Question: Have you ever found anything interesting in the 'gaps' of DNA, and if so, what impact has it had?

Lilian Hunt answered on 10 Mar 2014:

We’ve found a lot in the gaps of DNA already! The genes in our DNA actually only make up about 2% of the whole thing so there’s much more there that we can count as the ‘gaps’ between genes. Originally, when we sequenced the human genome we called all this DNA in the gaps junk, but now we know there’s lots of important bits. For example there are important sections called ‘enhancers’ and ‘silencers’ and they make sure that the right genes are switched on in the right places in the body and at the right time when we are growing as babies in the womb. I’m in the process of looking at if these important bits in the gaps can sometimes go wrong and cause genetic diseases in humans and so far it looks like they might although I can’t say too much about my work until it’s finished…!