Where does the encoded information contained in the DNA molecule come from? …?
DNA sequences can be traced through evolution and of the macaque’s nearly 3 billion DNA base pairs, 93.5 per cent are identical to those in the human genome. This is not unexpected for a species whose lineage diverged from our own about 25 million years ago. The human and chimp genomes, which diverged just 6 million years ago, are about 98 per cent identical. One puzzling discovery is that several mutations that cause genetic diseases in humans – such as phenylketonuria and Sanfilippo syndrome, which lead to mental retardation – are the normal form in macaques and, presumably, our own ancestors. Chimpanzees have actually done better than humans – 233 chimp genes, compared with only 154 human ones, have been changed by selection since chimps and humans split from their common ancestor about 6 million years ago! While many molecules that bind DNA regulatory regions have been identified as transcription factors mediating gene regulation it has now been shown that they can be functionally
The encoded information in DNA doesn’t “come” from anywhere. The “code” is simply a set of bases that undergo chemical reactions that eventually produce a result. That code didn’t need to be “put” there by anybody. Magma flows are an example of a naturally occurring code. They code for the direction of the Earth’s magnetic field.
