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Open Mike: Cornell OBI Conference Chapter 11—Not Junk After All —Abstract

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Biological InformationTo facilitate discussion, we are publishing the abstracts and conclusions/summaries/Introduction excerpts of the 24 papers from the Cornell Conference on the Origin of Biological Information here at Uncommon Descent, with cumulative links to previous papers at the bottom of each page. You can get from anywhere to anywhere in the system.

Note: A blow-by-blow account of the difficulties that the authors experienced from Darwin lobby attempts to censor the book by denying it publication with Springer are detailed here. Fortunately, the uproar resulted in an opportunity for readers like yourself to read the book online. That said, the hard cover version is now shipping.

The Abstract for “Not Junk After All” by Jonathan Wells:

In the 1950s Francis Crick formulated the Central Dogma of molecular biology, which states (in effect) that DNA makes RNA makes protein makes us. By 1970, however, biologists knew that the vast majority of our genome does not encode proteins, and the non-protein-coding fraction became known as “junk DNA.” Yet data from recent genome projects show that most nuclear DNA is transcribed into RNAs, many of which perform important functions in cells and tissues. Like protein-coding DNA, non-protein-coding regions carry multiple overlapping codes that profoundly affect gene expression and other cellular processes. Although there are still many gaps in our understanding, new functions of non-protein-coding DNA are being reported every month. Clearly, the notion of “junk DNA” is obsolete, and the amount of biological information in the genome far exceeds the information in protein-coding regions. More.

See also: Origin of Biological Information conference: Its goals

Open Mike: Origin of Biological Information conference: Origin of life studies flatlined

Open Mike: Cornell OBI Conference— Can you answer these conundrums about information?

Open Mike: Cornell OBI Conference—Is a new definition of information needed for biology? (Chapter 2)

Open Mike: Cornell OBI Conference—New definition of information proposed: Universal Information (Chapter 2)

Open Mike: Cornell OBI Conference—Chapter Three, Dembski, Ewert, and Marks on the true cost of a successful search

Open Mike: Cornell OBI Conference—Chapter Three on the true cost of a successful search—Conservation of information

Open Mike: Cornell OBI Conference—Chapter Four: Pragmatic Information

Open Mike: Cornell OBI Conference—Chapter Four, Pragmatic information: Conclusion

Open Mike: Cornell OBI Conference Chapter Five Abstract

Open Mike: Cornell OBI Conference Chapter Five – Basener on limits of chaos – Conclusion

Open Mike: Cornell OBI Conference Chapter Six – Ewert et all on the Tierra evolution program – Abstract

Open Mike: Cornell OBI Conference Chapter Six – Ewert et all on the Tierra evolution program – Conclusion

Open Mike: Cornell OBI Conference Chapter 7—Probability of Beneficial Mutation— Abstract

Open Mike: Cornell OBI Conference Chapter 7—Probability of Beneficial Mutation— Conclusion

Open Mike: Cornell OBI Conference Chapter 8—Entropy, Evolution and Open Systems—Abstract

Open Mike: Cornell OBI Conference Chapter 8—Entropy, Evolution and Open Systems—Conclusion

Open Mike: Cornell OBI Conference Chapter 9—Information and Thermodynamics in Living Systems—Abstract

Open Mike: Cornell OBI Conference Chapter 9—Information and Thermodynamics in Living Systems—Conclusion

Open Mike: Cornell OBI Conference Chapter 10—Biological Information and Genetic Theory: Introductory Comments—Abstract

Open Mike: Cornell OBI Conference Chapter 10—Biological Information and Genetic Theory: Introductory Comments— Excerpt

Comments
http://www.worldscientific.com/worldscibooks/10.1142/8818#t=tocMung
August 29, 2013
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News, it's pretty sad, unfortunately, that these posts are generating so little interest. Aren't these exactly the sorts of topics that we ought to be discussing here at UD? Isn't the entire text available online for free? But thank you anyways for posting these.Mung
August 29, 2013
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