ID the Future Intelligent Design, Evolution, and Science Podcast
Topic

The Myth of Junk DNA

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MicroRNA illustration
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How Evolutionary Thinking Delayed a Nobel Prize Discovery

For decades, evolutionary biologists considered non-coding regions of DNA as evolutionary junk, a paradigm that long dissuaded researchers from studying these little-understood portions of the genome. But a series of discoveries starting in 2008 has forced a major change in thinking about so-called "junk" DNA. Many examples of function have since been identified for the non-coding regions of DNA, and more are being uncovered each year. On this ID The Future, Dr. Casey Luskin reports on a pair of American biologists who were recently awarded the Nobel Prize for their discovery of function in what was previously considered junk DNA. Read More ›
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Excavator working at the demolition of an old industrial buildin
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Jay Richards on the “Ground Clearing” Work of Jonathan Wells

Before the positive case for intelligent design can be received effectively, the case against the Darwinian evolutionary mechanism must be clearly laid out. One man who was instrumental in this initial "ground clearing operation" was biologist Dr. Jonathan Wells, our friend and colleague who passed away in 2024. On this ID The Future, host Andrew McDiarmid welcomes Dr. Jay Richards back to the podcast to share his memories of Dr. Wells and discuss the significance of Wells's life and work. Read More ›
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Casey Luskin Reflects on His Recent Junk DNA Debate

For decades we were told that non-coding regions of our DNA are littered with evolutionary junk. But in recent years, numerous discoveries have revealed that function is the rule, not the exception, in the genome. On this episode of ID The Future, Casey Luskin reflects with host Jonathan McLatchie about his recent debate over junk DNA with Rutgers University evolutionary biology professor Dr. Daniel Stern Cardinale, known as Dr. Dan online. Luskin breaks down the main points he made in his debate as well as Dr. Dan's responses. He and McLatchie conclude with a reminder of why intelligent design is a far superior approach to studying the genome than an evolutionary approach. Read More ›
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How the Myth of Junk DNA Hindered Science

On this ID The Future, host Eric Anderson and Dr. Casey Luskin unpack the myth of junk DNA and how it has hindered the progress of science. Read More ›
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Biotechnology bioinformatics concept of DNA and protein letter background, DNA and protein sequence 3d render
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Casey Luskin On Junk DNA’s ‘Kuhnian Paradigm Shift’

Prevailing scientific assumptions often die hard, especially when they fit so neatly into an evolutionary view of the development of life on earth. On this episode of ID The Future, Dr. Casey Luskin gives host Andrew McDiarmid an update on the paradigm shift around the concept of "junk DNA." Year after year for over a decade, new evidence has emerged revealing important functions for non-protein coding DNA, vindicating intelligent design scientists who have long predicted such function. Luskin summarizes the evidence and suggests a new way to look at these genomic treasures. Read More ›
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Is Darwinism a Theory in Crisis?

Today’s ID the Future spotlights The Comprehensive Guide to Science and Faith, and specifically, an essay in the new anthology by biologist Jonathan Wells, “Is Darwinism a Theory in Crisis?” As Wells and host Casey Luskin note, the essay title alludes to philosopher of science Thomas Kuhn’s influential 1962 book The Structure of Scientific Revolutions. Kuhn argued there that if one studies the history of scientific revolutions, one finds that when the scientific evidence has begun to turn against a dominant scientific paradigm—when its days are numbered— its adherents do not simply concede defeat. Instead they use all their institutional power to suppress dissent and punish proponents of any competing paradigm. This is the period of crisis, which can last Read More ›

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The Origin of the Myth of Junk DNA

This episode of ID the Future features a clip from Discovery Senior Fellow, biologist Jonathan Wells, whose new book, The Myth of Junk DNA, is out now. Where did this idea of junk DNA come from? How did it become the dominant view of science? And what’s the problem with this argument? Listen in as he explains.