Junk DNA: goodbye!: An RNA controls chromosome number (Introduction)

by dhw, Wednesday, December 30, 2015, 20:08 (3251 days ago) @ David Turell

dhw:I think you have missed my point. No matter what discoveries are made about so-called junk, both sides will use them to ”prove” their point. From a materialist atheist standpoint, natural selection would have everything to do with it, because if junk is NOT junk, it can be claimed that natural selection ensures the disappearance of whatever is not needed.-DAVID: You are still incorrect. 99% of species are gone. Junk represents previous useful DNA bases used by those lost organisms, thus proving evolution. Natural selection kills off organisms, which leave the junk behind. Now it turns out about 80% of DNA has some function, which puts this evidence for evolution in some doubt.-You're quite right, I should have put it the other way round. Natural selection ensures the survival of what is useful. But if useful material is passed onto subsequent organisms, how does that cast doubt on evolution? (I am not trying to defend the atheist line - I am merely pointing out that both sides can twist any discovery to fit in with their hypotheses.)