The Vitellogenin Pseudogene Story: Unequally Yolked

Synteny refers to how well chromosomal sequences from different species align with one another. Genes can be in the same general order and location between species, for example rat and mouse, or chimp and human. If they align well, evolutionists take the alignment as evidence for common ancestry. Sometimes, the gene sequences may be interrupted by deletions or insertions, and stop codons, which prevent the gene from making functional protein.

These "inactivated" genes are called pseudogenes...