"Junk DNA is DNA which does not appear to have any discernible function. However, the term “junk” is a bit misleading, as research on junk DNA has suggested that it may actually play an important role in the evolutionary history and lives of many organisms."
https://www.infobloom.com/what-is-junk-dna.htm
"So-called junk DNA, is DNA that does not code for proteins. There are four principle types of junk DNA."
https://www.allaboutscience.org/junk-dna.htm
"In 1972 the late geneticist Susumu Ohno coined the term "junk DNA" to describe all noncoding sections of a genome, most of which consist of repeated segments scattered randomly throughout the genome.
Typically these sections of junk DNA come about through transposition, or movement of sections of DNA to different positions in the genome. As a result, most of these regions contain multiple copies of transposons, which are sequences that literally copy or cut themselves out of one part of the genome and reinsert themselves somewhere else."
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/what-is-junk-dna-and-what/
"In genetics, the term junk DNA refers to regions of DNA that are noncoding.
DNA contains instructions (coding) that are used to create proteins in the cell. However, the amount of DNA contained inside each cell is vast and not all of the genetic sequences present within a DNA molecule actually code for a protein.
https://www.news-medical.net/life-sciences/What-is-Junk-DNA.aspx
"Nearly half of our DNA has been written off as junk, the discards of evolution: sidelined or broken genes, viruses that got stuck in our genome and were dismembered or silenced, none of it relevant to the human organism or human evolution.
But research over the last decade has shown that some of this genetic “dark matter” does have a function, primarily in regulating the expression of host genes — a mere 2% of our total genome — that code for proteins."
https://news.berkeley.edu/2021/10/18/so-called-junk-dna-plays-critical-role-in-mammalian-development/
"Researchers have determined how satellite DNA, considered to be 'junk DNA,' plays a crucial role in holding the genome together."
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/04/180411131659.htm
"A number of leading proponents of Darwinian evolution claim that “junk DNA”—the non-protein-coding DNA that makes up more than 95% of our genome—provides decisive evidence for Darwin’s theory and against intelligent design, since an intelligent designer would not have littered our genome with so much garbage."
https://www.discovery.org/b/the-myth-of-junk-dna/
So-called “junk” DNA plays a key role in speciation
https://wi.mit.edu/news/so-called-junk-dna-plays-key-role-speciation