junk DNA
noun
: a region of DNA that usually consists of a repeating DNA sequence, does not code for protein, and has no known function
Examples of junk DNA in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
What made us? Aside from examining the explosion of junk DNA, the researchers also spent some time looking into the thin fins found in the African and South American species.
—
John Timmer, Ars Technica, 14 Aug. 2024
Now, scientists have traced our tail loss to a short sequence of genetic code that is abundant in our genome but had been dismissed for decades as junk DNA, a sequence that seemingly serves no biological purpose.
—Mindy Weisberger, CNN, 23 Mar. 2024
He was taught to call it junk DNA.
—Quanta Magazine, 2 Nov. 2020
Questions and much debate remain around junk DNA.
—Daniel Bastardo Blanco, Discover Magazine, 13 Aug. 2019
Transposons are indeed junk DNA, says Ting Wang, a genomic scientist who studies transposons at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.
—Douglas Fox, Scientific American, 1 Feb. 2022
At the time, glial cells were considered the brain’s equivalent of junk DNA, and most neuroanatomists were not interested in them.
—Isaac Chotiner, The New Yorker, 12 Aug. 2021
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
John Timmer, Ars Technica, 14 Aug. 2024
Now, scientists have traced our tail loss to a short sequence of genetic code that is abundant in our genome but had been dismissed for decades as junk DNA, a sequence that seemingly serves no biological purpose.
—Mindy Weisberger, CNN, 23 Mar. 2024
He was taught to call it junk DNA.
—Quanta Magazine, 2 Nov. 2020
Questions and much debate remain around junk DNA.
—Daniel Bastardo Blanco, Discover Magazine, 13 Aug. 2019
Transposons are indeed junk DNA, says Ting Wang, a genomic scientist who studies transposons at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.
—Douglas Fox, Scientific American, 1 Feb. 2022
At the time, glial cells were considered the brain’s equivalent of junk DNA, and most neuroanatomists were not interested in them.
—Isaac Chotiner, The New Yorker, 12 Aug. 2021
Dictionary Entries Near junk DNA
Cite this Entry
“Junk DNA.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/junk%20DNA. Accessed 22 Dec. 2024.
Copy CitationMedical Definition
junk DNA
noun
: a region of DNA (as spacer DNA) that usually consists of a repeating DNA sequence, does not code for protein, and has no known function
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share