Junk DNA

Following her earlier book, The Epigenetics Revolution, Nessa Carey takes the reader on a tour through what she calls the dark matter of the genome, the 98% of so-called junk DNA, a phrase that uses in this volume but which I think is increasingly unfortunate but which technically means any gene that does not code for a protein. She discusses the many effects caused by this dark matter of the genome, although there is a certain degree of hype in the forecast panaceas for intractable diseases, a list of which she provides in the appendix. However, the author writes engagingly with many vivid examples and metaphors to help the general reader understand the more technical concepts and the important role of junk DNA in gene expression.