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The Evolution of Biological Information

fruit-fly
Photo credit: Shchurch, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons.

Evolution of New Genes: The Big “If”

If the theory can explain the evolution of new genes then evolution can be a successful explanation. Read More ›
ActiveMetabolites
Photo: Metabolites, by Elena Sebban, CC BY 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons.

Evolutionary Models Reward Complexity for Complexity’s Sake

But then the complexity is not interesting. Crucially, it’s not really information. Read More ›
AngraecumsesquipedaleThouars-MonJardinaCeylan118
Image: Angraecum sesquipedale, via National Library of Poland, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

Orchids, Moths, and (Supposed) Evolutionary Predictions

What Adami has actually done is taken a prediction that has nothing to do with evolution and attribute it to evolutionary theory. Read More ›
Escherichiacoli-DC
Photo: E. coli, by Pavel Dušek, CC BY 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons.

Origin of Biological Information? Nope, Just Its Recycling

Followers of the debate between intelligent design and Darwinian evolution will be familiar with Christoph Adami's example. Read More ›
Gullportraitcausa
Photo credit: Dschwen, CC BY-SA 3.0 <http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/>, via Wikimedia Commons.

Avida and Making Eye Evolution Seem Plausible

Adami says, “it is hard not to see the parallels to other evolutionary innovations, for example the co-option of the existing crystallin protein in the eye.” Read More ›
Alife25902079377
Photo credit: Gianfranco Vitolo from Sarno (Sa), Italia, CC BY-SA 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons.

Simulations Point to Design: Learning from the History of Artificial Life

Once you introduce step-by-step guidance, you are no longer simulating an evolutionary process. Read More ›
Amoebaproteuslocomotiveform
Photo credit: SmallRex, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons.

Lessons from Cooked Amoebas: The Dallinger Experiment

Christoph Adami discusses work by Reverend William Dallinger, a contemporary of Charles Darwin. Read More ›
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Photo: Podarcis siculus, by Mariomassone, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons.

Evolution of Biological Information: Lizards and a “New” Organ

The first experiment that Christoph Adami discusses is one where scientists transported lizards from one island to another. Read More ›
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Image credit: NIAID, CC BY 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons.

Evolution of Biological Information: HIV Evolution

What Christoph Adami’s results actually show is that when HIV is subjected to the protease inhibitors, the sequence variability increases. Read More ›
Drosophila
Photo credit: Shchurch, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons.

Evolution of Biological Information: The Line of Descent

In the end, Christoph Adami’s method has not shown anything about the entropy or information content of ancestral sequences. Read More ›

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