Genes make up a measly 2% of the human genome, the other bits consist of a material called noncoding DNA, which has puzzled many scientists over many years. This study offers a new insight, that a large majority of noncoding DNA may not actually be required for complex life. This study was done on the genome of the carnivorous bladderwort plant. The researchers report they found it's DNA to be 97% genes, with only 3% of the junk DNA. The Bladderwort has been deleting noncoding DNA from its genome over many generations, and yet it is still a complex organism. It lives in freshwater wetlands, and has developed a complex hunting method. To capture it's prey, it pumps water from tiny chambers turning each into a vacuum that sucks in and traps unsuspecting critters. The genome only has 80 million base pairs, compared to a tomato's 780 million, and yet they have a similar number of genes.
Nature of Science themes
Science is based on evidence
Science is subject to debate and tentative
Role of credibility
role of chance
http://current.biologyguild.com/carnivorous-plant-throws-out-junk-dna/Nic McKenney - Hour 1
This was a really interesting article to read. One thing that I was wondering about the article was how scientists know that the bladderwort plant has been deleting its noncoding sections of DNA and that the bladderwort plant did not just start out with 3% of its DNA being noncoding sections. I was not able to find the answer to this question but I found another link to an interesting article about the bladderwort plant, http://singularityhub.com/2013/05/30/bladderwort-study-adds-to-the-debate-on-junk-dna/
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