“It’s quite spectacular that the structure of an entire chromosome would rely on a small DNA sequence somewhere in the middle”. Scientists have long suspected that abnormal genome folding may cause diseases, and several new studies have identified links between genome architecture and biological development. A rearrangement of DNA in a noncoding region of the genome causes limb malformations during development by changing chromatin folding. Other researchers are using CRISPR to investigate whether changes to genome architecture affects the ability of parasites like Trypanosoma, the cause of African sleeping sickness, to evade the immune system. It’s becoming apparent that in the genome, “nothing makes sense except in 3D.”

• Uncategorized