An team of scientists found a family of genome sequences known as “transposable elements.” They play a vital role in gene ...

Got junk? Learn how a new study suggests that, when it comes to our genetic code, that may actually be a good thing.

Not only can transposable elements be useful, but new evidence shows they may have been powerfully linked to primate evolution.

A new international study suggests that ancient viral DNA embedded in our genome, which were long dismissed as genetic "junk", may actually play powerful roles in regulating gene expression.

Scientists discovered that ancient viral DNA sequences called MER11, once dismissed as genetic junk, actually act as ...

Transposable elements reveal a stem cell specific class of long noncoding RNAs Date: November 26, 2012 Source: BioMed Central Limited Summary: Over a decade after sequencing the human genome, it ...

Transposable elements are also called selfish DNA parasites because they spread through their hosts, such as humans, animals, plants as well as bacteria and, thus, provide for their own survival.

Cells use a range of increasingly well understood epigenetic mechanisms to keep transposable elements under control. These silencing mechanisms have been co-opted during the course of evolution to ...

Some transposable elements code for proteins such as endonuclease and reverse transcriptase (2). The activity of these proteins enables transposable elements to reinsert themselves into DNA, causing ...

Researchers from UNSW Sydney have discovered that a particular transposable element, or jumping gene, in the genome has a profound effect on the immune response to virus infection. The findings in ...

New research from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis suggests that transposable elements in various cancers potentially may be used to harness novel immunotherapies against ...