Scientists at a Scottish university have been awarded more than £40 million for work which will include research into the so-called dark genome.
A total of £46.3 million has been awarded by the Medical Research Council (MRC) to the MRC Human Genetics Unit at Edinburgh University.
With the work to include research into the 98% of DNA which is underexplored, scientists said their work could ultimately help people living with genetic conditions and cancer.
The five-year funding will support research into this dark genome – which was previously referred to as “junk” DNA.
It is hoped the work could help provide new insights into complex genetic diseases.
Scientists will use collaborative research and new techniques to explore these understudied areas of DNA in a bid to develop further the understanding of human genetic disease.
Since the human genome was first sequenced in 2003, research has mainly focused on parts of DNA that contain instructions for making proteins – the fundamental building blocks of all organisms.
