"Junk" RNA May Have Played Role in Vertebrate Evolution: Scientific American

"Junk" RNA May Have Played Role in Vertebrate Evolution: Scientific American: "Evidence has been building since 1993, however, that microRNA is anything but genetic bric-a-brac. Quite the contrary, scientists say that it actually plays a crucial role in switching protein-coding genes on or off and regulating the amount of protein those genes produce."

Another article highlighting the potential importance of microRNA in evolution and organism definition.

Kluge - Gary Marcus - Book Review - New York Times

Kluge - Gary Marcus - Book Review - New York Times: "Evolution “kluges” its solutions because it has only the crudest tools at its disposal: genetic mutations and millions of years. Natural selection can select only from what genetic accidents have made available, and the features it chooses may remain in place not because they are optimal, Marcus writes, but “because evolution just didn’t find a better way.”"

At a 30,000ft level, this is true, but in the same way primitive tools give way to more advanced tools in societies, the primitive tools of evolution have themselves evolved to be much more complex and faster to respond as organisms have evolved.