Much of the research on our genome focuses on the genes that make proteins, but those only constitute about one percent of our DNA. What about the other 99% that is considered noncoding — which was once called junk DNA? It might not be junk. As much as 80% of the genome has some biochemical function, but we remain puzzled by it’s role. Dr. Hagen and his students are studying a diverse array of species to identify genome features and decipher the role of the unknown 99%.