Junk DNA
"Junk DNA" was a term used by atheistic scientists who insist that man has evolved, and thus has lots of DNA that was useful as a lower species but is no longer useful now. The term "junk DNA" referred to an intron or non-coding section of DNA.
In fact, the evolutionists were proven wrong yet again: there is no known "junk DNA." Function(s) of introns are slowly being elucidated.
Evolutionism vs. Science
Starting from his evolutionary world-view, biologist Dawkins expressed his following beliefs about the "junk DNA" in his book Devil's Chaplain:[1]
Genomes are littered with nonfunctional pseudogenes, faulty duplicates of functional genes that do nothing, while their functional cousins (the word doesn't even need scare quotes) get on with their business in a different part of the same genome. And there's lots more DNA that doesn't even deserve the name pseudogene. It, too, is derived by duplication, but not duplication of functional genes. It consists of multiple copies of junk, "tandem repeats", and other nonsense which may be useful for forensic detectives but which doesn't seem to be used in the body itself. Once again, creationists might spend some earnest time speculating on why the Creator should bother to litter genomes with untranslated pseudogenes and junk tandem repeat DNA.
Yet, there have been new discoveries made arguing that "mysterious" tightly packed section of the vast, non-coding sections of genomes, widely dismissed by geneticists as "junk," and previously thought by scientists to have no discernable function at all, may actually offer various functions.[2] For example, thanks to a novel sequencing technique developed by biologists at Texas A&M University, "nothing more than biological trash" in the human genome may offer a treasure trove of insight into complex genetic-related diseases such as cancer and diabetes.[3]
Biologist Jonathan Wells calls Junk DNA an anti-scientific myth that ignores the evidence, impedes research and is based more on theological speculation than good science.[4]
References
- ↑ Richard Dawkins (2004 (reprint)). A Devil's Chaplain: Reflections on Hope, Lies, Science, and Love. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
- ↑ Casey Luskin (April 25, 2011). Et tu, Pseudogenes? Another Type of "Junk" DNA Betrays Darwinian Predictions. Retrieved on December 11, 2014.
- ↑ The Treasure Hunt Continues: More Uses for Non-Coding DNA (October 17, 2014). Retrieved on December 11, 2014.
- ↑ Jonathan Wells (2011). The Myth of Junk DNA. Discovery Institute Press. ISBN 978-1-9365990-0-4.
