DNA is the genetic code that provides the biological instructions for every living species, but not every bit of DNA helps the species survive. Some pieces of DNA are more like parasites, along for the ...

A new study proves that a type of genetic element called 'introners' are the mechanism by which many introns spread within and between species, also providing evidence of eight instances in which introners have transferred between unrelated species in a process called 'horizontal gene transfer,' the first proven examples of this phenomenon.