Quote:
Originally Posted by Glenzig
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“Consider the term "junk DNA."
Or consider vestigial organs that later are found to have a function after all. Evolutionary biology texts often cite the human coccyx as a "vestigial structure" that hearkens back to vertebrate ancestors with tails. Yet if one looks at a recent edition of Gray’s Anatomy, one finds that the coccyx is a crucial point of contact with muscles that attach to the pelvic floor. The phrase "vestigial structure" often merely cloaks our current lack of knowledge about function. The human appendix, formerly thought to be vestigial, is now known to be a functioning component of the immune system.
William A. Dembski
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“Consider the term "junk DNA."
Dont have to. It was a slightly throwaway phrase to describe very interesting phenomena that were discovered in the 1970s. You do realize genetics is a relatively new field, right? Our knowledge isnt static. Scientists now know a good percentage of this "junk DNA" is used in regulation.
http://www.scientificamerican.com/ar...s-in-junk-dna/
From the article above:
"Should we be retiring the phrase “junk DNA” now?
Yes, I really think this phrase does need to be totally expunged from the lexicon."
"Or consider vestigial organs that later are found to have a function after all. "
"A vestige is defined, independently of evolutionary theory, as a reduced and rudimentary structure compared to the same complex structure in other organisms. Vestigial characters, if functional, perform relatively simple, minor, or inessential functions using structures that were clearly designed for other complex purposes. Though many vestigial organs have no function, complete non-functionality is not a requirement for vestigiality." -
http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/comdesc/section2.html