Junk dna wave
Scientists have for decades debated the source of junk DNA. While acknowledging that not all non-coding DNA was junk, many couldn’t understand how a small portion could serve any useful function – a phenomenon dubbed the C-value paradox.
One solution was provided by David Begun’s group in their paper on fruit fly genome comparison. By comparing different fruit fly species genomes and finding that certain noncoding sequences shared among them, Begun posited that these may represent progenitor genes encoding protein-coding genes.
This theory attracted significant media coverage and may have had an influence on leaders of a large genome-scanning project called ENCODE. This endeavor looked at which parts of human genome were being transcribed or bound to proteins, and claimed that 80% of DNA served some biochemical purpose; creationists celebrated this finding. Yet this conclusion rested upon an inadequate argument; ENCODE didn’t demonstrate any activity was caused by junk DNA activity.
C-value paradox can also be explained by orphan genes. Orphan genes refer to stretches of DNA found within our genome but without known protein-coding functions; like Scrabble tiles that don’t spell out sentences. Over time these orphan stretches might accumulate mutations to give them meaning – for an orphaned stretch to become functional genes requires mutations to allow cells to read it and convert it to RNA; it must also have regulatory components indicating when and where its activity should occur; finally it should feature short codes to indicate when it starts and stops producing product from within cells.
Researchers have recently developed sophisticated tools for analyzing genetic data. As they’ve done so, they have begun looking more closely at orphan genes and discovered evidence suggesting they might mutate into useful ones – yet still no explanation can be offered as to why such genes exist so frequently in the first place.
Junk DNA Wave Genetics
A team of Russian scientists published results in September 2012 showing that living DNA can respond to language-modulated waves (Vibrating behavior of Junk-DNA as the major source of ultra-weak light emission, known as biophotons). They hypothesize that certain frequencies can alter DNA’s vibrational state and, ultimately, its ability to emit biophotons as well as communicate with other cells within its surroundings.
