ERVs, Pseudogenes, and Onions

In 2012, the evolutionary “junk DNA” paradigm took a major hit when the ENCODE Project reported that over 80% of our DNA is biochemically functional. How did evolutionary biologists respond to the demise of one of their favorite arguments? Their responses fall into three main categories: (1) Get angry, (2) rewrite history, and (3) deny the data. This video explores common “junk DNA” arguments from evolutionary scientists and shows that they not only contradict the evidence—they are stopping scientific progress.