DNA Junk or DNA Treasure?

By Hugh Ross, Ph.D.

Perhaps you have read or heard of the term, "junk DNA." It has come up frequently in my conversations with research biologists and computer scientists. If the term is new to you, let me explain. In plant and animal cells, only a small percentage (in humans, about 3 percent) of the DNA carries the code for making proteins. The rest has been called junk and has been used to argue for the non-design, or random assembly, of life.

The latest word, however, from studies using computer analysis, shows that "junk DNA" carries the complex patterns of comunication found in human speech.[1] This indication that junk DNA carries a message or messages appears beyond dispute. What is now under investigation is the content and the purpose(s) of the messages(s). Suggestions range from communication of cell functions to transmission of genetic repair procedures to facilitation of life protection features. All this, of course, adds up to still more evidence for design in the microstructure of life.


References

1. R.N. Mantegna, S.V. Buldyrev, A.L. Goldberger, S. Havlin, C.K. Peng, M. Simons, M. and H.E. Stanley, "Linguistic Features of Noncoding DNA Sequences," Physical Review Letters, 73 (1994), pp. 3169-3172.


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