DALLAS, July 2 (UPI) -- A new technique for examining DNA is giving scientists a more detailed picture of the functions of genes, U.S. researchers reported Friday.
Researchers at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center said the technique offers a new tool for understanding how genes function and possibly for diagnosing disease.
The technology, called a chromatin array, enables researchers to detect the relative compactness of several stretches of DNA at a time with very high resolution, allowing them to determine which genes have the propensity for making RNA.
The researchers found that for many genes -- but not all -- the more open the DNA is, the more RNA is produced. Exactly what controls compaction and expansion of DNA is still under scientific debate, however.
In their next set of experiments, the team will apply various drugs -- such as those used in cancer therapy -- to cells in order to understand if and how these drugs affect DNA compaction. Such studies might lead to therapies aimed at activating beneficial genes, or turning off faulty ones, they said.
