Things used to be so simple, when DNA produced RNA which produced proteins. Then came a deeper understanding of regulatory genes and processing of RNA and other niceties. Then the first DNA sequences astounded onlookers by scattering sequence that actually coded for proteins like sparse raisins in a rather dull pudding of DNA that apparently did nothing. What was this do-nothing DNA? Junk.rnThat hubristic notion-that just because the brightest minds in molecular biology couldn't work out what much of the genome did, therefore it was junk-gets soundly knocked on the head by the paper at #4. A massive team called the ENCODE Project Consortium took a detailed look at a small part of the human genome and in so doing upset all kinds of preconceived ideas.rnENCODE, as the name embodies, set out to create an Encyclopedia Of DNA Elements. As proof of concept, the team decided to focus on about 30 megabases of sequence, roughly 1% of the total human genome. About half is in regions that are already pretty well known; the rest is a random sample of 30 regions spread across the genome. The ENCODE pilot project brought together multiple teams to use multiple methods to see what they could find out about the genome. The built-in redundancy of this approach ensures that discoveries are real.
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