Stuttering DNA orchestrates the start of the mosquito`s life
(PHYSorg.com Biology)

All organisms have DNA, the genetic material that provides a blueprint for life. The long double-helix-shaped DNA molecules in the body`s cells are first translated into RNA molecules and then translated into proteins that ensure the functioning of the cell and the entire organism. But there are large parts of the DNA that are not used for making proteins. This has been called `junk DNA,` because its function remained unclear for a long time. However, a certain type of junk DNA that is found in mosquitoes and which repeats itself dozens of times, known as `satellite DNA,` has now been shown to play an essential role in the early development of mosquito embryos. Researchers at Radboud university medical center published their findings in the scientific journal Nature.