For some time, I have wanted a new term for the broad category of DNA otherwise commonly referred to as “junk DNA”, i.e., everything other than genes and gene regulatory elements. “Non-coding DNA” is about the best option I have seen, in that it refers to DNA that does not encode a protein relevant [...]
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The discussion about my usage of the term “professional scientist” has raised a lot of objections. Mostly I think these have been emotional, and in fact it’s pretty clear what is happening. People are using equivocation to take advantage of the different narrow vs. broad definitions of “professional” and “scientist”. The narrow definitions [...] The discussion about the definition of “professional scientist” has been interesting, with a range of opinions shown. But this raises the question — what criteria make someone a “scientist”, or even a “professional scientist” if such a distinction is necessary? Here are the criteria I threw out off-handedly for the purpose of discussing the [...] Sometimes it is helpful to have a catchy word to describe one’s type of research. I think that’s why “omics” words are so popular — they encapsulate a complex combination of approaches (usually something + genomics, or something-more-than-genomics) in a memorable way that immediately conveys the gist of the field. “Metagenomics” is a good [...] Ok, here are two terms that are sometimes used interchangeably, sometimes not, and when they’re not, they are used in various ways. Parallel evolution Convergent evolution For this installment of Talkin’ Terminology, do you consider these to be the same, or how do you differentiate them? Wilhelm Johannsen, who coined such terms as “gene”, “genotype”, and “phenotype”, noted in 1911 that, It is a well-established fact that language is not only our servant, when we wish to express – or even to conceal – our thoughts, but that it may also be our master, overpowering us by means of the [...] As I and others have noted many times, facts, theories, and hypotheses are independent elements in the scientific process. Contrary to their vernacular meanings, they are not ranks indicating differential degrees of certainty in some claim. Evolution is scientific fact, meaning that the numerous types of evidence point so overwhelmingly to shared ancestry that [...] Larry Moran and PZ have both picked up on the term “DAP“. There have already been several more examples identified outside the realm of genomics in their comments threads. As such, I think that “DAP” can be given the following broadened definition: Dog’s Ass Plot (DAP, or Dapper): A graphical representation of data in [...] The word logodaedaly means “a capricious coinage of words”. It was coined by Plato in the 4th century BC (as “wordsmith”) and picked up by Ben Johnson in 1611 in its current English usage. That’s right, someone coined a term for the process of coining terms. Sometimes new terms are very useful. Every profession [...] It is commonly suggested by anti-evolutionists that recent discoveries of function in non-coding DNA support intelligent design and refute “Darwinism”. This misrepresents both the history and the science of this issue. I would like to provide some clarification of both aspects. When people began estimating genome sizes (amounts of DNA per genome) in the [...] |
T. Ryan Gregory 
I am an evolutionary biologist specializing in genome size evolution at the University of Guelph in Canada.
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