Long-hidden 'junk DNA' regions may help explain cancer-linked genome instability

MedicalXpress | يون 05, 2026

Many repetitive regions of the genome have been considered "junk DNA" because the available technologies did not allow them to be studied at sufficient resolution. This is the case for the SST1/NBL2 macrosatellites, considered irrelevant and, until now, virtually invisible, which may have a more complex and decisive biological role than previously thought in nuclear organization, genome regulation, chromosomal instability and even cancer.