90 percent of DNA ‘just filler’ – study

The old adage that we only use 10 percent of our brains is a myth, but when it comes to DNA, it seems that may indeed be the case.

Researchers in the UK are claiming more than 90 percent of the human genome is either "junk" DNA that once served a purpose but is no longer required for survival or doing nothing useful at all.

"If it was possible, you could snip away 90 percent of our genetic information and nothing would change at all," Professor Chris Ponting of Oxford University told newspaper The Telegraph.

The team looked at what DNA humans share with other animals from our evolutionary tree, to see what genes evolution has conserved and which it has dumped. If a particular piece of DNA code is shared across different species, that suggests it does something worth preserving.

The new findings could help speed up genetic research by allowing scientists to focus on the DNA that really matters.

"You would need to look at less than a tenth of the genome and that could speed up the ability to track down the genetic changes," says Prof Ponting.

"If our DNA was largely functional, we'd need to pay attention to every mutation. In contrast, with only 8 percent being functional, we have to work out the 8 percent of the mutations detected that might be important."

According to the study, just over 1 percent of DNA controls proteins that carry out the body's essential functions, while another 7 percent switches genes on and off.

"Which of them are switched on, where in the body and at what point in time, needs to be controlled and it is the 7 per cent that is doing this job," Dr Chris Rands, also of Oxford, told the paper.

But even though it's not being used now, the researchers say the other 92 percent of our DNA shouldn't be completely disregarded.

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90 percent of DNA 'just filler' - study