A new model developed at Tel Aviv University offers a possible solution to the scientific question of why neutral sequences, sometimes referred to as “junk DNA,” are not eliminated from the genome of living creatures in nature and continue to exist within it even millions of years later.
According to the researchers, the explanation is that junk DNA is often located in the vicinity of functional DNA. Deletion events around the borders between junk and functional DNA are likely to damage the functional regions and so evolution rejects them. The model contributes to the understanding of the huge variety of genome sizes observed in nature. – Tel-Aviv University, February 22, 2023
“and so evolution rejects them”? … So evolution has foresight? This could be an allegorical statue, featuring Evolution rejecting Junk DNA…
In any event, seriously, there are tons of science news stories out there about “junk DNA” that turned out to be functional. There are 252 stories on the topic here at Uncommon Descent alone.
Maybe we don’t need a new theory about how evolution acts like an intelligent person so much as a new approach to the whole topic.
The paper is open access.