This is the second installment in the quotes of interest series that focuses in particular on research and discussions from the 1980s, when noncoding DNA supposedly was ignored as irrelevant. The important message being offered is that there was plenty of research into possible functions or lack thereof in noncoding sequences of all types, [...]

The term “pseudogene” was coined by Jacq and colleagues in 1977. The standard tale of biologists dogmatically ignoring possible functions of noncoding DNA would have it that such a sequence automatically would be dismissed as “junk” when discovered, especially since the notion of a degraded and now non-coding former gene matches Ohno’s concept of [...]

The story we have been told by creationists and neo-Panglossian scientists is that most if not all noncoding DNA is functional and that this fact has been obscured by long neglect in the scientific community of the potential importance of noncoding elements. In particular, the “junk DNA” and “selfish DNA” ideas put forth in [...]

I have started a series listing quotes from papers published during the supposed period of neglect of noncoding DNA that, we are told repeatedly by authors of various persuasions, was inspired by the “junk DNA” and “selfish DNA” ideas. For this installment, I want to quote at length from one article which represents a [...]

I previously posted a few quotes from the original authors of the “junk DNA” and “selfish DNA” hypotheses. These showed that the early discussions of these notions did not rule out possible functions for noncoding DNA. Nevertheless, creationists, many science writers, and far too many biologists insist on claiming that noncoding DNA was long [...]