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Evidence ID: BIO-EV03
Evidence: Coordinated Mutations and Irreversible Complexity
Summary: Charles Darwin's theory of evolution is founded on the efficacy of successive, point-mutations to produce viable, complex organisms. Modern research has confirmed that individual point-mutation are unlikely to produce a selectable advantage to ensure the propagation to future generations. Rather, multiple, coordinated mutations are required to produce complex organisms that successfully propagate. This is the only viable explanation for the vast differential complexities that separate phyla.
Description: Microbiology was a nascent field of study when Charles Darwin published On the Origin of Species in 1859. The tremendous diversity of the microbial world was largely unknown. Essentially, Darwin viewed the inner workings of an organism as a "black box". Darwin assumed that biological research would eventually produce simply answers.
Because Darwin lacked the tools to study organisms microscopically, his theories were based on observation of the macroscopic world and conjecture. As such, his theories of the origin for life lacked the empirical evidence necessary to prove them correct.
Since the publication of On the Origin of Species, many important breakthroughs have been made in the field of microbiology. These discoveries have reshaped the ways in which scientists think about the inherent complexities of life. Unfortunately for Neo-Darwinists, the more scientists plumb the depths of the microbial world, the more complex things become.
Darwin's entire theory of evolution relies on the efficacy of successive, micro-mutations producing viable, complex organisms. Darwin wrote in On the Origin of Species [REF-DAR01],
"If it could be demonstrated that any complex organ existed, which could not possibly have been formed by numerous, successive, slight modification, my theory would absolutely break down." [REF-DAR01]
The underlying assumption Darwin makes is that point-mutation (single mutation at a time) produces viable organisms, and that the waiting time between viable point-mutations is low. He further assumed that population sizes and reproductive rates were high enough to successfully propagate beneficial mutations to future generations.
So, how does Darwin's assumption hold up to the findings of modern microbiology?
Over the past 150 years, scientists have made groundbreaking discoveries in the field of genetics, most notably the discovery of DNA [REF-DNA01]. Modern research in genetics includes modeling, statistics, and a host of other disciples. This has led scientists to better understand how complex organisms change over time and determine the validity of Darwin's theories.
The idea of coordinated mutations was first explored by evolutionary biologist John Maynard Smith. In a paper published in Nature, Maynard Smith determined that individual mutations in genes and proteins did not always confer a selectable advance, and therefore would not survive [REF-MAY01]. He also estimated that the waiting times for a beneficial selection would be exceptionally long. He concluded that the chance of survival of coordinated mutations in genes and proteins is highly improbable.
More recently, microbiologist Michael Behe, author of Darwin's Black Box, posits that a complex organism or biological system could not have evolved by point-mutation [REF-BEH01] [REF-BEH02]. He argues that organisms are inherently irreducibly complex. Behe writes,
"By irreducibly complexity I mean a single system composed of several well-matched, interacting parts that contribute to the basic function, wherein the removal of anyone of the parts causes the system to effectively cease functioning. An irreducibly complex system cannot be produced directly by slight, successive modifications (i.e. continuously improving) of a precursor system, because any precursor to an irreducibly complex system that is missing a part is by definition non-functional." [REF-BEH01]
Behe illustrates his theory using a simple mouse trap.
He argues that while a mouse trap consists of only six parts, it cannot function if any one of the parts is missing. All the parts of the mouse trap are essential and mutually interdependent, and therefore must come about simultaneously for the mouse trap to function properly.
Like Maynard Smith, Behe also argues that not every successive mutation in a gene or protein is viable and that multiple coordinated mutations are required to confer a selectable advance. This implies that non-beneficial mutations cannot survive resulting in extended waiting times for beneficial mutations to survive.
Behe, along with David Snoke, published a paper in Protein Science in which they defined a model to simulate the evolution of proteins by successive mutation [REF-BEH03].
Applying standard Population Genetics principles, Behe and Snoke concluded that either coordinated mutations require unreasonable waiting times that exceed the duration of life on earth, or coordinated mutations require unreasonably large population sizes that exceed the number of organisms that have ever lived on earth. They conclude that Neo-Darwinism is caught on the horns of a dilemma.
Behe's argument is also supported by Robert Sauer's research [BIO-EV02] that estimates the ratio of functional to non-functional amino acid sequences is 1 in 1090 for a protein of 100 amino-acids in length [REF-SCM01].
Many research initiatives have been undertaken to undermine the research findings of Maynard Smith, Behe, Snoke and others. Still, the problem of waiting times remains the central issue that counter-theories do not satisfactorily address.
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