Creationism Refuted - Evolution By Advantageous Mutation

This gene variant contributed to the dietary and physiological evolution of modern humans | ScienceDaily

One of the enduring claims in creationist circles is that mutations are invariably harmful—deleterious at best, fatal at worst—and thus incapable of driving evolutionary progress. This notion underpins Michael J. Behe's concept of "devolution," which posits that genetic changes represent a decline from an assumed state of original perfection. Yet, this perspective fails to account for how such "inferior" mutations could supplant their "perfect" predecessors in a population. Moreover, if a genome were truly perfect, it would replicate without error, precluding any mutations—and, by extension, any evolutionary change.

A recent study published in Cell Genomics challenges this dogma by identifying a regulatory variant of the ACSF3 gene that appears to have played a significant role in human evolution . This variant, known as rs34590044-A, enhances the expression of ACSF3 in the liver, influencing both stature and basal metabolic rate (BMR). Notably, the effects of this mutation are amplified in individuals consuming meat-rich diets, suggesting a link between genetic adaptation and dietary shifts in human history.[1.1,2.1]

The ACSF3 gene encodes an enzyme involved in mitochondrial fatty acid synthesis, a critical process for energy metabolism. Increased expression of ACSF3 has been associated with improved mitochondrial function and bone formation, potentially contributing to greater height and higher BMR in modern humans. These findings underscore the role of beneficial mutations in human adaptation and evolution, directly contradicting the creationist assertion that mutations cannot produce advantageous traits.[3.1,4.1]

This discovery not only provides insight into the genetic factors influencing human physiology but also exemplifies how mutations can facilitate evolutionary advancements, thereby challenging the notion that all genetic changes are inherently detrimental.

The team from Human Phenome Institute, Zhongshan Hospital and School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, China with Mark Stoneking, Department of Evolutionary Genetics, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany, have recently published their findings in the open access Cell Press journal, Cell Genomics.

Unintelligent Design - Stupidly Doing The Same Thing In Two Different Ways

A green stick insect (Timema cristinae) blends in on a
California lilac, Ceanothus spinosus.

Photo Credit: Aaron Comeault.

Timema cristinae (striped morph)

Credit: Bart Zijlstra www.bartzijlstra.com

USU Evolutionary Biologist Says Study Reveals Complex Chromosomal Rearrangements in a Stick Insect

The wingless, plant-feeding stick insect, Timema cristinae, occurs in two different cryptic colour morphs. One has longitudinal white stripes along its back on an otherwise green body, while the second is a uniform plain green.

The striped morph is found on Adenostoma fasciculatum, a plant with long, needle-like leaves, where the stripes help break up the outline of the insect’s body, making it resemble a cluster of green needles. In contrast, the plain green morph is found on Ceanothus spinosus, which has broader, more tree-like leaves on which conspicuous white stripes would be maladaptive.

This seems entirely sensible and, from the perspective of an intelligent designer, a perfectly reasonable way to protect stick insects from predation — setting aside, for the sake of argument, the questionable logic of designing predators to eat stick insects and then designing stick insects to avoid being eaten.

However, the means by which this cryptic colouration was achieved in populations of Timema cristinae on two different mountains, where the respective host plants grow, is more typical of the behaviour of creationism’s putative designer. In each case, the same camouflage was achieved through entirely different genetic mechanisms. This tendency to reinvent the metaphorical wheel appears to be a hallmark of creationism’s “intelligent” designer — seen, for example, in the development of different wing structures in birds and bats, different forms of insulation in mammalian fur and bird feathers, and several distinct designs for eyes.

Of course, there is no reason to expect a mindless natural process such as evolution by natural selection to respond to identical environmental pressures in precisely the same way in two geographically isolated populations. All that matters is whether the eventual adaptation — in this case, effective camouflage — is functionally comparable.

Refuting Creationism - The World's Largest Animal Genome - 30 Times Larger Than The Human Genome!

South American lungfish, Lepidosiren paradoxa

© Katherine Seghers, Louisiana State University

South American lungfish, Lepidosiren paradoxa

© Katherine Seghers, Louisiana State University

Decoding the world’s largest animal genome

A favourite creationists straw man parody of science says that evolutionary biologists believe evolution is a process of increasing complexity, leading eventually to humans - the most complex of all species.

This is utter nonsense, of course, being intelligently designed to easily attack and make evolutionary biology look like something no rational person would believe, so creationists dupes can feel smugly superior to scientists without bothering to learn any real science.

Creationists dogma also says that a genome was intelligently designed, so does not contain any redundant or non-coding DNA, since an intelligent designer would not have designed needless complexity and prolific waste (both characteristics of a mindless evolutionary process).

So, it leaves creationists floundering when science discovers genomes many times larger (for larger read 'more complex', in creationist terminology) than the human genome. In fact, the human genome is about average for the number of genes and size of the genome compared to other animals and very much smaller than that of many animals and plants.