molecular clocks

[Tom Schneider]

In article <9109061925.AA18508 at bambi.ccs.fau.edu> tomh at BAMBI.CCS.FAU.EDU (Tom Holroyd)
writes:
>>From: donnel at helix.nih.gov (Donald A. Lehn)
>>However all mutations are not created equal.  The vast majority of
>>mutations in mammals are in regions of 'junk' DNA and are silent.

>I bet if I removed all your 'junk' DNA, you'd die horribly of 50
>different things, all at the same time.  How do we know if a DNA
>region is junk?  It might be simply structural, and the length is
>more important than the codons..  There could be regulatory mechanisms
>we know nothing about.  True, though, some mutations will have less
>effect than others.

BRAVO!!  'Junk' DNA is merely a way of saying "I don't know what this means, so
I'll sweep it under the rug!" - it's a presumptious expression of ignorance,
souped up to look smart.  We should trash the term, agreed Donald?

  Tom Schneider
  National Cancer Institute
  Laboratory of Mathematical Biology
  Frederick, Maryland  21702-1201
  toms at ncifcrf.gov