So, the genome seems to be a complex system?, not a passive record keeping device as needed for the Darwinian model? Finding these other kinds of organization in genes has been long expected by some folks bye the way... simply because the y/n values of 'selection' don't have the requisite variety to distinguish between thousands of variations and circumstances and 'random variation' wouldn't produce the evident 'exploration' of niches evident in evolutionary behavior. Maybe we should consider the alternative models for evolution proposed by people who foresaw the dilemma that there has to be more structure there than the simple ideas of Darwin contemplated.
Phil Henshaw ¸¸¸¸.·´ ¯ `·.¸¸¸¸ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 680 Ft. Washington Ave NY NY 10040 tel: 212-795-4844 e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] explorations: www.synapse9.com > -----Original Message----- > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Roger Critchlow > Sent: Friday, June 15, 2007 7:22 PM > To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]; The Friday Morning Applied Complexity > Coffee Group > Subject: Re: [FRIAM] More friam followup > > > Nature 447, 799-816 - Identification and analysis of > functional elements in 1% of the human genome by the ENCODE > pilot project. > > Here are some of their highlights in their own words: > > - The human genome is pervasively transcribed, such that > the majority of its bases are associated with at least one > primary transcript and many transcripts link distal regions > to established protein-coding loci. > > - Many novel non-protein-coding transcripts have been > identified, with many of these overlapping protein-coding > loci and others located in regions of the genome previously > thought to be transcriptionally silent. > > - A total of 5% of the bases in the genome can be > confidently identified as being under evolutionary constraint > in mammals; for approximately 60% of these constrained bases, > there is evidence of function on the basis of the results of > the experimental assays performed to date. > > - Surprisingly, many functional elements are seemingly > unconstrained across mammalian evolution. This suggests the > possibility of a large pool of neutral elements that are > biochemically active but provide no specific benefit to the > organism. This pool may serve as a 'warehouse' for natural > selection, potentially acting as the source of > lineage-specific elements and functionally conserved but > non-orthologous elements between species. > > So, there is no junk DNA, there is no silent DNA, 40% of > what's being evolutionarily constrained has no known > function, some of what appeared to have a known function is > apparently free to change across all known mammal genomes. > > That's 4 of the 11 highlights. > > -- rec -- > > On 6/15/07, Carl Tollander <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > I may have mentioned this morning that this is probably important: > > http://www.scienceblog.com/cms/node/13465/print > > > > Carl > > ============================================================ > FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv > Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College > lectures, archives, unsubscribe, maps at http://www.friam.org > > ============================================================ FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College lectures, archives, unsubscribe, maps at http://www.friam.org
