Abstract
The 1960s discovery that much nuclear DNA in eukaryotic cells does not code for proteins was quickly interpreted as evidence for the evolution of eukaryotic genomes. Papers were published suggesting a nomenclature reflecting evolutionary assumptions about this "junk DNA." Noncoding DNA was also used as evidence for the selfish gene theory popularized by Richard Dawkins and others. As many important functions played by noncoding DNA have come to light, the assumption can no longer be made that it represents DNA potsherds of evolution. Now the assumption of functionality in what was once called junk DNA is widespread, but its interpretation within a Darwinian framework remains. Thus, what was once touted as evidence of life's evolutionary history because of its lack of function is now interpreted as evidence of the same thing because it is functional. This experience calls into question how much data actually unambiguously support Darwinian evolution, what evolutionary theory actually predicts, and how data can be used to check its predictive power.