“The whole Earth?” big-eyed Bobby squeaks.

“Yes,” Miss Johnson replies, “The whole Earth.” Thus, a Sunday school teacher often settles the question of whether the Genesis Flood was global or regional.

But the question persists. In fact, it continues to arouse great passions within the Christian community. Both biblical inerrancy and scientific credibility are at stake. A quick reading of the English text of Genesis 6-9 gives readers—at least since the time of world exploration—the impression of a global event. However, scientific evidence to the contrary seems clear and compelling. This evidence includes the lack of sufficient quantities of water and the ark’s inadequacy to hold every land-dwelling species on Earth. This dilemma produces a painful tension for those who take both Scripture and science seriously.

Following rigorous rules of biblical exegesis (discovering the original intent of text), a thoughtful reader finds that a global flood interpretation is neither as obvious nor as consistent as a superficial reading may suggest. Given a commitment to the veracity of both the Genesis text and the scientific record, a plausible scenario begins to emerge. The case for a regional flood can be divided into four general categories: theological, textual, anthropological, and geological.

A Theological Perspective

Given that Genesis 6-9 tells the story of God’s act of judgment against wholesale reprobation and spiritual ruin, scriptural integrity hinges primarily on whether the Flood killed all humanity except for the family of the one man who feared God. In other words, the key theological point is whether or not the Flood was universal in its effect, regardless of its physical extent. The original Hebrew text supports a universal flood impact and allows for a regional locus when viewed in context.

Throughout the Old Testament, God’s judgment against sin is shown to be limited by the impact and extent of human wickedness. Usually it falls upon the sinners themselves, their children for several generations, birds and mammals used in their agricultural pursuits, their material possessions, and in extreme cases, their agricultural lands. If human life had not yet spread beyond Mesopotamia, God would have no reason to destroy those distant regions and the animal life there.

Textual Considerations

Genesis 8:9 records that the dove sent out by Noah could find no place to set her feet “because there was water over all the surface of the earth.” Yet four verses prior, in Genesis 8:5, the text says that the flood waters had receded enough so that for Noah the “tops of the mountains became visible.” Correct interpretation here depends on establishing the dove’s frame of reference. Likewise, the phrase “under the entire heavens” in Genesis 7:19 must be interpreted from Noah’s perspective in Mesopotamia, not from a modern global perspective.

Several examples from other passages of Scripture demonstrate this need for careful interpretation. In 1 Kings 10:24, the reader learns that “the whole world [emphasis added] sought audience with Solomon.” Did every tribe from the Americas and the Far East send representatives? Few, if any, would make such an assumption. The most distant visitor mentioned in the biblical text is the queen of Sheba, a region near current Ethiopia (1 Kings 10:1-13). Romans 1:8 describes the faith of the Romans being reported “all over the world,” but most readers understand Paul to mean Rome’s world—“throughout the Roman Empire”—not every region of the planet.

Further help in interpreting the Flood text comes from Psalm 104. Verses 5-9 describe the recently formed Earth, a period before creation of advanced life, when oceans completely covered the globe. As the continents arose, the water collected in the ocean basins. The events described in these verses perfectly align with known geologic facts and the formation of the first land masses on creation day three (Genesis 1:9-10). The Psalm then goes on to clearly state that water would never again completely cover the planet.

An Anthropological Perspective

Treacherous mountains to the north and east, and inhospitable deserts to the south and west made the well-watered Mesopotamian Plain a difficult place for early humans to leave. Virtually all world history texts designate this area as the “cradle of civilization.”

The most repeated command of God to humanity in Genesis 1-9 is to multiply and fill the earth (Genesis 1:26, 28; 9:1; and 9:7). God’s repeated insistence is indicative of man’s consistent rebellion. People apparently resisted God’s command to fill the earth so strongly that God directly intervened at Babel (Genesis 11:9) to scatter them. As further evidence for man’s failure to expand beyond the Mesopotamian region, all people mentioned in Genesis 1-9 lived in that locale.[1] And it is a large area. Today more than 20 million people live in the modern country of Iraq, which encompasses most of the Mesopotamian Plain.[2]

A Geophysical Perspective

A regional flood interpretation fits the scientific facts about the quantity of water available in Earth’s crust and atmosphere. Genesis 7:11-12 indicates that the floodwaters came from Earth’s aquifers and atmosphere and eventually (according to Gen. 8:1-5), returned to those places. Physical scientists can calculate that Earth contains only 22% of the water required to cover every mountain on the planet.

Some interpreters have postulated radical geologic changes over the entire Earth during the Genesis flood year as a way to reduce the required quantity of water. However, such monumental rates of plate tectonics and erosion defy all geologic evidence collected over the last 200 years. Additionally, the ark could never have withstood the catastrophic forces generated.

The geologic history of Earth is well understood based upon observable tectonic processes, constantly improving radiometric dating techniques, and thousands of deep core samples taken over the entire globe.[3] Geology research findings do not support a global flood interpretation. On the other hand, a regional flood interpretation can be tested and verified.

Even a localized flood of the magnitude demanded by the text and by theological considerations depends on God’s direct action. Atmospheric and geologic processes sufficient to bring about the convergence of vast quantities of water at one place, at one time, defy explanation as “coincidental” random occurrences. Although God’s intervention is difficult to prove scientifically, certain factors can be tested to show the plausibility of such an interpretation.[4]

One factor is the geography of the Mesopotamian region. More specifically, the region’s topography combined with the Flood’s extreme meteorological conditions could support the containment of the floodwaters for several months. These floodwaters would have been deep enough to destroy all humanity and associated animals except those on the ark.

Topographers can use digital elevation data to make a shaded relief map (figure 1). Although subjectively appealing, this type of map offers limited help in analysis and measurement.

Figure Shaded Relief Map of the Middle East[5]

A more effective way to analyze topography is to create an elevation layer tint to depict bands of elevation. Using a computer and geographic information system (GIS) software, the band/elevation combinations can be adjusted to make the desired information stand out visually. The widths of the bands also provide a general indication of slope. Elevation layer tints of the Middle East region have been made in the past, but typically from data with elevation posts at only one-kilometer intervals. Although general topography can be seen with one-kilometer data, subtle details in the terrain cannot be discerned (figure 2).

Figure 2 Elevation Layer Tint of the Middle East from 1-Kilometer Data [6]

An elevation layer tint of the Mesopotamian region from 100-meter data (figure 3) created from digital elevation data with an elevation post every 3 arc seconds (~100 meters) yields significant detail.[7] The preparation of the layer tint presented here required importing 204 one-degree cells of data into ArcView GIS software. The next step was to merge the cells into one huge gridded data set covering 892,000 square miles. The data in each cell were then normalized into seven colored bands for ease of viewing and interpretation. Modern political boundaries and vectors representing the two major rivers in the area were added for reference. Finally, modern country names and map annotations were added for clarity. Because of the resolution of the elevation data, intricate topographic details can be seen at 200-, 300-, and 400-meter elevations corresponding to the probable extent of the Genesis Flood.

Figure 3 Elevation Layer Tint of the Mesopotamian Region from 100-Meter Data

Several important deductions can be made from the higher-resolution elevation layer tint (figure 3):

1. The topography of the Mesopotamian region forms a huge U-shaped bowl that stretches 600 miles from the Persian Gulf to the northwest. Steep escarpments that rise quickly from less than 200 meters to 1,000 meters set boundaries for the Mesopotamian Plain on the north and the east. Terrain that rises gradually, but consistently, to heights above 400 meters forms the southern and western boundaries. Elevations above 400 meters fully contain the Mesopotamian Plain except where it meets the sea.

2.  The biblical flood account refers to extraordinary geophysical events. Huge underground aquifers (“the springs of the great deep” in Genesis 7:11) suddenly “burst forth.” In addition, Genesis 7:12 states that “the floodgates of the heavens” opened, and rain fell for 40 days and 40 nights. In other words, hard rain fell in the region continuously for 40 days. Meteorologically, these factors constitute an unprecedented rain event in a region that averages only 10-20 inches of rainfall per year.[8] No natural explanation exists for a storm so large, intense, or persistent in this region.

A super-storm of this unprecedented magnitude would have produced an enormous surge in the Persian Gulf. During a storm surge, the force of the winds circulating around the storm’s low-pressure center pushes water ashore. A large hurricane can cause storm surges 50 miles wide and 25 feet deep.[9] Shallow coastal waters like those in the Persian Gulf only amplify a storm surge (see Figure 1). And, greater storm surges are observed with slow-moving storms. The Genesis super-storm remained stationary for at least five weeks; so the height of the storm surge must have been larger (by some incalculable amount) than any Earth has experienced since that time. A storm surge that reached 200 meters deep certainly would have been sufficient to sustain the destructive flood levels for the length of time Genesis records.

Assuming the Earth’s entire human population lived on the Mesopotamian Plain at that time, a flood that reached 200 to 300 meters deep would have destroyed all humanity on the land. The geographical extent of such a flood would have included areas that today belong to Iraq, Iran, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Syria (see figure 3).

3. The account of the ark’s resting place also seems geographically and historically plausible. Genesis 8:4 describes that place as the “mountains of Ararat,” well below the highest probable flood elevation (~400 meters) in what is now north central Iraq. Figure 4 provides a view of the raw elevation data in the layer-tint project prior to normalization. The rugged and steeply ascending mountains of Ararat are clearly visible. On a side note, one may logically assume that no post-Flood society would have left the ark’s precut lumber unexploited; searching for the ark most likely represents a fruitless exercise.[10]

Figure 4 Elevation Data in the Mountains of Ararat Region

Although the exact geographical extent of the Genesis Flood may never be known, geologists can say with some assurance that the event described in Scripture makes sense as a localized, but universal—with respect to humans and their animals—catastrophe. This interpretation of the Genesis Flood text fits the facts in evidence. A worldview that carefully and respectfully integrates biblical data with scientific data provides coherent and testable answers to big questions of life—including questions about origins, meaning, morality, and destiny.[11] A regional flood interpretation of Genesis 6-9 provides one of the cornerstones of the truth about human history that ought to be taught in Sunday school.

Steve Sarigianis is a research engineer and retired U.S. Army officer with a master of science degree in Geography from Penn State. He has extensive experience in the field of military mapping and has taught geography and astronomy at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.

Sidebar: Water-level Math (by Hugh Ross)

The Genesis text does not specify the exact depth of the floodwaters. It states only that the ark floated up on the waters and that the nearby hills were so inundated that from Noah’s perspective the whole face of Earth was covered with water. That is, from one horizon to the other, all Noah could see was water.

An ark 450 feet long by 75 feet wide by 45 feet high, loaded with animals and supplies, probably needed a draft of at least 20 feet. If Noah stood on top of the ark, his eye level would have been approximately 30 feet above the waters (refraction corrections included). The water level horizon for him would have been about 8 miles away. Any hill more distant than about 15 miles, sticking up even a hundred feet or more above the water, would have been invisible. Hills higher than 500 feet and 1,000 feet above water level would have been beyond the possible view of Noah if they were more than 28 and 38 miles distant, respectively.

Are there any regions in Mesopotamia where, if the Tigris and/or Euphrates Rivers overflowed their banks by a depth of 20 feet or so, water would extend to 28 or 38 miles on either side? Yes. Such regions exist in both southern and middle Mesopotamia. It would be difficult, though not impossible, to imagine how so little water could wipe out all humans and all the birds and mammals associated with them. Fifty feet, a hundred feet, or a few hundred feet depth of water would provide a more realistic scenario.

The rate at which a 50-foot, 100-foot, or higher surge of water above the banks of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers would flow out to the Persian Gulf depends upon the slope of the land. From 400 miles northwest of Ur to Ur (the location of the Persian shore at the time of Noah), the Euphrates and Tigris rivers drop just 300 feet in elevation. This drop provides a grade of only about 0.01 percent. With that gentle a slope, the Flood waters would have moved very slowly out to the Persian Gulf. Moreover, for several months after the rain stopped, any water that exited to the Gulf would have been replaced with runoff from springs and melting snow on the distant mountains that surround the Mesopotamian Plain.

Genesis 8:1 states that God removed the floodwaters by sending a wind. Given the gentle slope of the land, evaporation plays a more significant role than gravity in removing the water. Such a scenario is consistent with the worst floods that have struck the Mississippi Valley, for example. The water rose 50 feet above the banks in those Mississippi floods and then it seemed to stand still.¹ Residents of the region noticed little discernable movement. They had to wait for the waters to dry up.

Just how effective is evaporation for removing flood waters? During a typical Southern California summer the swimming pools lose an average of one inch of water per day to evaporation. Lower humidity, higher heat, and a strong wind can triple or quadruple that rate. Over the 335 days during which Noah’s Flood receded, that would add up to 84-112 feet of evaporation. If gravity had removed about half that much water, the total water depth removed would have been 126-168 feet. That is easily enough water to account for Noah’s seeing nothing but water for as far as his eyes could see. That is easily enough water to destroy all of Noah’s contemporaries and their animals outside the ark. And, that is easily enough water to carry the ark to the foothills of Ararat. (SS,RTB)

*** Will Myers

Our Sun looks remarkably stable, but as with all other stars, its magnetic field exhibits variability. This variability leads to events where the Sun’s magnetic field connects to Earth’s and causes an influx of charged particles. Recent observations show that Earth’s magnetic field houses a reservoir of charged particles that blunts the disruptive effects of such “reconnection” events. The implications of this research support the idea that Earth was specially designed in order to support advanced technological civilizations.

Imagine operating a telegraph in the middle of the night when, suddenly, you start receiving spark shocks from the machine. Though you disconnect the telegraph, it continues to function, driven by some unknown power source. Stepping outside, you see a brilliant aurora covering much of the sky with light strong enough to read by. Later reports reveal that the aurora was visible as far south as Hawaii.

As incredible as this scenario sounds, such conditions arose during the 1859 Carrington Super Flare. These electromagnetic “storms” occur when the magnetic fields of the Sun and Earth interact. Fortunately, as recently reported in Science, Earth’s magnetic field features characteristics that serve to blunt the impact of these storms on advanced civilization.

Earth’s Natural Shield

Day after day, the Sun moves across the sky and provides a steady source of heat and light for a large fraction of life on Earth. But despite the Sun’s seeming constancy, scientists know that a number of violent solar events (flares, coronal mass ejections, and others) do impact Earth, as was the case in 1859 when the two bodies’ magnetic fields “reconnected” (see animation here).

During these reconnection events, large amounts of hot plasma from the solar wind gain a path directly toward Earth. The efficiency of the reconnection event plays a central role in determining the amount of energy transferred from the solar into Earth’s magnetosphere and ionosphere. However, recent observations revealed that the planet’s magnetic field houses a reservoir of charged particles that rush out toward the reconnection region in such a way that dampens the efficiency of reconnection.¹ Consequently, each reconnection event causes much less damage to Earth’s surface than it would without the reservoir.

Assessing Other “Habitable” Planets

This research highlights yet another feature that any putative “habitable planet” must possess in order to be truly habitable—at least for human-like life and advanced civilization. Specifically, the planet must generate a substantial magnetic field otherwise it cannot host the reservoir of charged particles to dampen reconnection events.

Scientists have expressed much interested in M-dwarf stars because they represent about 75 percent of all stars in the Milky Way Galaxy. Moreover, research indicates that many, if not all, M-dwarf stars host planets. The dimmer nature of these stars means the region where a planet could host liquid water resides much closer to the star, which results in tidal locking such that the planet has no magnetic field.

The number of known planets, as well as the number of environments where those planets reside, continues to grow. At the same time, the list of conditions required for advanced life (based, at least, on what we know from Earth) grows more stringent. Such a finding comports well with the idea of a God who fashioned Earth for human life and then commanded humanity to study creation in order to manage it well. (JZ,RTB_)

*** Will Myers

Romans 1:20

King James Version (KJV)

” For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:”

We are submerged in the supernatural power of God, our Creator (Uspace). Eternal God is infinite in all respects; an Infinite Potentiality, but humans are limited and our minds must be supported by matter which God have conserved in energy packages in many ways since matter is actually a bundle of energy. Humans are capable of receiving the Uspace potentiality, a connection to God’s supernatural life; the possession of God’s Holy Spirit. Living with the Uspace potentiality called in the bible The Spirit Of Truth Who God put in the world, we know God as our Heavenly Father.

In our beginning until present we have placed emphasize on the material, and we are discovering the underlining principles of this world. As we make discoveries we are actually gaining the ability to predict the behavior of our environment (Vspace). In doing such, we are learning the nexus of nature. There is always a nexus because nature never stops. Vspace is that potential of all nexus’. These nexus’ in nature reveals the eternal character of God.

Humans make observations after observations (S: viewing something), and learns some principles (QV: immutable, unchangeable, and variance is a constant; the same thing happen over and over). Qua Variance (QV) is the set of all principles that show how God made things to work. Principles are usually invisible and abstract such as Force = mass x acceleration; we don’t see the force but we see mass and the acceleration of the object. Man builds on his knowledge (qv: a bit of information or a body of information acquire by man). We learn with each observation of the visible and the temporary.

The God Equation, QV[S(1)]qv(1) + QV[S(2)]qv(2) = QV[S(3)][qv(1) + qv(2)],  symbolically describes the universal process of each life in harmony and conjunction with the material universe. It is a metaphysically equation. We are always in the hand of God.

Isaiah 28:16; “Therefore thus saith the Lord God, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste.” Zion means the essence of things.

Isaiah 8:14; “And he shall be for a sanctuary; but for a stone of stumbling and for a rock of offence to both the houses of Israel, for a gin and for a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem.”

1 Peter 2:8; “And a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence, even to them which stumble at the word, being disobedient: whereunto also they were appointed.”

Jesus, the Son of God, came from God Who is God among us in the flesh. Man would never qualify or receive the Uspace Potentiality due to selfishness which has innate sin that perpetrate strife.  God had to send a perfect life (Uspace Potentiality) to be the God standard for us to receive eternal life for all that accept Christ Jesus as a substitute in their life.

Humans are locked into the universal process, and there is no rest except they receive eternal life. Science and technology comes from this process, and God rewards in many ways; God gives partial credit, and rewards us for trying our best. Although, the path to His Kingdom is by Jesus, the Son of God. This process is inevitable whether the Lord return to the kingdom of God alone or with His flock. Jesus is the fulfillment of Vspace = Uspace; our supernatural connection to God in which all than know that God is our Father.

*** Will Myers

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A study published in 2013 by scientists from University of Arizona reported a date for Y-chromosomal Adam at 338,000 years ago. This date made Y-chromosomal Adam almost 200,000 years older than mitochondrial Eve, presenting a problem for the RTB creation model for humanity’s genesis. New work by researchers from University of Houston and Johns Hopkins University identifies a number of problems with the University of Arizona study. The team also arrived at a finding that makes it reasonable to think that Y-chromosomal Adam and mitochondrial Eve were part of the same population and, consequently, the genetic male and female progenitors of humanity.

My father was never certain of his own age. Though he had a birth certificate from India that recorded his date of birth as May 17, 1911, his parents had lied about his age, claiming he was older than he actually was so they could enroll him in school early. The fabricated birthdate became instantiated in the official records.

Anthropologists face a similar uncertainty problem with Y-chromosomal Adam. Determining when the male progenitor of humanity lived is fraught with all sorts of difficulties, as a new study reported by researchers from the University of Houston and Johns Hopkins University attests.¹ This difficulty has wide-ranging implications for evolutionary and biblical models for humanity’s origin.

Finding Adam’s Birthday

When RTB put forth its human origins model in Who Was Adam? (2005), the most comprehensive analyses of Y chromosome variants returned a date for Y-chromosomal Adam between 50,000 to 60,000 years ago. Studies conducted in 2011 and 2013 made use of a larger portion of the Y chromosome and rare Y chromosome variants to estimate dates of 142,000 ± 16,000 and between 101,000 and 115,000 years ago, respectively. Two other studies published in 2013 reported that the last ancestor of all modern humanity lived between 120,000 and 156,000 years ago and 180,000 to 200,000 years ago, respectively.

These studies are significant because they bring the dates for Y-chromosomal Adam in line with the dates for mitochondrial Eve (most recently determined to have lived about 150,000 years ago). This finding means that it is reasonable to think that Y-chromosomal Adam and mitochondrial Eve were part of the same population. I have argued that Y-chromosomal Adam and mitochondrial Eve can be viewed as the biblical Adam and Eve. For this proposal to be feasible, the genetic male and female progenitors had to live at the same time.

Missed Meeting?

Prior to these recent studies, a large discrepancy existed between the dates for Y-chromosomal Adam and those for mitochondrial Eve. This difference prompted some evolutionary biologists to claim that Y-chromosomal Adam never “knew” mitochondrial Eve. In other words, if Y-chromosomal Adam and mitochondrial Eve lived at different times, then they must have been part of distinct populations, a scenario incompatible with the traditional reading of the biblical account of human origins. Eliminating this troubling discrepancy would improve the scientific credibility of the biblical account of human origins.

However, another study published in 2013 by scientists from University of Arizona created commotion when its authors reported a date for Y-chromosomal Adam between 237,000 and 581,000 years ago, with the most likely age at 338,000 years. Once again, a possible discrepancy posed a potential problem for a biblical human origins model.

At the time the University of Arizona study was published, I pointed out that the date they proposed for Y-chromosomal Adam was about 200,000 years earlier than the first appearance of modern humans in the fossil record––raising questions about the result’s validity. I also noted that careful consideration of this study’s approach to calculating the date of Y-chromosomal Adam reveals that the mutation rate the investigators employed to calibrate the molecular clock was slower than that used in previous studies.

If they had used the same mutation rate as other researchers did, their estimated date for Y-chromosomal Adam would have been closer to 209,000 years ago. The researchers based the mutation rate they used on whole-genome sequence comparisons of people living today, but this type of calibration is probably invalid.

Flaws Corrected

The new work by scientists from University of Houston and Johns Hopkins University affirms the very points I made several months ago. Not only did these researchers highlight the discrepancy between the genetic data and the fossil record, but they also pointed out that the University of Arizona scientists used flawed calibrations.

Other problems were also identified. For example, the University of Arizona team used unusually long generation times, compared DNA sequences of unequal length, and employed unusual statistical methods in their analysis. All these issues contributed to the much-older date for Y-chromosomal Adam. The team from University of Houston and Johns Hopkins University reanalyzed the data gathered by the team from University of Arizona with these concerns in mind. They generated a date for Y-chromosomal Adam of about 208,000 years in age, which is in line with other studies. Once again, it looks like Y-chromosomal Adam lived at the same time as mitochondrial Eve.

One key lesson from this episode identifies how susceptible molecular clock analysis can be. In this case, two teams achieved radically different results from the same data set. Molecular clock analysis is sensitive to the mutation rates used for clock calibration, the data set used for the calibration, generation time employed in the analysis, DNA sequence length used in the comparisons, and the specific statistical methods employed.

In reality, we will likely never know the precise date for when Y-chromosomal Adam (and mitochondrial Eve) lived. The dates from molecular clock analysis must be treated as crude estimates at best, but they should not discourage investigation of these dates and inquiry of such weighty matters as humanity’s origin. (FR,RTB)

*** Will Myers

Life scientists continue to identify new functions for so-called junk DNA. Recently, a researcher from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention pointed out two overlooked “junk DNA” functions: (1) serving as a nucleoskeleton that establishes the volume of the cell’s nucleus; and (2) acting as a mutational buffer that protects the genome from mutations resulting from transposon and retroviral DNA insertion activity. Such results help undermine the argument that junk DNA must be leftovers of evolutionary processes, not the creation of an intentional Designer.

If you cannot be open-minded, then you do not possess your ideas, your ideas possess you.

— Bryant McGill

DNA is a remarkable molecule—its double helix design displays a certain beauty and, in biochemical terms, its structure and function are no less pleasing to behold. As I discuss in my book The Cell’s Design, DNA is structurally optimized to carry out its chief function: storage of information used by the cell’s machinery to generate life’s building blocks and direct the cell’s operation. (For an example of the optimized structure-function relationships found in DNA, see “DNA Soaks Up Sun’s Rays.”)

Yet there is more to DNA’s purpose than information storage. Recently, biologist Claudiu Bandea of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention argued that DNA sequences assume noninformational roles that biologists have often overlooked.¹ These noninformational functions help account for the existence of abundant junk DNA in the genomes of humans and other organisms.

Nucleoskeletal Support

First, Bandea shows that DNA plays a skeletal role by helping to establish and maintain the size of the cell’s nucleus. This function is called the nucleoskeletal hypothesis. According to this idea, the amount of DNA in a cell dictates the nuclear volume. The size of the nucleus is not arbitrary, however, but must be maintained within tight limits. The cell will die if the ratio of the nuclear volume relative to overall cell volume deviates too much. Presumably, the nucleoskeletal role of DNA can account for the vast amount of junk DNA within genomes and helps explain the C-value paradox. Larger cells require a larger nucleus and, consequently, a greater amount of junk DNA in their genomes to maintain an adequate nuclear volume. (For more, see “TNRTB Classic: Junk DNA and the Nucleoskeletal Hypothesis.”)

Mutation Shield

Bandea also asserts that junk DNA may serve as a mutational buffer. He notes that the human genome (and the genomes of other organisms) consists of a significant fraction of mobile DNA pieces called transposons. These pieces of DNA move around the genome and, presumably, insert at random into different locations. (Some transposons also possess the capacity to duplicate in the process.) If insertions occur in coding or regulatory regions of the genome, mutations result.

Retroviruses pose a similar problem. When viruses invade a cell, retroviral DNA inserts into the host’s genome. Again, these insertion events can be disruptive if they occur within functional sequences.

But Bandea posits that high levels of junk DNA can make genomes more resistant to the deleterious effects of insertion events. If insertion events are random, then the offending DNA is much more likely to insert itself into “junk DNA” regions instead of coding and regulatory sequences—thus, protecting information-harboring regions of the genome. To say it another way, junk DNA sequences could serve as buffers against mutations that arise from transposon and retroviral DNA insertion events.

Solving the C-Value Paradox

If junk DNA functions as a mutational buffer, then it could also help account for the C-value paradox (which observes “that genome size does not correlate with organismal complexity”).² It could be that the varying genome sizes are not arbitrary, but instead correlate with the amount of protective DNA. Genomes with higher transposon activity could require a greater buffering capacity and, consequently, more junk DNA.

When it comes to understanding genomes (human or otherwise), the evolutionary paradigm has continuously restricted the view of many people in the scientific community by compelling them to classify, noncoding DNA as the leftover vestiges of evolution. But, as Bandea’s research shows, a narrow focus on DNA’s informational role has interfered with the acknowledgment of junk DNA’s important noninformational functions. Such discoveries help open up the possibility for nonevolutionary interpretations of genome content, including the notion that these tiny pieces of DNA stem from an intelligent Mind. (FR,RTB)

*** Will Myers

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