Study Finds Molecules Evolving in Wrong Direction | The Institute for Creation Research

Study Finds Molecules Evolving in Wrong Direction

Which is more complex—a typical man walking across a street, or a blind man carrying a legless man across the street?

The blind and legless partners are more complex simply because they have more interacting parts. But this increased complexity not only results in less functionality, it also doesn't provide any additional information about how sight and mobility could have originated.

Evolution is supposed to explain how complicated biological machines, such as legs and eyes, developed without an intelligent person to design and build them. A paper in Nature described one way nature may have added complexity to a biological machine. However, the study also showed how powerless natural processes are to generate complicated working machinery.1

Biologist Joe Thornton, University of Oregon professor and the study's senior author, has a laboratory with facilities dedicated to "reconstructing history with the experimental strategies of molecular biology and biochemistry to rigorously test hypotheses about the mechanisms of evolution," according to his university website.2

His latest attempt involved rebuilding hypothetical protein components of the ring-shaped base of a vital molecular machine called V-ATPase, which is found in yeast.3 The idea was that if his team could reconstruct "prior" versions of this protein, then they could put together a story explaining each evolutionary change that led to today's V-ATPase structure.

But the best they could do was to explain how it de-evolved. The version of V-ATPase found in today's yeast appeared to the researchers to be like the previously mentioned blind and legless men—damaged versions of an originally more effective V-ATPase.

The study authors wrote that because "losses occurred" in the history of V-ATPase, "the complexity of the ring increased," and that their study results "provide no evidence that VmaII [a V-ATPase protein component] evolved novel functions in addition to those that it inherited."1

In response to this research, biochemist and well-known critic of neo-Darwinian evolution Michael Behe told Evolution News:

The most glaringly obvious point is that, like the results of [evolutionary microbiologist Richard] Lenski's work [with 50,000 generations of a bacteria], this is evolution by degradation. All of the functional parts of the system were already in place before random mutation began to degrade them. Thus it is of no help to Darwinists, who require a mechanism that will construct new, functional systems.4

Behe also wrote:

One can say, if one wishes, that a congenitally blind man teaming up with a congenitally legless man to safely move around the environment is an increase in "complexity" over a sighted, ambulatory person. But it certainly is no improvement, nor does it give the slightest clue how vision and locomotion arose.4

So, even though today's version of V-ATPase might be more complex than the original version, it is not better, more efficient, or more effective.5 In fact, it only shows that natural processes like mutations degrade living systems—the opposite of evolution.

References

  1. Finnigan, G. C. et al. Evolution of increased complexity in a molecular machine. Nature. Published online January 9, 2012, accessed January 13, 2012
  2. Joe Thornton's Lab. University of Oregon. Posted on pages.uoregon.edu, accessed January 13, 2012.
  3. For ATPase information, see Thomas, B. 2009. ATP synthase: majestic molecular machine made by a mastermind. Creation. 31 (4): 21-23.
  4. Behe, M. A Blind Man Carrying a Legless Man Can Safely Cross the Street: Experimentally Confirming the Limits to Darwinian Evolution. Evolution News. Posted on evolutionnews.org January 11, 2012, accessed January 13, 2012.
  5. Thomas, B. 2008. More Than Just 'Complex.' Acts & Facts. 37 (12): 15.

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

Article posted on January 23, 2012.

The Latest
NEWS
Shark Jaws
Sharks are back in the news, and it’s in regard to their most formidable and fearsome structure—their jaws. Zoologists recently studied...

CREATION.LIVE PODCAST
Established Day 4 | Creation.Live Podcast: Episode 13
Humans have long been fascinated by the night sky. As Psalm 19:1 reminds us, "The heavens declare the glory of God"—His creative signature...

NEWS
Physical Evidence Trumps Evolution Theory
One of the hallmarks of good science is to formulate a cogent theory based on the physical evidence. For example, if the physical evidence (e.g. a fossilized...

NEWS
Solar System Symmetries
Most all school children can recite the planets in our solar system using memory devices such as: “My Very Easy Method Just Speeds Up Names”...

NEWS
Does Iron Toast Union Rescue Long Ages?
The puzzle persists after all these years. On the one hand, biochemists perform decay rate studies that show biochemicals cannot last a million years...

CREATION PODCAST
The Industrious Efficiency of Bees | The Creation Podcast: Episode...
Bees? BEES! When it comes to these incredible insects, we often think of hives and honey—and stingers. But these little creatures are incredibly...

NEWS
Blinking Fish Transitioned to Land?
The mudskipper (Boleophthalmus caeruleomaculatus) of the order Perciformes, is a fascinating fish whose evolutionary origins are quite unknown. They...

NEWS
Man: Created to Walk Upright
One of the many serious problems with “human evolution” is how, when, why, and where our alleged apelike ancestors decided to rise and walk...

NEWS
''Prehistoric'' Reptile Designed to Swim
Locomotion in the human and animal world means the power to move from one place to another. Recently, evolutionists have published research regarding...

NEWS
Human Neurons with 'Tricks Up Their Sleeves'
Who isn’t curious, at some level at least, about how human brains process all the complicated inputs and outputs that our daily lives require?...