In response to Jumpin’ Genes!: A quarter of cow DNA came from reptiles, our physics color commentator writes,
This whole business of parasites transmitting retrotransposons from reptiles to cows is just so zoo-centric. What about plants? What about viruses? Don’t they get to originate DNA too? When are they going to admit that this whole business of descent-with-modification really disrespects half the tree of life? Zoo-racist, that’s what they are.
Most human beings must confess to a lack of genuine empathy with bugs, worms, and germs.
Seriously, although no one talks about it much, these types of finds can’t be good news for the End of Science rent-a-riot (Darwin-in-the-schools lobby).
See also: Jumpin’ Genes!: A quarter of cow DNA came from reptiles? Maybe via parasites. If jumping genes can be this prevalent, evolution is about to become way more complex than the storied Tree of Life hammered into kids at school.
No coherent “narrative” for transposable elements (jumping genes)?
Jumping genes make the tree of life a bush
and
Life continues to ignore what evolution experts say