Author: Jonathan McLatchie | Page 2 | Science and Culture Today

DNA sequencing result, visualisation. Researches in genetics

^{Type
post

Author
Jonathan McLatchie

Date
May 4, 2026

Categories
Genetics
Intelligent Design
Tagged
, amino acids, anti-codon, BioSystems, codons, constraints, cysteine, degeneracy, error-impact, fine-tuning, frameshift mutations, genetic code, intelligent design, leucine, mutations, optimization, overlapping coding sequences, proteins, redundancy, Ribosome, RNA, triplets, tryptophan, tyrosine, wobble position}

Introducing the Remarkable Genetic Code

_{Jonathan McLatchie
May 4, 2026

Genetics, Intelligent Design

8}

The optimization of the genetic code for error minimization is made possible by the redundancy of the code. What is meant by redundancy? Read More ›

^{Type
post

Author
Jonathan McLatchie

Date
April 28, 2026

Categories
Evolution
Intelligent Design
Tagged
, acyl transfer, aldehydes, alphabet, amino acids, anhydrides, atoms, biosynthetic cost, codons, cyclisation, decomposition, DNA replication, esters, Francis Crick, hydrolysis, hydrophobicity, ketones, nitriles, polypeptides, protein core, proteins, purposeful selection, racemisation, side chains, solubility, stability, surface, teleology, The FEBS Journal, tRNAs}

The Set of Amino Acids Used in Life Is No “Frozen Accident”

_{Jonathan McLatchie
April 28, 2026

Evolution, Intelligent Design

6}

Significantly, these data indicate that the space of usable amino acids is severely constrained. Read More ›

^{Type
post

Author
Jonathan McLatchie

Date
March 6, 2026

Categories
Biology
Evolution
Intelligent Design
Tagged
, aerobic lifestyle, Alphaproteobacteria, Arctic Ocean, Asgard, Asgard archaea, cell division, cells, cytokinesis, electron transport chain complex, ESCRT-III division, eukaryotes, eukaryotic signature proteins, FtsZ proteins, hydrogenases, hydrothermal vent, Loki’s Castle, Lokiarchaeota, mitochondria, mitosis, Nature (journal), Norse deities, Odinarcheota, polymerization, synthesis, Thorarchaeota}

Do the Asgard Archaea Hold the Keys to Eukaryotic Origins?

_{Jonathan McLatchie
March 6, 2026

Biology, Evolution, Intelligent Design

8}

In 2015, a new superphylum of archaea was reported, having been discovered through metagenomic sequences of sediments. Read More ›

footprints and a car in the snow, a car stuck in a large pile of snow

^{Type
post

Author
Jonathan McLatchie

Date
February 27, 2026

Categories
Evolution
Intelligent Design
Tagged
, abiogenesis, bacterial flagella, biochemists, bioinformatics, debates, demarcation criteria, DNA, Douglas Axe, falsifiability, glacial-interglacial cycles, God of the gaps, ID the Future, irreducibly complex systems, Keith Fox, Michael Behe, Peter S. Williams, philosophers, predictions, protein folds, specified complexity, Stephen Meyer, Tim McGrew, type III secretion system, Unbelievable?}

Debating Intelligent Design, Critic Keith Fox Is Still Stuck on Old Talking Points

_{Jonathan McLatchie
February 27, 2026

Evolution, Intelligent Design

8}

With DNA replication, it is unclear what other systems any of the components might be co-opted from. Read More ›

^{Type
post

Author
Jonathan McLatchie

Date
February 6, 2026

Categories
Evolution
Intelligent Design
Tagged
, Center for Science and Culture, Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, citrate, Creation Myths, Daniel Stern Cardinale, Darwin Devolves, Discovery Institute, DNA, DNA replication, DNA replisome, Escherichia coli, evolution, generation turnover time, genome duplication, intelligent design, Irreducible Complexity, irreducibly complex systems, lizards, Michael Behe, multicellularity, mutation rates, mutations, natural selection, neutral mutations, Paramecium tetraurelia, placenta, population size, retrovirus, Richard Lenski, Rutgers University, Scott Minnich, tetherin, tetherin antagonism, type III secretion system, viruses, YouTube channels}

Irreducible Complexity: A Reply and Challenge to Daniel Stern Cardinale

_{Jonathan McLatchie
February 6, 2026

Evolution, Intelligent Design

14}

I invite Stern Cardinale to attempt to provide a plausible evolutionary explanation of the origins of a complex system such as DNA replication. Read More ›

^{Type
post

Author
Jonathan McLatchie

Date
January 28, 2026

Categories
Evolution
Genetics
Intelligent Design
Tagged
, Africa, African sleeping sickness, APOL1, Daniel Melamed, diseases, engineering, genes, genetic mutations, genomes, germline genome, haploid, heterozygotes, HindIII, homozygotes, Israel, malaria, MEMDS, mutation DNA, Mutation Enrichment followed by Maximum Depth Sequencing, mutation frequency, mutations, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, randomness, restriction enzyme, sperm, sperm DNA, Trypanosoma brucei, University of Haifa, wild-type DNA}

Could Genetic Mutations Be Non-Random? New Evidence for Mutational Bias

_{Jonathan McLatchie
January 28, 2026

Evolution, Genetics, Intelligent Design

4}

The researchers examined the emergence of a mutation in the human APOL1 gene that confers protection from African sleeping sickness. Read More ›

^{Type
post

Author
Jonathan McLatchie

Date
January 14, 2026

Categories
Fine-tuning
Intelligent Design
Physics
Tagged
, Bayesian inference, Bayesian reasoning, causal ramification, chance, cosmic design, fine-tuning, fine-tuning arguments, improbability, intelligent design, Journal for General Philosophy of Science, King’s College London, multiverse, observation biases, philosophy, physical laws, physicists, physics, probability, Roberto Fumagalli, theism, universe}

New Peer-Reviewed Paper Defends Cosmic Fine-Tuning Argument

_{Jonathan McLatchie
January 14, 2026

Fine-tuning, Intelligent Design, Physics

11}

Fumagalli does not in the end state whether he himself lands on the multiverse hypothesis, cosmic design, or unknown physics as the best explanation. Read More ›

^{Type
post

Author
Jonathan McLatchie

Date
January 5, 2026

Categories
Earth Sciences
Origin of Life
Planetology
Tagged
, AlphaFold, atmosphere, biochemistry, biological complexity, chance, disorder, entropy, Francis Crick, Imperial College London, informational content, intelligence, intelligent design, Last Universal Common Ancestor, Leslie Orgel, LUCA, molecular assembly, origin of life, panspermia, physical biasing, primitive earth, protocell, Robert E. Endres, universe, water, zircon}

New Paper Argues for the “Unreasonable Likelihood of Being”

_{Jonathan McLatchie
January 5, 2026

Earth Sciences, Origin of Life, Planetology

5}

How long did life have to get started? Endres notes that life on earth could not have emerged until after two early global sterilizing impacts. Read More ›

^{Type
post

Author
Jonathan McLatchie

Date
September 16, 2025

Categories
Evolution
Intelligent Design
Tagged
, cellular life, cofactors, David A. Hullender, DNA repair, elementary particles, Elsevier, Elsevier journals, enzymes, evolution, Fred Hoyle, intelligent design, Jerry Coyne, Mycoplasma genitalium, Mycoplasma mycoides, naturalistic evolutionary processes, Olen R. Brown, oxidative phosphorylation, Progress in Biophysics and Molecular Biology, universe, University of Missouri, University of Texas at Arlington, Why Evolution Is True}

To a Pro-Intelligent Design Paper, Biologist Jerry Coyne Reacts with Question-Begging

_{Jonathan McLatchie
September 16, 2025

Evolution, Intelligent Design

6}

The paper seeks to elucidate the plausibility of naturalistic evolutionary processes generating a minimal living cell. Read More ›

^{Type
post

Author
Jonathan McLatchie

Date
July 30, 2025

Categories
Biology
Evolution
Intelligent Design
Tagged
, amino acids, Arginine, biosynthesis, blind processes, design logic, DNA, engineering, enzymes, evolution, genes, histidine, homology, intelligent design, mRNA, operons, prokaryotes, recurring design logic, regulation, Ribosome, RNA polymerase, transcription, translation, tryptophan, unguided processes}

Recurring Design Logic in Attenuation Mechanisms

_{Jonathan McLatchie
July 30, 2025

Biology, Evolution, Intelligent Design

4}

Despite the striking parallels between these systems in terms of the design logic, these attenuation systems are not evolutionarily related to one another. Read More ›