This is what makes the concept of junk DNA [1] non-surprising [2]. Often complexity would come at a cost though, and evolution would automatically end up optim

This is what makes the concept of junk DNA [1] non-surprising [2]. Often complexity would come at a cost though, and evolution would automatically end up optimizing for it. Such costs may include energy costs, vulnerability to faults/diseases, etc. With such elaborate mechanisms for DNA wrapping, replication, etc., I wonder how much cost junk DNA brings to the system (vs. benefits in terms of fault-tolerance and evolution). [1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Junk_DNA#Junk_DNA http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Junk_DNA#Junk_DNA [2] I am not making any assertion here about the percentage of junk DNA in the human genome, and am unqualified to do so.