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Junk DNA, argument for bad design ? on Mon May 31, 2010 9:16 pm
http://creation.com/refuting-evolution-2-chapter-7-argument-bad-design-is-evidence-of-leftovers-from-evolution
‘Junk’ DNA
Each time that evolutionists discover new sections of DNA that have no known function, they like to describe it as ‘junk’ DNA that is a leftover of evolution. For example, the DNA of organisms more complex than bacteria contains regions called exons that code for proteins, and non-coding regions called introns. So the introns are removed and the exons are ‘spliced’ together to form the mRNA (messenger RNA) that is finally decoded to form the protein. This also requires elaborate machinery called a spliceosome. This assembles on the intron, chops it out at the right place, and joins the exons together. This must be in the right direction and place, because it makes a huge difference if the exon is joined even one letter off.
But it’s absurd even on the face of it that more complex organisms should evolve such elaborate machinery to splice the introns if they were really useless. Rather, natural selection would favor organisms that did not have to waste resources processing a genome filled with 98 percent of junk. And there have been many uses for junk DNA discovered, such as the overall genome structure and regulation of genes, and to enable rapid post-Flood diversification.7 Also, damage to introns can be disastrous—one example was deleting four ‘letters’ in the center of an intron, preventing the spliceosome from binding to it, resulting in the intron being included.8 Mutations in introns interfere with imprinting, the process by which only certain maternal or paternal genes are expressed, not both. Expression of both genes results in a variety of diseases and cancers.9
Dr John Mattick of the University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia, has published a number of papers arguing that the non-coding DNA regions, or rather their non-coding RNA ‘negatives,’ are important for a complicated genetic network.10 These interact with each other, the DNA, mRNA, and the proteins. Mattick proposes that the introns function as nodes, linking points in a network. The introns provide many extra connections, to enable what in computer terminology would be called multi-tasking and parallel processing.
In the case of life, this could control the order in which genes are switched on and off. This means that a tremendous variety of multicellular life could be produced by rewiring the network. In contrast, ‘early computers were like simple organisms, very cleverly designed, but programmed for one task at a time.’11 The older computers were very inflexible, requiring a complete redesign of the network to change anything. Likewise, single-celled organisms such as bacteria can also afford to be inflexible, because they don’t have to develop from embryos as multi-celled creatures do.
Mattick suggests that this new system somehow evolved (despite the irreducible complexity) and in turn enabled the evolution of many complex living things from simple organisms. The same evidence is better interpreted from a biblical framework—indeed this system can enable multicellular organisms to develop from a ‘simple’ cell—but this is the fertilized egg. This makes more sense, since the fertilized egg has all the programming in place for all the information for a complex life form to develop from an embryo. It is also an example of good design economy pointing to a single Designer as opposed to many. In contrast, the first simple cell to evolve the complex splicing machinery would have no information to splice.
But Mattick may be partly right about diversification of life. Creationists also believe that life diversified—after the Flood. However, this diversification involved no new information. Some creationists have proposed that certain parts of currently non-coding DNA could have enabled faster diversification,12 and Mattick’s theory could provide still another mechanism.
Evolutionists have produced a long list of examples of ‘bad design,’ but nothing on the list stands up under scrutiny.
‘Junk’ DNA
Each time that evolutionists discover new sections of DNA that have no known function, they like to describe it as ‘junk’ DNA that is a leftover of evolution. For example, the DNA of organisms more complex than bacteria contains regions called exons that code for proteins, and non-coding regions called introns. So the introns are removed and the exons are ‘spliced’ together to form the mRNA (messenger RNA) that is finally decoded to form the protein. This also requires elaborate machinery called a spliceosome. This assembles on the intron, chops it out at the right place, and joins the exons together. This must be in the right direction and place, because it makes a huge difference if the exon is joined even one letter off.
But it’s absurd even on the face of it that more complex organisms should evolve such elaborate machinery to splice the introns if they were really useless. Rather, natural selection would favor organisms that did not have to waste resources processing a genome filled with 98 percent of junk. And there have been many uses for junk DNA discovered, such as the overall genome structure and regulation of genes, and to enable rapid post-Flood diversification.7 Also, damage to introns can be disastrous—one example was deleting four ‘letters’ in the center of an intron, preventing the spliceosome from binding to it, resulting in the intron being included.8 Mutations in introns interfere with imprinting, the process by which only certain maternal or paternal genes are expressed, not both. Expression of both genes results in a variety of diseases and cancers.9
Dr John Mattick of the University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia, has published a number of papers arguing that the non-coding DNA regions, or rather their non-coding RNA ‘negatives,’ are important for a complicated genetic network.10 These interact with each other, the DNA, mRNA, and the proteins. Mattick proposes that the introns function as nodes, linking points in a network. The introns provide many extra connections, to enable what in computer terminology would be called multi-tasking and parallel processing.
In the case of life, this could control the order in which genes are switched on and off. This means that a tremendous variety of multicellular life could be produced by rewiring the network. In contrast, ‘early computers were like simple organisms, very cleverly designed, but programmed for one task at a time.’11 The older computers were very inflexible, requiring a complete redesign of the network to change anything. Likewise, single-celled organisms such as bacteria can also afford to be inflexible, because they don’t have to develop from embryos as multi-celled creatures do.
Mattick suggests that this new system somehow evolved (despite the irreducible complexity) and in turn enabled the evolution of many complex living things from simple organisms. The same evidence is better interpreted from a biblical framework—indeed this system can enable multicellular organisms to develop from a ‘simple’ cell—but this is the fertilized egg. This makes more sense, since the fertilized egg has all the programming in place for all the information for a complex life form to develop from an embryo. It is also an example of good design economy pointing to a single Designer as opposed to many. In contrast, the first simple cell to evolve the complex splicing machinery would have no information to splice.
But Mattick may be partly right about diversification of life. Creationists also believe that life diversified—after the Flood. However, this diversification involved no new information. Some creationists have proposed that certain parts of currently non-coding DNA could have enabled faster diversification,12 and Mattick’s theory could provide still another mechanism.
Evolutionists have produced a long list of examples of ‘bad design,’ but nothing on the list stands up under scrutiny.
