让人惊讶的"垃圾" DNA新发现
New findings about "junk" DNA may bring some surpirses author unknown Abridged version 垃圾DNA的新发现会让人吃惊！ 来源 : http://www.gewo.applet.cz/health/DNA_1e.htm 翻译：萧光航 A group of researchers working at the Human Genome Project will be announcing soon that they made an astonishing scientific discovery: They believe so- callednon- coding sequences (97%) in human DNA is no less than genetic code of an unknown extraterrestrial life form. 一个致力于人类基因工程的研究小组很快将要宣布一项让人震惊的科学发现：他们相信在人类的DNA中存在的所谓“非代码”基因序列（97%）即是一种地外生 物形态的遗传代码。 The non- coding sequences are common to all living organisms on Earth, from molds to fish to humans. In human DNA, they constitute larger part of the total genome, says Prof. Sam Chang, the group leader. Non- coding sequences, also known as "junk DNA", were discovered years ago, and their function remains mystery. Unlike normal genes, which carry the information that intracellular machinery uses to synthesize proteins, enzymes and other chemicals produced by our bodies, non- coding sequences are never used for any purpose. They are never expressed, meaning that the information they carry is never read, no substance is synthesized and they have no function at all. We exist on only 3% of our DNA. The junk genes merely enjoy the ride with hard working active genes, passed from generation to generation. What are they? How come these idle genes are in our genome? Those were the question many cientists posed and failed to answer - until the breakthrough discovery by Prof. Sam Chang and his group. 从霉菌到鱼类到人类，这组非代码基因序列在所有地球生物组织中皆常可见。小组组长Sam Chang教授说，在人类的DNA中，它们（非代码基因）在总的 基因数中占有更大的比例。 非代码基因又称作“垃圾DNA”，多年前即被发现，它们的功能仍然是个迷。它们不像正常的基因那样载有合成蛋白、酶及其他人体产生的化学物的信息，非代码 基因序列没有任何使用目的。它们不作表述，就是说它们承载的信息无法读取，也没有合成物质，它们根本没有任何功能。我们存在于我们3%的DNA之中。垃圾 DNA只是喜欢搭在活跃的功能性基因上面，一代代地往下传承。它们是什么？为什么这些闲置的基因会在我们的基因组里？这些问题不断地被科学家们提出来，却 无法找到答案－－现在终于被Sam Chang教授和他的小组取得了突破。 Trying to understand the origins and meaning of junk DNA Prof. Chang realized that he first needs a definition of "junk". Is junk DNA really junk, (useless and meaningless) or it contains some information not claimed by the rest of DNA for whatever reason? He once mentioned the question to an acquaintance, Dr.Lipshutz, a young theoretical physicist turned Wall Street derivative securities specialist. "Easy," replied Lipshutz. "We'll run your sequence through thesoftware I use to analyze market data, and it will show if your sequences are total garbage, "white noise", or there is a message in there." 要想明白垃圾DNA的起源及意义，Chang教授觉得他首先需要一个对“垃圾”的定义。是否垃圾DNA真的就是垃圾（无用且无意义的），或者由于某种原因 它包含了其他DNA所不具有的信息？他的熟友Lipshutz博士是位年轻的理论物理学家，现在转行在华尔街搞衍生证券，他跟他提到了这个问题。 “这好办”Lipshutz说“我把你的基因序列用我那个市场数据分析软件分析一下，马上就知道你的那些序列是完全的垃圾，还是'白噪值（空值）'或者里 头有什么信息。” Working evenings and weekends, Lipshutz managed to show that non- coding sequences are not all junk, they carry information".To my surprise, the entropy ofcoding and non- coding DNA sequences was not that different", continues Lipshutz. "There was noise in both but it was no junk at all. If the market data were that orderly, I would have already retired." Lipshutz在晚上及周末进行测试，他得以证实了非代码序列并不全是垃圾，它们是有承载信息的。 “让我感到惊讶的是，代码与非代码的熵差距没有那么大”，Lipshutz说，“两者都有空值，但绝不是垃圾。如果市场信息能像这样整齐，我可能早得退休 了。” Eventually Prof. Chang was referred to Dr. Adnan Mussaelian, a talented cryptographer in the former Soviet republic of Armenia. Poor fellow barely survivedon a $15 a month salary and occasional fees for tutoring children of Armenian nuveau riches. A $10,000 research grant was a struck of luck, he began working like a beaver. 最后Chang教授找到了Adnan Mussaelian博士，他是前苏联共和国的天才编码破译员。可怜的家伙现在靠一个月15块美金的工资苟活，偶尔 也给富家子弟上课赚点外块。对他来说有一万美金的研究经费是走了财运，他像一只勤奋的海狸，开始卖力地工作。 Adnan promptly confirmed the findings of his Wall Street predecessor: The entropy indicated tons of information almost in the clear, it was not too strong cryptographic system, it didn't appear to be a tough problem. Adnan began applying differential cryptoanalysis and similar standard cryptographic techniques. Adnan很快肯定了前面那位华尔街伙计的发现：代码的熵显示出的信息几乎是清晰的，这不是什么复杂的加密系统，不像是很难解决的问题。Adnan开始进 行差异性密码分析及执行相关的标准密码分析技术。 He was two months in the project when he noticed that all non- coding sequences are usually preceded by one short DNA sequence. A very similar sequence usually followed the junk. These segments, known to biologists as alu sequences, were all over the whole human genome. Being non- coding, junk sequences themselves, alu are one of the most common genes of all. 他在这个项目上花了两个月时间，这时他注意到所有非代码序列都以一段短的DNA序列开头，而在这些垃圾代码的结尾也有类似的代码。 这些部分，生物学家都 知道是ALU序列，其遍布于整个人类基因组之中。作为非代码、垃圾序列本身，Alu序列是所有基因中最常见的。 Trained as a cryptographer and computer programmer, and having no knowledge of microbiology, Adnan approached the genetic code as of computer code. Just playing with the analogy Adnan grabbed the source code of one his programs and fed it into the program that calculates the statistics of symbols and short sequences, a tool often used in decoding messages. What was the most common symbol? Of course, it was "/", a symbol of comment! He took a Pascal code, and it were { and } ! Of course, the code between two slashes in C is never executed, and is never meant to be executed; it is not the code, it is the comment to the code! Adnan受过的是密码破译员及电脑程序员的训练，他没有任何的微生物学知识，他把基因代码当作电脑程序代码来研究。在试着类推分析时Adnan将源码放 入短序列符号统计程序中进行分析，这个分析工作常用来破解信息。最常见的符号是什么？当然，它是“/”号，这是一个注释的符号！在Pascal语言里，这 个符号是｛ 和 ｝！当然，在C语言里，在两个斜杠之间的代码永远不会被执行，也是永远没有要被执行的意思；它不是代码，它是代码的注释！ Being unable to resist the temptation to further play with the analogy, Adnan began comparing statistical distributions of the comments in computer and genetic code. There must be a striking difference. This should show up in statistics. Nevertheless, statistically, junk DNA was not much different from active, coding sequences. To be sure, Adnan fed a program into the analyzer: surprisingly, the statistics of code and comments were almost the same. He looked into the source code and realized why: there were very few comments in between the slashes, it was mostly C code the author decided to exclude from execution, a common practice among programmers. 无法抵挡的诱惑使Adnan更进一步地进行类推，他开始比较电脑程序注释与基因代码之间的统计性状的区别。这里头肯定有很大的不同。在统计的结果中应该会 显现出来。然而，垃圾DNA与活跃的代码序列没有什么不同。为了确定一下，Adnan在分析中加了一个程序：惊异的是，代码与注释的统计结果几乎是一样 的。他检查了一下源代码，明白了原由：在斜杠之间只有很少的注释，将其排除在执行之外，这与C语言码的程序员通常的做法差不多。 Adnan, religiously inclined person, was thinking about the divine hand - but after analyzing the spaghetti code inside the sequences he convinced himself that whoever wrote the small code was not God. Who wrote the active, small coding part of human genetic code was not very well organized, he was a rather sloppy programmer. It looked like rather somebody from Microsoft, but at the time human genetic code was written, there was no Microsoft on Earth. Adnan是一个有宗教倾向的人，他想到了神的创造之手---但是当分析了序列内部的编码之后，他觉得这段编码不管是谁写的，这肯定不是出于上帝之手。这 些人类基因的小段有效代码写得不是很工整，编写得相当随意，就像微软某个人写的一样。只不过写基因代码时，地球上微软还没出世呢。 On Earth? It was like a lightning... Was the genetic code for all life on Earth written by an extraterrestrial programmer and then somehow deposited here, for execution? The idea was mad and frightening, and Adnan resisted it for days. Then he decided to proceed. If the non- coding sequences are parts of the program that were rejected or abandoned by the author, there is a way to make them work. The only thing one needs to do is to remove the symbols of comments and if the portion between the /*......* / symbols is a meaningful routine it may compile and execute! He selected some 200 non- coding sequences that most closely resembled real genes, stripped them of /*, //, and similar stuff and after few days of hesitation sent e- mail to his American boss, asking him to find a way to put them in E- coli or whatever host and make them work. 地球上？这想法就像一道闪电划过...是不是这些基因码是地外文明的编写者为所有生命形式所编写，然后就以某种方式存放在这里，以备执行？这种想法真是又 疯狂又怕人，Adnan一连几天使劲让自己别这么想。然后他决定继续。如果非代码序列是程序的一部分，且被作者放弃或丢弃，有一个方法可以使它们执行。唯 一要做的就是将注释的符号去掉。如果在/*......*/中间的部分是有意义的，它将会被编译并执行！他选择了最类似基因的200组非代码序列，将它们 类似/*,*/的去掉，犹豫了几天后他发邮件给他的美国老板，叫他想办法将这组基因植入螺旋杆菌或其他的宿主，以便使代码运行起来。 Biologists have attempted for years to make junk sequences express, without much success. Sometimes nothing turned out; sometimes it was junk again. It was not surprising. Grab an arbitrary portion of the excluded computer code and try to compile it. Most likely, it will fail. At best, it will produce bizarre results. Analyze the code carefully, fish out a whole function from the comments, and you may make it work. Because of careful Mussaelian's statistical analysis 4 of the 200 sequences he selected, began working, producing tiny amounts of a chemical compounds. 多年来生物学家一直试着解释这些垃圾序列意义，但没有多少进展。有时是无功而返，有时得出来的又仍然是垃圾。这个毫不奇怪。随手抓一把被隔离的电脑代码， 然后又要把它编译出来。这当然会失败。最多它只能得出一些奇怪的结果。仔细分析代码，从整个注释中摸索出其功能，你还说不定能让其运行起来。 Mussaelian选了200组序列进行了一番细致的统计分析后，从中又选了4个，开始着手研究，结果产生了少量的化学合成物 质。"I was anxiously awaiting the response from Chang," says Dr. Mussaelian. "Would it be a more or less normal protein or something out of ordinary? The answer was shocking: it was a substance, known to be produced by several types of leukemia in men and animals. Surprisingly, three other sequences also produced cancer- related chemicals. It no longer looked like a coincidence. When one awakens a viable dormant gene, it produces cancer- related proteins. Researchers began searching Human Genome Project databases for the four genes they isolated from junk DNA. Eventually, three of the four were found there, listed as active, non- junk genes. This was not a big surprise: since cancer tissues produce the protein, there must be somewhere a gene, which codes it! The surprise came later: In the active, non- junk portion of the code the gene in question (the researchers called it "jhlg1", for junk human leukemia gene) was not preceded by the alu sequence, i.e. the /* symbol was missing. However, the closing * / symbol at the end of "jhlg1" was there. This explained why "jhlg1" was not expressed in the depth of the junk DNA but worked fine in the normal, active part of the genome. The one who wrote the basic genetic code for humans excluded portion of the big code by embracing them in /*... * / but missed some of the opening /* symbol. His compiler seems to be garbage, too: a good compiler, even from terrestrial Microsoft, would most likely refuse to compile such program at all. “我那时一直急着等待Chang的回音，”Mussaelian博士说，“大体上来说这个是不是一种蛋白，或者是一种罕见的东西？答案很让人惊讶：据知这 种物质只有在患上了白血病的人类及动物体内才会产生。怪的是，其他三种序列也产生了与癌症性质有关的蛋白。这个看起来已经不再是碰巧的了。当一个人唤醒了 这个潜在的活性的基因的时候，它会产生癌性蛋白。研究人员开始搜索人类基因工程数据库，把这4种从垃圾DNA中分离出来的基因资料从中找出来。最后，找到 了4个中的3个，列明为活性非垃圾基因。这个倒不是很奇怪：既然癌组织产生蛋白，那在某处肯定有一个基因含有这个功能代码的！后面的才叫怪：在活性的、非 垃圾的基因代码部分，有问题的基因（研究人员称之为“jhlg1”,意思是垃圾人类白血病基因）并不是以逻辑序列打头。如“/*”这组符号就不在这里。但 是“JHLG1”的结尾处却仍然带着"/*"。这个说明了为什么jhlg1在垃圾DNA部分里毫无意义，却在正常的、活性的基因组里发挥作用。编写人类基 本基因代码的那位，将大代码用/*...*/隔离了出去，但是写漏了开头的那个/*. 并且他的编译器好像也很垃圾。任何一个好的编译器，即便拿地球上的 微软来说，也很可能拒绝编译这样的程 序。”Prof. Sam Chang with his students began searching for genes associated with various cancers, and almost in all instances they discovered that those genes are followed by the alu sequence (i.e. protein as a comment closing symbol */), but never preceded by the comment opening /* gene! "This explains why diseases result in cell damage and their death, whereas cancers lead to cell reproduction and growth. Because only few fragments from the big code are expressed, they never lead to coherent growth. What we get with cancer, is expression of only few of genes alien to humans and symbiosis with some genes of bacterial parasites that lead to illogical, bizarre and apparently meaningless chunks of living cells. The chunks have its own veins, arteries, and its own immune system that vigorously resists all our anti- cancer drugs.Sam chang教授和他的学生开始寻找各种癌症有关的基因组，几乎所有他们所发现的这类基因都是以逻辑序列结尾的（比如将 蛋白作为注释的“*/”号表示结尾），但是却都缺乏注释的头半部分的“/*”符号！这个表明为什么疾病最终会细胞损坏并死亡，而癌症细胞却能进行细胞复制 并生长。因为只有少部分大代码是被意体化，它们不会协调地生长。我们从癌症中可以看到的是，只有少量异质的人类基因与一些寄生菌基因形成共生状态，从而造 成非逻辑而又怪异的，并且很明显是无意义的生命细胞块。这些细胞块有自己的血管、动脉及它们自身的免疫系统，强有力地抵御抗癌药 物。"Our hypothesis is that a higher extraterrestrial life form was engaged in creating new life and planting it on various planets. Earth is just one of them. Perhaps, after programming, our creators grow us the same way we grow bacteria in Petri dishes. We can't know their motives - whether it was a scientific experiment, or a way of preparing new planets for colonization, or is it long time ongoing business of seedling life in the universe. If we think about it in our human terms, the extraterrestrial programmers were most probably working on one big code consisting of several projects, and the projects should have produced various life forms for various planets. Very likely in a rush, the programmers cut down drastically the big code and delivered basic program intended for Earth. However, at that time they were (perhaps) not quite certain which functions of the big code may be needed later and which not, so they kept them all there. Instead of cleaning the basic program by deleting all the lines of the big code, they converted them into comments, and in the rush they missed few /* symbols in the comments here or there; thus presenting mankind with illogical growth of mass of cells we know as cancer." 我们的推论是有一种更高级的地外生命形态参与了这个新生命体的创造并且将其培养于各个星球上。地球只是其中一个。也许，在生命程序编写之后，我们的创造者 培养我们就像我们在培养皿中培养细菌一样。我们不知道他们的动机是什么－可能是一种科学的实验，或者是在新的星球上殖民前的一种准备方法，或者也可能在宇 宙中培育生命体是一种长期实行的惯例。如果我们在人类的角度想一下，地外的生命编写者很可能只在一个大代码上同时做好几个项目，这些项目应该已经在不同的 星球上产生了各种形态的生命体。编写者们很可能做得很急，他们把大代码功能大量地削减，并保留了用于地球的基本编码。不过，那时他们（可能）不太确信究竟 大代码里哪些是以后用得到的，哪些是用不着的，所以他们把所有的代码都保留了下来。他们没有用删除的方法将代码行清除，而是把它们全变成注释，在赶工的过 程中他们这一块那一块地漏写了一些“/*”号，就这样使得人类体内生长出了大量我们称为癌的非逻辑细胞。 There are three options to the problem. Either delete all the /* symbols and comments and clean this way the basic code, or add all the missing * / and avoid illogical mixing of the basic code with the big code. Alternatively, in the third option, remove all the / symbols and let work the basic code with the big code as a complete program. Unfortunately, none of these options are within our capacity. If we were able to efficiently insert genes into the chromosomes of living men, our breakthrough discovery would mean instant cure for all future cancer cases; at least from the programmer point of view. Theoretically, we can do it in a laboratory, but we have no practical means to implant the repaired DNA into living subjects. The mystery of "junk DNA" and cancer seems to be solved, but no quick cure shall be expected. The best thing we can do now is to try nourishing new, cancer- free line of humans with gradually debugged basic genetic code. That will take a long time. For us and our children, there is no hope on the horizon. 有三种方法可以解决这个问题。一是将所有的/*号及中间的注释删除，以此清洁（人类）基本代码，或是将遗漏的/*号全部添加回去，以防非逻辑的大代码与 （人类）基本代码相混合。也可以采用第三种方法，将所有的/*符号清除，让基本代码与大代码作为整体程序运行。但遗憾的是，这三种方法都不是我们能做到 的。如果我们可以有效地将基因插入到人类活体的染色体中，至少从编写者的角度来年，这种技术突破意味着我们可以立刻治愈所有未来的癌症。神秘的“垃圾 DNA”及癌症问题看上去得到了解决，但不必期望有什么速效的疗效。我们能做的是尽量培养新的，带有癌免疫的人类基本调试代码。这要花费漫长的时间。对于 我们及我们的子孙来说，在地平线上，还看不到希 望。"However, from the programmer's point of view, there is also positive outlook in it. What we see in our DNA is a program consisting of two versions, a big code and basic code. First fact is, the complete program was positively not written on Earth; that is now a verified fact. The second fact is, that genes by themselves are not enough to explain evolution; there must be something more in the game. What it is or where it is, we don't kow. The third fact is, no creator of a new work, be it a composer, engineer or programmer, from Mars or Microsoft, will ever leave his work without the option for improvement or upgrade. Ingenious here is, that the upgrade is already enclosed - the "junk DNA" is nothing more than hidden and dormant upgrade of our basic code! We know for some time that certain cosmic rays have power to modify DNA. With this in mind, plausible solution is available. The extraterrestrial programmers may use just one flash of the right energy from somewhere in the Universe to instruct the basic code to remove all the /*…* / symbols, fuse itself with the big code ("junk DNA") and jumpstart working of our whole DNA. That would change us forever, some of us within months, some of us within generations. The change would be not too much physical, (except no more cancers, diseases and short life), but it will catapult us intellectually. Suddenly, we will be in time comparable to coexistence of Neanderthals with Cromagnons. The old will be replaced giving birth to a new cycle. The complete program is elegant, very clever self- organizing, auto-executing, auto-developing and auto- correcting software for a highly advanced biological computer with build- in connection to the ageless energy and wisdom of the Universe. Software wise, within us is either short and diseased life, or potential for a super- intelligent super- being with a long and healthy life. This triggers puzzling questions - was the reduction to the basic code done by sloppy programmers in a rush (as it appears to us), or was the disabling of the big code purposeful act which can be cancelled by a "remote control" whenever desired?" “不过，从编写者的角度来看，仍然是有其积极的一面的。我们从我们的DNA中可以看到，它是由两个版本组成的：基本的人类代码及大代码。首要的事实是，完 整的代码绝对不是在地球上完成的，这是经过确认的一件事。其二、基因本身不足以说明其进化性；这里头肯定还有更多的内涵，内涵是什么，在哪里，我们不得而 知。其三、参与新项目的创造者，不管是编写者，工和师或是程序员，不管是在火星还是在微软，他们都会为其后的改善及升级预留余地。这里巧的是升级程序已经 被包含在里面了－－就是“垃圾DNA”本身就是隐含的及潜在的使我们基本代码升级的程序！我们已经知道某种宇宙射线有能力改变我们的DNA。知道了这个， 有就有令人称道的方案。地外的代码编写者可以只消用一束相关的能量，在宇宙的某处就可以让基本代码将所有的/*号移除，将整个大代码（“垃圾DNA”）融 为一体，一下激活我们所有的DNA。此举将会永久地改变我们，我们有的人会在几个月，有的人会在几代人的时间内改变。这种改变在形态上不会有很大变化（只 是没有了癌症、疾病及短促的寿命），但会使我们的智慧突飞猛进。突然之间，我们会暂时有一个类似于石器时代尼安特猿人与（古石器时代)克鲁麦农人共存的阶 段。老的循环会被更替，产生新的循环。整个程序是一套为高度生物电脑准备的带有内嵌的永不老化的能量及宇宙智慧的软件，其性能优雅、非常聪敏而又能自我调 节执行、自我进化自我纠正。而我们现在的则是短促多病的生命代码，或者说是具备超级智慧、长寿健康的超级生命体潜力的生命。这就引发了一些令为迷惑的问题 －－基础代码的删减是因马虎的编写者仓促所为（我们看来），还是有意将部分大代码功能废除，却可以在任何时候在需要时通过“遥控”将其取消？ Soon or later, we have to come to grips with the unbelievable notion that every life on Earth carries genetic code for his extraterrestrial cousin and that evolution is not what we think it is. This discovery may well shake the very roots of humanity - our beliefs in our concept of God and in our own power over our destiny. With the right paradigm, we may discover one day that all forms of life and the whole Universe is just one huge intellectual exercise in thoughts expressed mathematically, by Design, by Creator. 我们迟早会了解，每个地球的生命体都有着地外族人同样的基因代码，而进化并不是我们所想的那样，这是种令人难以置信的观点。这个发现或许会撼动人性的根基 －－我们的信仰中意识形态的上帝，及我们自身凌驾于命运之上的能力。只要模式没错，某天我们会发现所有的生命形态及整个的宇宙只是一整个巨大的设计或创造 者智慧的思想的数学实践。
