It is now known that the human genome has around 20,000 genes. These genes only count for 1.2 percent of the total genome. Is the other l98.8 percent trash? The 98.8 percent of genes is known as noncoding DNA. T. Ryan Gregory from the University of Ontario beleives, that some noncoding DNA is important, but most is just "junk." Recent studies have shown that noncoding DNA is extremely important to our survival. Many of the "junk genes" code for molecules that help guide or development from fertilized egg to healthy adulthood. If these noncoding DNA pieces were damaged they can have large scale effects such as cancer.
Francis Collins, the director of the National Institutes of Health, made a comment that revealed just how far the consensus has moved. At a health care conference in San Francisco, an audience member asked him about junk DNA. “We don’t use that term anymore,” Collins replied. “It was pretty much a case of hubris to imagine that we could dispense with any part of the genome — as if we knew enough to say it wasn’t functional.” Most of the DNA that scientists once thought was just taking up space in the genome, Collins said, “turns out to be doing stuff.”
I found it interesting to read that their are some who still believe in Junk DNA. Research has proven that noncoding DNA is important even though we may not full understand it.
http://www.uoguelph.ca/ib/people/faculty/gregory.shtm
I remember when I was in high school, the phrase "junk DNA" was thrown around in biology classes like nothing. It is interesting to find that what we once thought was "junk" is not junk anymore--it is actually useful. Referring to non-coding DNA, I believe many people pick up the phrase "junk" when reading old textbooks or by being taught by professors that still teach biology that way. New findings, especially in biology, are always being made, so it is extremely important to keep up with the latest news and research. Like you said, although we may not fully understand non-coding DNA and how it specifically works, it is important for others to understand that it is indeed relevant.
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