Selvom det meste af junk-DNA sekvenserne kunne formodes at være [[evolutionær]]e rester, som ikke har noget aktuelt formål, tror nogle at junk-DNA fungerer på måder, vi endnu ikke kender betydningen af.<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6749213.stm 14 June 2007, BBC News: Human genome further unravelled], [https://web.archive.org/web/20070823203520/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6749213.stm backup] Citat: "...it suggests genes, so called junk DNA and other elements, together weave an intricate control network...He said: "The genome looks like it is far more of a network of RNA transcripts that are all collaborating together. Some go off and make proteins; [and] quite a few, although we know they are there, we really do not have a good understanding of what they do. "This leads to a much more complex picture." The researchers now hope to scale up their efforts to look at the other 99% of the genome..."</ref>
Ydermere kan bevarelsen af noget junk-DNA over millioner af års evolution måske betyde, at det har en livsvigtig funktion. Nogle betragter mærkaten "junk" som en forkert benævnelse, mens andre anser junk-DNA som DNA gemt væk til mulig fremtidig anvendelse, i stedet for noget, der skal smides ud.
Kemi Naturvidenskab