I'm giving a talk next Wednesday (October 1st) to the members of the Senior College (retired faculty). It's at the University of Toronto Faculty Club at 10am. I'll talk for 50 mins then there's a coffee break followed by 50 mins of questions and discussion.
Guests are welcome but you'll have to pay $10 to cover the cost of coffee and cookies. You can also register to watch my talk on Zoom. You can also stay for lunch at the Faculty CLub but you'll have to let me know so I can put you down as a guest.
Here's the link to register: What's in Your Genome?
Wednesday Talk: Wednesday, October 1, 2025, 10am-12pm.
In-person at the Faculty Club and on Zoom
Larry Moran, Biochemistry, University of Toronto
Title: “What’s in Your Genome?”
Abstract: Scientists have been studying the human genome for more than 70 years but today there is considerable controversy about what’s in our genome. The publication of the complete sequence of the human genome in 2001 did nothing to resolve the controversy. For many scientists, the data confirmed their predictions that we have about 30,000 genes and most of our genome is useless junk DNA. Other scientists were shocked to learn that we have so few genes so they began the search for other explanations. Today, the majority of molecular biologists and biochemists believe that most of our genome is functional and there may be as many as 100,000 extra genes that weren’t identified in 2001. The majority of experts in molecular evolution disagree —they believe that 90% of our genome is junk DNA. I will summarize the data from both sides of the controversy and discuss the role that science journalism has played in misrepresenting scientific discoveries about the human genome.
