Prevailing scientific assumptions often die hard, especially when they fit so neatly into an evolutionary view of the development of life on Earth. On a classic episode of ID the Future, Dr. Casey Luskin gives me the scoop on one of the biggest mistakes in science of our lifetime: the concept of “junk DNA.” Even if you’ve already heard this episode, listen again, and then share it with a friend! The myth of junk DNA is a major example of why a Darwinian paradigm can slow the progress of science, while a design perspective can open up new avenues for research and discovery.

In this update, Luskin explains that intelligent design theorists have long argued against the idea that non-protein coding DNA is useless evolutionary junk, instead predicting that it serves important biological functions. Year after year for decades, new evidence has emerged revealing such functions and vindicating ID scientists. Luskin summarizes several recent papers that have found specific functions for non-coding DNA, such as regulating gene expression, controlling development, and influencing epigenetic processes. He then reports on the latest new evidence: the function of short tandem repeats (STRs), previously considered “junk DNA.” Luskin also discusses the work of molecular biologist John Mattick, who has written recently about the shift in thinking about “junk DNA.” Luskin suggests a new way of looking at non-protein coding regions of DNA and concludes that, far from junk, these “highly compact information suites” are essential and serve a variety of important functions in the genome.

Dig Deeper

Read Dr. Luskin’s coverage of “junk DNA” at Evolution News:

• “Newly Published Paper in BioEssays Recognizes Kuhnian ‘Paradigm Shift’ Against Junk DNA“
• “Former ‘Junk DNA’ STRs Found to Be ‘Rheostats’ that ‘Precisely Regulate Gene Expression’”
• More articles on “junk DNA”

Watch the latest episode of Long Story Short: The Myth of Junk DNA: