Transposable elements The "ghosts" in our DNA

Streaming video - 2019

Traditionally, the human genome has been thought of as being static. Today we now know that that is not the case. Transposable elements are pieces of DNA that are actively replicating and moving around your genome, jumping from place to place. Mobile genetic elements include pieces of DNA inserted into your genome by lurking retroviruses such as HIV. As Halloween approaches, we will cover these pieces of "ghost" DNA: the basics of transposable elements, retroviruses, and how these are relevant to human health as well as the DTC DNA testing marketplace. We plan to also have a brief discussion on the future of the DNA Interest Group at the end of the meeting.