Is there research on Intelligent Design? The reality is that many of the scientific research conducted by Darwinists are supportive of ID, even though their published papers are laced with the usual obeisance to Darwinism. One promising area of research that could be a boon for ID is the creation of life from scratch. Consider the following article and news stories.
From Research on ID The Origin of Biological Information and the Higher Taxonomic Categories
“…neo-Darwinism affirms that new functional sections of the genome arise by trial and error process of mutation and subsequent selection. For this reason, historically many neo-Darwinists expected or predicted that the large non-coding regions of the genome–so-called “junk DNA” –would lack function altogether (Orgel, L. E., & F. H. Crick. 1980. Selfish DNA: the ultimate parasite. Nature 284:604-607.).
Alive! The race to create life from scratch
the Bug will be built up from first principles, using chemicals largely foreign to existing creatures. “You somehow have to forget everything you know about life,” says Rasmussen. “What we have is the simplest we could dream up.”
To achieve this radical simplicity, Rasmussen and his colleagues had to begin with the most basic of questions: what is the least something must do to qualify as being alive? Biologists and philosophers struggled to answer that question for decades (New Scientist, 13 June 1998, p 38).
However, most now agree that one key difference – perhaps the only one – between life and non-life is Darwinian evolution. For something to be alive, it has to be capable of leaving behind offspring whose characteristics can be refined by natural selection.
Single-cell research could open door to new life forms
Researchers discovered that out of 500 genes, about 350 were absolutely essential for life.(Updated hat tip scordova (3-31-06): Minimal genome should be twice the size. It means minimal complexity might be much larger than 350 genes)
The surprise came when they discovered that 103 genes have a function that is a complete mystery.
“We’re missing at least a third of the picture,” said Craig Venter of the Institute for Genetic Research. “But that’s extremely disturbing … these 103 genes, if you knock out one of them, the cell dies,” he said.
If scientists discover the purpose of the mystery genes, experts think they will have a blueprint for the essence of life on a molecular level.
What can we glean from these quotes? How is this relevant to ID research? Continue reading »