7/23/2023 0 Comments Francis dixon bible study notes![]() This pattern also follows the tree of life. ![]() There is a pattern in the similarities and dissimilarities in this 'junk DNA'. So why do we still see similarities? Those eventual similarities can only be explained because they are inherited from the common ancestor of humans and chimpanzees or humans and dogs.Īnd again there is a second level of specificity to this prediction. Since natural selection has no grip on neutral mutations, they are free to go in any direction. Neutral mutations (=mutations that do not affect function) will accumulate steadily over time. Why should this be so? DNA between genes is non-functional, so-called junk-DNA. DNA between human genes can still be found with 98% likelihood in chimpanzees, but the likelihood drops significantly to only 52% in the dog. But what about DNA between genes? The second column of table 1ab shows that human DNA which does not code for proteins has a far lower likelihood to be found in other animals. The pattern must confirm to the tree of life. The prediction is that there must be a pattern in the differences. So, even at this basic level, the prediction of common descent is more subtle than just a list of different similarities of humans and other animals. Common descent not only predicts that human genes can be found with different probabilities in other species, but more specific that the likelihood should be smaller for insects and worms. This is predicted and explained by common descent (in outline). A human gene can be found with 100% certainty in a Chimpanzee and with 99% probability in a dog or a mouse ( 38,39). The first column in table 1a shows that human genes are not uniquely human, but other animals have the same genes. ![]() His first example starts easy with a simple and straightforward question: What is the likelihood of finding a similar DNA sequence in the genome of other organisms, starting with a human DNA sequence? (page 127). ![]() The lessons of the Human Genome" (chapter 5), paragraph 'Surprises from the first reading of the genome" (page 124-141). I found the examples in the chapter with the poetic title: "Deciphering God's Instruction Book. Noteworthy is the attention Collins gives to creationist alternative explanations. But they are extremely enjoyable and beautiful. They are not the first evidence for Common Descent, because all sorts of evidence have been available since Darwin. All three examples were known to me in outline, but the details and subtleness are new to me. Here I select three superb examples of the surprises from the first reading of the genome. In 2009 Collins became the director of the National Institutes of Health ( 87).Īlthough I thought I was rather up-to-date about the most important research findings in genetics, genomics and evolution, after reading Collins I must confess I missed a few important things. Francis Collins was the director of the US National Human Genome Research Institute ( NHGRI) Before he was the HGP director, Collins won fame in the scientific community in 1989 when he discovered the mutation that causes the genetic disorder Cystic Fibrosis (CF), which opened the way to a cure for that potentially fatal disorder. "We have caught the first glimpses of our instruction book, previously known only to God". The achievement is described as " a pinnacle of human self-knowledge". The HGP was the ambitious international scientific effort that completed the first draft of the human genome in J( 80). However, I will discuss his Moral Law argument and his plea for Theïstic Evolution too.įrancis Collins is well positioned for discussing the implications of the Human Genome Project (HGP) for evolution, because he was the director of the HGP project from 1993 to August 2008. I was much more impressed by his evidence for evolution. In this book Collins presents evidence for evolution too. While reading Collins it became gradually clear to me that what he does is more than 'a scientist presents evidence for belief'. There is a complete and searchable of the 2006 hardback edition on the internet (June 2013).
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