'Sleeping dogs' threaten the genome as we age
Friday, December 5, 2014 - 09:30
in Biology & Nature
The genomes of many organisms, humans included, are littered with repetitive sequences of DNA called retrotransposons. In a new "Perspective" in the journal Science, four biologists write that while most retrotransposons have become inert "fossils" over evolutionary time, about 100 such rogue elements are still trying to copy themselves, potentially wreaking havoc on health.