Pseudogenes were once thought to be nothing but genomic fossils—the remnants of broken genes. Now they are being shown to be highly functional and critical to life processes in the cell.¹

Researchers have just identified over 12,000 novel DNA sequences in the human genome, most of them in areas once thought to be "Junk DNA."¹ These newly discovered DNA sequences, called "translation-enhancing elements," jumpstart protein production in certain situations and provide a whole new perspective on how proteins are produced in the cell.

Geneticists have enough challenges trying to comprehend the enormously elaborate yet precise ways cells access, copy, alter, interpret, and execute linear-coded genetic information. But now, non-linear genetic information adds a whole new dimension that multiplies the challenge of comprehending a living cell's inner workings.

Not only have many pseudogenes been proven to be highly functional, a recent study has unveiled mind-boggling complexity behind the PTEN pseudogene, showing that it functions both forwards and backwards as part of an intricate gene network.¹