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GIANT GENETIC TOOLBOX. "The concept of the ladder may comfort some, especially since it justifies assigning humans to the pinnacle of perfection. Natural selection does not work that way. Rather, nature uses what is available (i.e., in genomic diversity), keeps what works, and discards the rest; actually, the genetic material is not discarded, but is turned off -- most of the human genome comprises unused sequences that are a legacy of evolution." https://lnkd.in/dfRbEgj View in LinkedIn

DOMESTICATED VIRAL FOSSILS. "In some cases, transposable elements have been “domesticated” by the host to perform a specific function in the cell." https://lnkd.in/eKngvkU View in LinkedIn

A fantastic game-changer in the Barcelona life science scene. View in LinkedIn

JUMPING GENES, or "TEs are found in most life forms, and the scientific community is still exploring their evolution and their effect on genome evolution. It is unclear whether TEs originated in the last universal common ancestor, arose independently multiple times, or arose once and then spread to other kingdoms by horizontal gene transfer. While some TEs confer benefits on their hosts, most are regarded as selfish DNA parasites. In this way, they are similar to viruses. Various viruses and TEs also share features in their genome structures and biochemical abilities, leading to speculation that they share a common ancestor." https://lnkd.in/eD65ESw View in LinkedIn

THE COPIOUSLY BRANCHING BUSH. "Life is a copiously branching bush, continually pruned by the grim reaper of extinction, not a ladder of predictable progress." (Stephen J Gould). A brilliant summary that has endured. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/March_of_Progress View in LinkedIn

TRANSPOSABLE ELEMENTS (TEs) "have been identified in all organisms, prokaryotic and eukaryotic, and can occupy a high proportion of a species’ genome. For example, transposable elements comprise approximately 10% of several fish species, 12 % of the C. elegans genome, 37% of the mouse genome, 45% of the human genome, and up to >80% of the genome of some plants like maize. From bacteria to humans, transposable elements have accumulated over time and continue to shape genomes through their mobilization." https://lnkd.in/eKngvkU View in LinkedIn

NO PERFECTION. "No organism has to be perfect. For example, many taxa (like some mosses, protists, fungi, sharks, opossums, and crayfish) have changed little over great expanses of time. They are not marching up a ladder of progress. Rather, they are fit enough to survive and reproduce, and that is all that is necessary to ensure their existence." https://lnkd.in/djzVhcc View in LinkedIn

FUNCTIONAL JUNK. "Scientists now believe that TEs make up more than 40% of the human genome. It is also widely believed that TEs might carry out some biological function, most likely a regulatory one." (TE = transposable elements). https://lnkd.in/CCzK4Q View in LinkedIn

GENETIC PARASITES. "Repeated DNA makes up a large fraction of a typical mammalian genome, and some repetitive elements are able to move within the genome (transposons and retrotransposons). DNA transposons move from one genomic location to another by a cut-and-paste mechanism." https://lnkd.in/eKngvkU View in LinkedIn

JUNK DNA WAS FOREIGN MATERIAL. "A large fraction of the human genome is composed of interspersed repetitive sequences that by and large represent inactivated copies (fossils) of transposable elements." https://lnkd.in/efudabf View in LinkedIn