June 15th, 2007
Junk, they called it. Junk DNA. Now that scientists are taking a fresh look, it seems like that may not be the case. That “junk” may be the OS that runs the programs we call genes. (And at 97% of our genetic material, it makes Vista look positively parsimonious.)
It also makes the wonderful sculpture of Tim Noble and Sue Webster look improbably prophetic. They construct perfect human forms from complex and random-seeming collections of junk found on London streets. It’s only when you look at it the right way that it starts to make sense.
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June 15th, 2007 at 6:25 am
I haven’t heard the latest theories about genetic junk, but a previous explanation that made sense to me was that the junk helped limit the effects of mutations. If 97% of your genes don’t do anything, then a random mutation most likely won’t have any effect at all.