[Avodah] Junk DNA

[Liron Kopinsky]

On Fri, Sep 21, 2012 at 11:16 PM, Lisa Liel <lisa at starways.net> wrote:
>
>
> Our DNA has a tremendous amount of information that we understand to be
> "junk DNA".  We don't know what it does.  We don't know if it once did
> something and no longer does.  We don't know if it's done multiple things
> throughout history.  It's a gaping hole in our knowledge.  To draw
> conclusions of this sort about our DNA when we still know so little about
> so much of it is irresponsible.  Junk science to match the junk DNA.


See
http://www.chiefrabbi.org/2012/09/14/thought-for-the-day-what-today-you-dismiss-as-98-per-cent-junk-might-tomorrow-turn-out-to-be-vitally-necessary-to-life-after-all/and
http://healthland.time.com/2012/09/06/junk-dna-not-so-useless-after-all/

>From Chief Rabbi Sachs:
"Twelve years ago scientists decoded the human genome. Many people at the
time used Rosh Hashanah language. They said, we’ve learned how to read “the
book of life.” But there was one astonishing finding. Only 2 per cent of
the genome seemed to do anything. Only 2 per cent coded for proteins which
is what DNA is supposed to do. The other ninety eight per cent seemed
useless. It was given a name. Junk DNA.

Well it’s just emerged that it isn’t junk after all. After one of the
biggest ever scientific experiments, involving 1,600 experiments, 450
scientists and thirty two different institutions, we now know that not only
is it not junk. It’s absolutely crucial for life."
-- 
Liron Kopinsky
liron.kopinsky at gmail.com
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