You're not going to believe this.
A few days ago I reviewed some work from Edward Rubin's lab at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in Berkeley, California (USA) [The Role of Ultraconserved Non-Coding Elements in Mammalian Genomes]. What they did was identify short stretches of DNA that are identical in the mouse, rat, and human genomes. Most of these pieces of DNA are 200-300 bp in length but some are larger. Rubin's group deleted four of these "ultra-conserved" non-coding elements in mice and discovered that the resulting strains seemed perfectly normal. This raises questions about the role of these short sequences that appear to have been highly conserved.
The IDiots have an explanation. DaveScot describes it on Uncommon Descent [Ultra-conserved DNA with no evident immediate purpose].
Edward Rubin again finds hard evidence supporting a front loaded evolution. Front loading is a design engineering term generally used to describe design elements inserted for possible use in the future (contingency) as opposed to immediate use. The mechanism of random mutation and natural selection is incapable of contingency planning. RM+NS can build based on experience but can’t build based on an abstract future. It is reactive not proactive. The front loading hypothesis in essence says the complex specified information necessary to construct the more complex machinery of life has been around since life appeared on the earth but much of it was preserved for expression in the far distant future.According to Intelligent Design Creationism this DNA is for future use by the Creator. Apparently the Intelligent Designer can't just make up some new DNA whenever (s)he needs to evolve some new function. Instead, (s)he has to stick the DNA in the genome of all organisms then take steps to protect it from mutation. In a few years the Intelligent Designer will activate these little bits of DNA and viola!—rats will get smarter (or something).
The other good news is that there's not much of this ultra-conserved DNA in our genomes. The Intelligent Designer must have just about finished with us. I don't know about you but I think it's time to get ready for the Rapture. Life is going to be so much better without the Christians.
[Note: Viola is English for voilà]
Regarding the Rapture, the best theory (!) I've read is that it has already occurred, and it turned out to be the dinosaurs that were Raptured up to heaven.
ReplyDeleteRBH
What's sad is Dave Scott is a wingnut and dilettante and Internet Tuff Guy who’s wrong about everything but he's still the smartest guy on that site.
ReplyDeleteI love that picture
ReplyDeleteTrouble is Larry that still leaves you with the Hindus, the Buddhists, Moslems, Jews, the pagans, a miscellany of preliterate religions etc etc not to mention all those kids who believe in Santa. Don’t you sometimes feel like just giving up? Anyway, look on the bright side: at least there is always going to be a bottomless supply of people for you to blog on about!
ReplyDeletethen take steps to protect it from mutation.
ReplyDeleteThus topping off a one-time miracle with a sustained miracle lasting at least hundreds of millions of years.
Unfortunately, a new and unexplained phenomena is exciting for both scientists and anti-scientists.
ReplyDeleteThe former sees it as an opportunity to learn something new, specifically to build new theory as opposed to verify old.
The later sees it as an opportunity to prevent them from learning something new, specifically as a new gap to stuff their old dogmas into.
Yes, I believe this. Dog bites man. And now we return to our scheduled creationist bashing.