Heller explained that when a piece of zinc and a piece of steel are joined, their electrons travel freely between the two metals. The zinc corrodes and the corrosion of the steel is stopped. When two conducting materials are in contact with each other, cathodic protection prevents one conductor, the cathode, from rusting or rotting through reaction with oxygen. According to Heller's hypothesis, the same process also protects genes, which behave as cathodes, while other parts of DNA behave as anodes. In animals, the genome is composed of chromosomes.
Genes are parts of the chromosome that encode individual protein molecules.
Heller's hypothesis proposes that part of the junk DNA plays the same sacrificial role as zinc does, giving up electrons while protecting the genes themselves. Adenine pairs with thymine and guanine pairs with cytosine forming base pairs. If true, then the presence of extended G-rich regions is a critical factor affecting key characteristics of cells, including their aging, death and the likelihood of their mutation. They undergo changes that, in the good case, result in their death. In the bad case, the oxidation results in cancer-causing mutation.