Powerhouse of Scientists Refute Evolution, Part Two | The Institute for Creation Research

Powerhouse of Scientists Refute Evolution, Part Two

In 2011, 29 leading design scientists held a Biological Information symposium in which they compared the standard Darwinian explanation of origins to amazing new discoveries about biological languages. The second major theme among the group’s presentations dealt with “Difficulties in Creating Biological Information.” In essence, they tried to re-engineer aspects of creating information. What did they uncover?

Geneticist John Sanford, lead organizer of the Biological Information symposium, helpfully summarized the technical proceedings in a document titled, Biological Information: New Perspectives. A Synopsis and Limited Commentary.1 The document summarized evaluations of evolutionist’s digital attempts to envision natural selection generating information, for example with the software program Tierra.

In one paper, Dr. Ewert, an electrical and computer engineer, along with mathematician and philosopher William Dembski and computer engineer Robert Marks II, showed that Tierra failed to evolve information in computer simulations, even though its programmer placed unrealistic, evolution-friendly parameters into the software.

Avida is held as proof of “digital evolution,” but Symposium scientists laid bare its ugly flaws. Most notably, evolutionists had added “enormous amounts of front-loaded design” into the Avida software.1 No wonder it shows evolution—it’s been rigged. Yet, when biologically realistic parameters are plugged in, Avida shows no information increase after all.

In another paper, mathematician Dr. Basener calculated that natural selection cannot generate new information because all evolutionary advance stops once a trait becomes optimized to its environment. So, both mathematically and in real-life biology, selection leads to a stabilized, un-evolving organism.

In a third paper, Dr. Sanford outlined the research he had done revealing that even when a mutation arises—one that does not kill or harm a creature—it typically produces such a miniscule effect that natural selection never detects it. In other words, the survivability of one organism essentially equals that of its neighbor in a population, so that outside factors like predators or weather patterns affect them equally. Plus, even if one imagines a beneficial mutation arising in a population, it gets totally overwhelmed by huge numbers of the very slightly deleterious, invisible ones. This way, genetic information is sure to constantly diminish.

In a fourth paper, biochemists Doug Axe and Ann Gauger considered how and why mutations would theoretically alter existing traits and from which of those traits nature could theoretically select. Selection wouldn’t tinker with a gene that is already necessary for cellular life, so evolutionary biologists posit that extra copies are made. However, the co-authors of the paper found that the cell would stop producing, shipping, and sweeping up the theoretical extra copies long before the copy gains new information by chance mutations.

What does it take to make information-rich language? Clearly, forethought is required, and Neo-Darwinism’s selection of mutants uses no forethought. No wonder it falls woefully short of being able to make the information found in cells.

References

  1. Sanford, J.C. 2014. Biological Information: New Perspectives. A Synopsis and Limited Commentary. Waterloo, NY: FMS Publications.

* Mr. Thomas is Science Writer at the Institute for Creation Research.

Article posted on June 16, 2014.

The Latest
ACTS & FACTS
Creation Kids: Llamas and Alpacas
by Bethany Trimble and Susan Windsor* You're never too young to be a creation scientist and explore our Creator's world. Kids, discover...

ACTS & FACTS
Dr. James J. S. Johnson Goes Home to the Lord
Dr. James J. S. Johnson, chief academic officer and associate professor of apologetics for ICR’s School of Biblical Apologetics (SOBA), joined...

ACTS & FACTS
Designed to Fill the Waters
Marine invertebrate animals (jellyfish, crabs, snails, etc.) thrive within our global ocean, the largest habitable space on Earth. Their adult...

ACTS & FACTS
Go to Sleep, Wake Up, and Christmas!
One of my favorite Christmas memories happened when my youngest son, who is autistic, first began to understand the excitement of this joyous holiday....

ACTS & FACTS
Pseudogenes Are Not Pseudo Anymore
Introduction One of the past arguments for evidence of biological evolution in the genome has been the concept of pseudogenes. These DNA sequences...

ACTS & FACTS
How General Revelation Can Inform a Theory of Biological Design
Holiness! Omnipotence! Just exclaiming these attributes focuses our attention where it should rightfully go—to God. Another attribute often overlooked...

ACTS & FACTS
Yosemite National Park, Part 2: Glaciers, Seeds, and Biblical...
The beauty of Yosemite National Park is breathtaking, but the park holds more wonders than stunning scenery and craggy heights. And the history that’s...

NEWS
Silurian Horseshoe Crab
Supposedly, throughout the past hypothetical millions of years, sub-human primates became man, dinosaurs evolved into birds, and a group of mammals...

NEWS
Stunning Enigmatic Dinosaur Discovered
New species that are 100% dinosaur continue to be discovered by paleontologists with increasing frequency. One such recent discovery, described as “both...

NEWS
The Coelacanth: A Living Window into God's Design
Imagine a fish designed with such precision that it has thrived in deep, dark ocean waters for generations unchanged, resilient, and wonderfully suited...