This is far from a revelation, and this article is just popularizing what has been known for [at least] the past 2 decades. Several scientists have built their careers on studying so-called "junk DNA" since the 1990s. See Jurka 2007:
"Eukaryotic genomes contain vast amounts of repetitive DNA derived from transposable elements (TEs). Large-scale sequencing of these genomes has produced an unprecedented wealth of information about the origin, diversity, and genomic impact of what was once thought to be 'junk DNA.'"
"Eukaryotic genomes contain vast amounts of repetitive DNA derived from transposable elements (TEs). Large-scale sequencing of these genomes has produced an unprecedented wealth of information about the origin, diversity, and genomic impact of what was once thought to be 'junk DNA.'"
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17506661