[QUOTE=jordanriver;91855]
If so much is conserved, maybe its because they still have a necessary function, hundreds of millions of years seems like an awful long time for "junk" to survive if there is no cost benefit.
I'm not sure how to interpret this. Are you talking about the survival of ANY unnecessary sequences, or the survival of some specific sequences, over such long periods of time? I would think any particular sequence which survives "hundreds of millions of years", which is to say can be found in nearly every eukaryotic species, is prima facie necessary and functional, whether we know what it does or not.
Think of a sink where the drain rate matches the faucet rate. There will always be water in the sink, but it won't be the SAME water over any longer period of time.
If so much is conserved, maybe its because they still have a necessary function, hundreds of millions of years seems like an awful long time for "junk" to survive if there is no cost benefit.
Think of a sink where the drain rate matches the faucet rate. There will always be water in the sink, but it won't be the SAME water over any longer period of time.
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