What I Read: Genes Evolving in Genome’s Junkyard

https://www.quantamagazine.org/scientists-find-vital-genes-evolving-in-genomes-junkyard-20201116/

Scientists Find Vital Genes Evolving in Genome’s Junkyard
by Viviane Callier
November 16 2020 2:00 PM


“Essential genes are often thought to be… evolving only very slowly if at all, because changing or dying would lead to the death of the organism…. But a new study turns this rationale for genetic conservation on its head… a large class of genes in fruit flies are both essential for survival and evolving extremely rapidly…. “Not only is this questioning the dogma, it is blowing the dogma out of the water…””