How mobile elements in our DNA interact with genes to make us look like “us”
It’s common knowledge that our genetic blueprint is encoded in our DNA, or genome. It’s also commonly believed that the main component in that blueprint is genes.
But in reality genes comprise just 2% of our DNA and, paradoxically, are quite similar from species to species. So how do we account for such variety in appearances and behaviours?
The remaining 98% of the fabled double helix – largely mobile elements – would appear to be playing a key role. And research at the University of Adelaide is bringing it into focus.
In this fascinating presentation Professor David Adelson will reveal how these mobile elements affect our genes, how the genome changes over time and the impact this can have on our lives.
About the Speaker
Professor David Adelson is the Professor and Chair of Bioinformatics and Computational Genetics in the School of Molecular and Biomedical Science at the University of Adelaide. He is also currently the School’s Head.
