Published online in Molecular Cell on February 12, the new research addresses a mystery that has shrouded the sequencing of the human genome - what is the purpose of 98 per cent of our DNA?

In collaboration with two teams of researchers in the United States, WAIMR's Dr Archa Fox has pinpointed a unique role of non-coding RNA - an element included in the majority of the genome with a largely unidentified purpose.

Just as CD players, personal computers, and HDTVs were prohibitively expensive when they were first released, so too was the cost of sequencing the entire genome of an individual. In 2003 that feat was accomplished for the staggering amount of $437,000,000 after 13 years of work. Today, CD players are ubiquitous and cheap; HDTVs are steadily entering the realm of affordability; and so, too, has the cost of sequencing a genome fallen precipitously. It will still set you back $1,000,000 and two months of time, but that is a tremendous savings over just five years ago.

What´s left of the General Tso´s chicken is on the coffee table. The sauce that eluded my mouth is congealing on my T-shirt. American Idol just started. And Megan, my fiance of three days, is getting ready to swab the inside of my mouth with Q-Tips that are nearly as long as chopsticks. â€OK, open that mouth,†she says. â€Wider.†She is a doctor. I do as I´m told. â€You know, these look like little Pap-smear brushes,†she muses. My mouth snaps closed. â€C´mon, open up,†she says. I stall.