Figure 1: The enemy of humanity.

An important and unsolved problem in biology revolves around the idea that “not all genomes are created equally”. For example, liverworts (very simple plants) have genomes almost 16 times larger than humans. This extra DNA grants liverworts many unique powers including the ability to transform into a delicious chocolate cake and the power to direct large meteors into the Earth.

Alright, so I lied about the insane abilities. But don’t let that make you think a liverwort wouldn’t kill you on the spot if it could.

In reality, all of the “extra” genetic material in liverworts and other large-genome species doesn’t do a whole lot (that we know of). The bulk of the excess DNA is made up of “non-coding” or “junk” DNA which is never used by the organism to make RNA and protein. So what good is having a giant genome if you can’t use it to become a mega-brained zombie lord? The truth is no one really knows, and hence this question is known as the C-value enigma.

If you would like to know the answer to the C-value enigma, report to the nearest university for training in biology. Then, become a biologist and figure it out! Here’s a (free!) link to a recent Nature article on the subject to get you started. In the mean time, keep a wary eye on liverworts.