Junk DNA, Junky PR
September 17th, 2012 |
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A week ago, a huge, painstakingly orchestrated PR campaign was timed to coincide with multiple publications of a long-term study by the ENCODE consortium in top-ranking journals. The ENCODE project (EP) is essentially the next stage after the Human Genome Project (HGP). The HGP sequenced all our DNA (actually a mixture of individual genomes); the [...]
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ENCODE, Apple Maps and function: Why definitions matter
February 21st, 2013 |
10
Remember that news-making ENCODE study with its claims that “80% of the genome is functional”? Remember how those claims were the starting point for a public relations disaster which pronounced (for the umpteenth time) the “death of junk DNA”? Even mainstream journalists bought into this misleading claim. I wrote a post on ENCODE where I [...]
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Three reasons why junk DNA makes evolutionary sense
September 13th, 2012 |
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The recent dustup over the ENCODE project and its confusing finding that “80% of DNA is functional” surprises me greatly. What surprises me especially is that people are surprised by junk DNA. Unfortunately this time the scientists are also culpable since, while the publicity surrounding ENCODE has been a media disaster, the 80% claim originated [...]
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