Only 8.2 % of human DNA is functional

[Plazma Inferno!]

According to a group of genetic scientists led by Dr Gerton Lunter of the University of Oxford’s Wellcome Trust Centre for Human Genetics, only 8.2 percent of human genome is likely to be doing something important.
This figure is very different from one given in 2012 by researchers from the Encyclopedia of DNA Elements (ENCODE) project, who stated that about 80 percent of human DNA has some biochemical function.
That claim has been controversial, with researchers arguing that the biochemical definition of function was too broad – that just because an activity on DNA occurs, it does not necessarily have a consequence; for functionality you need to demonstrate that an activity matters.

http://www.sci-news.com/genetics/science-only-8-2-human-dna-functional-02083.html

Paper: http://journals.plos.org/plosgenetics/article?id=10.1371/journal.pgen.1004525

 

[Ophiolite]

I am sure in some forum members it is a lot less than that!

 

[exchemist]

I am sure in some forum members it is a lot less than that!

Arf, arf.

 

[pluto2]

I don't agree with their conclusion that only 8.2% of human DNA is functional.

I think they are completely wrong because of two reasons:

1. DNA is not the only type of molecule in the human body. There is also RNA, nucleotides, amino acids, proteins, certain types of neurotransmitters, carbohydrates and lipids.

2. There are actually 70 to the power of 27 atoms in the human body in a 70 kg person. That is 7 followed by 27 zeroes. It's an astronomical number of atoms.

I think it could be quite possible that every atom in the human body has a certain function.

 

[iceaura]

From a couple rows down the page: http://www.sciforums.com/threads/theres-a-second-layer-of-information-hidden-in-our-dna.156679/

Let's say I'm not sure what "important" means in that context.

And this is problematic:

They identified how much of our genome has avoided accumulating changes over 100 million years of mammalian evolution – a clear indication that this DNA matters, it has some important function that needs to be retained.

They are deriving necessity from shaky assumptions. Sufficient, would be the more prudent conclusion. They have discovered that 8.2% of the human genome is critical just as it is. Their conclusions about the rest are less well established.