Evolutionary thought is finally catching up with what creationists have said (and been mocked by secularists for saying) for decades—“junk” DNA is not junk!
You see, in the evolutionary perspective, our genome evolved over billions of years and should be filled with leftover “junk” accumulated over these many years of mutations and natural selection. Only 2% of our genome codes for proteins, so evolutionists labeled the remainder “junk,” assuming it to be worthless “fossils” leftover from our evolutionary past. But new studies are showing that’s far from the truth—and creationists have been saying that for decades!
As Christians, we believe God created perfect genomes for each kind of creature that he made (including us). That genome has been corrupted because of the fall and the effects of living in a sin-cursed world, but even in a broken world, we expect to see hallmarks of God’s incredible design in the complexity of DNA—and we certainly don’t expect 98% to be junk.
Well, a new study confirms that much of that 98% is indeed useful. Rather than coding for proteins, some of these transposable elements (TEs) “act like ‘genetic switches,’ controlling the activity of nearby genes in specific cell types.” In other words, this is yet another layer of complexity in DNA! And yet the study authors still give credit to evolution for this complexity.
The study offers a model for understanding how “junk” DNA can evolve into regulatory elements with important biological roles. By tracing the evolution of these sequences and directly testing their function, the researchers have demonstrated how ancient viral DNA has been co-opted into shaping gene activity in primates.
It’s important to note that, while the study assumed evolution, it did not demonstrate “how ancient viral DNA has been co-opted” to be useful. What the researchers demonstrated using observational science was that this “junk” DNA is actually useful. The idea that it came from ancient viruses or was somehow co-opted into something useful by the organism is their belief about the past being applied to the evidence (historical science).
Yes, God’s creation is incredible, and science continues to confirm exactly what we expect starting with God’s Word.
