It all looked like junk

June 15, 2007 on 12:11 am | In Arts, In the news |

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.)
HE/SHE

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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  1. 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.

    Comment by Dreah — June 15, 2007 #

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