Page 169 - The Errors the American National Academy of Sciences

The NAS's Error in Portraying Molecular Biology as
Evidence of Evolution
propriate temporo-spatial conditions to detect expression. 32
E. Zuckerkandl, G. Latter, and J. Jurka criticize the way in which

the claim that pseudogenes have no function is treated as an estab-
lished fact,
DNA not known to be coding for proteins or functional RNAs, espe-
cially pseudogenes, are now at times referred to in publications sim-
ply as nonfunctional DNA, as though their nonfunctionality were
an established fact. 33
In fact, one of the best-known pseudogene groups, Alu, had al-

ways been regarded as functionless and was only recently proved to
34
serve a purpose after all. It is also thought that some pseudogenes
35
and RNA have a mutual effect on one another. Some pseudogenes, it
is believed, also have a function as sources of information for forming
genetic variety. 36
It is thought that some parts of pseudogene sequences are copied
to functional genes and produce various forms of the functional se-
quence. This has been reported several times. Examples include the
38
immunoglobins of mice 37 and birds ,
mouse histone genes, 39 horse globin
40
genes, and human beta globin genes. 41
Some pseudogenes have been ob-
served to be linked to gene regulation. 42
Arole of this kind may include competi-
tion for regulatory proteins, the produc-
tion of signal RNA molecules and other

mechanisms. 43
All these examples are sufficient to
undermine the claim that there are
"pseudogenes" in living things. A great
deal of evidence has now been accumu-

167