PALO ALTO, Calif., Nov. 4 (UPI) -- Most human DNA in our genome has no apparent function and could be just leftover evolutionary junk, a U.S. researcher says.
Arend Sidow of Stanford University says a new study comparing the human genetic blueprints to those of other mammals suggests very little of the human genome is really necessary, ScienceNews.org reported Thursday.
About 7 percent of the human genome is similar to the DNA of other mammals, Sidow says, and because it is similar, or "conserved," geneticists assume this DNA is the most important.
Sidow says these parts of the genome make up only 225 million of the 3 billion chemical letters of DNA found in the complete human genome.
Most scientists believe that if certain pieces of DNA are retained throughout evolution, they must be important. Things that aren't conserved by evolution are less likely to be required for basic functions. "I think the rule is that important stuff stays," Sidow says.
Only about 6 percent of the total genome is found in DNA regions that may play a role in regulating how proteins are made, he says.
