only the genes it needs — and not others used by other types of cells — however, remained a mystery. Eran Segal of Weizmann Institute in Israel and Jonathan Widom of Northwestern University in Illinois, seem to have solved this puzzle by identifying another code that is superimposed on the first.

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This code shows how nucleosomes — protein spools around which DNA is looped — are placed along the chromosomes. This map of nucleosome locations could enable researchers to identify hidden drug targets and revolutionise chemical drug research. Ever since DNA was recognised, scientists have tried to design drugs to target DNA and treat everything from diabetes to sleeping sickness. In the outbreak of disease, genes either work too hard or not enough, to fight it. So scientists look for ways to target these genes to turn them off or on, or to make them work slower or faster. Many anti-cancer drugs, for instance, target disease at the DNA level, but since they are not specific in their approach, they cause unpleasant side effects.

The findings will help scientists do that by targeting specific DNA structures and controlling the way genetic information is processed so as to use it to fight disease.