Junk DNA: Is Preventing Breast Cancer a Function?

Each time a function is found for a piece of non-coding DNA, the "junk DNA" myth gets more mythological. Here's a function that has been revealed for a certain long, non-coding transcript of DNA into RNA (lncRNA). It helps prevent breast cancer and ovarian cancer.

Researchers at the University of Bath explain why it is difficult to find these functions for non-coding parts of the genome:

The human genome contains around three metres of DNA, of which only about two per cent contains genes tha...