Robert Deyes

The Spanish Paseos Por La Naturaleza (A Walk Through Nature) series continues with a review of Biologic Institute researcher Douglas Axe’s thesis on the probabilistic barriers that make a neo-Darwinian explanation for the origin of protein folds untenable.  Given his scientific background, Axe is well qualified to argue against the undirected origin of protein structure and convincingly counters those who extravagate over the much-heralded modular transfer of folds between proteins. The Paseos Por La Naturaleza series aims to further strengthen the global influence that the Intelligent Design movement already enjoys and raise awareness of important academic resources that are today challenging orthodox Darwinism and revitalizing the call for a fresh perspective on scientific discourse. The fifth installment can be found at: Como Read More ›

A Review Of The Case Against A Darwinian Origin Of Protein Folds By Douglas Axe, Bio-Complexity, Issue 1, pp. 1-12

Proteins adopt a higher order structure (eg: alpha helices and beta sheets) that define their functional domains.  Years ago Michael Denton and Craig Marshall reviewed this higher structural order in proteins and proposed that protein folding patterns could be classified into a finite number of discrete families whose construction might be constrained by a set of underlying natural laws (1).  In his latest critique Biologic Institute molecular biologist Douglas Axe has raised the ever-pertinent question of whether Darwinian evolution can adequately explain the origins of protein structure folds given the vast search space of possible protein sequence combinations that exist for moderately large proteins, say 300 amino acids in length.  To begin Axe introduces his readers to the sampling problem.  That is, given the postulated maximum number of distinct physical events that could have occurred since the universe began (10¹⁵⁰) we cannot surmise that evolution has had enough time to find the 10³⁹⁰ possible amino-acid combinations of a 300 amino acid long protein. Read More ›

In 2001 Stephen Meyer, Paul Nelson and Paul Chien wrote a lengthy discourse that explored the scientific challenges that the Cambrian Explosion of life poses to the Darwinian account of animal origins (1).  Central  to their arguments was the idea that biological processes in the organismic context are so tightly integrated that changes in one process invariably require compensatory changes elsewhere (1).  Their illustration of this basic premise seemed intuitive enough:

 “If an engineer modifies the length of the piston rods in an internal combustion engine, but does not modify the crankshaft accordingly, the engine won’t start.  Similarly, processes of development are so tightly integrated temporally and spatially that one change early in development will require a host of other coordinated changes in separate but functionally interrelated developmental processes downstream” (1)

Drawing from examples cited in the biological literature and comments made by opinion leaders, notably geneticist John McDonald and zoologist Soren Løvtrup, the verdict they arrived at was that ”those genes which govern major changes, the very stuff of macroevolution, apparently do not vary, or vary only to the detriment of the organism” (1).  In an effort to model the tight integration of biological processes my sons and I teamed up to assemble a functional multi-component machine better known as the K’Nex Drop-N-Swing.  Not only did we successfully demonstrate how the operability of the ‘Drop-N-Swing’ mechanism was dependent upon the components having precisely the spatial dimensions that they display but we also showed how adjustments to any one of these required concordant adjustments elsewhere in the machine. Read More ›

Review Of Chapter 13 Of Signature In The Cell, by Stephen Meyer, HarperOne Publishers, ISBN: 9780061894206

I never would have suspected that the literary sensation Dr Seuss’ The Cat In The Hat Comes Back would be used to make a point about the devastating shortcomings of origin of life theories (1). But when I read one of the later chapters of Meyer’s Signature In The Cell which in one foul swoop discredited Hermann Muller’s fortuitous origins of DNA, Henry Quastler’s DNA self replication hypothesis and Manfred Eigen’s ideas on hypercycles I could not help but be fascinated by his use of this children’s classic in his exposition. Of course in their own unique ways each of these scientists became steadfastly convinced that they were onto something of great significance that would lead to fruitful avenues on the all important question of how life had begun.

Muller drew inferences from his own work on viruses, in particular bacteriophages (‘bacteria eaters’), equating these simple organisms to “a gene that copies itself within the cell” (2). He envisioned these as being somehow analogous to primitive DNA floating around in the chemical-rich soup of the early earth (2). Quastler on the other hand suggested that polynucleotides could act as templates for replication through complementary base pairing (3). And Eigen chose to assume that ‘self-reproducing molecular systems’ involving RNA molecules and basic enzymes could somehow supply an early form of transcription and translation, later forming hypercycles that would have preceded the arrival of the earliest cells (4).

So how is the Cat in the Hat relevant? Crucial aspects of the above mechanistic propositions, writes Meyer, parallel the antics of our feline friend as he unwillingly redistributes the mess he has created in the house of his none-too-happy hosts. Origin of life scientists have similarly been trying for decades to “clean up the problem of explaining the origin of [biological] information” only to find that they have “simply transferred the problem elsewhere- either by presupposing some other unexplained sources of information or by overlooking the indispensable role of an intelligence” (1). And their modern day brethren, with the apparent sophistication of computer-housed evolutionary algorithms, have fared little better. Meyer’s unpacking of the reality behind Ev, for example, described by its author Thomas Schneider as “a simple computer program” that attempts to evolve the information content of DNA binding sites in a hypothetical genome, is a case in point (5). In Ev Schneider specifies the sequence of these DNA binding sites and incorporates the code for the binding site ‘recognizer’ (protein) into the genome (5). The relative penalties for mis-binding or non-binding of the recognizer to sequences are pre-set into the program (5). Read More ›

Review Of Probability’s Nature And Nature’s Probability – Lite, by Donald Johnson
ISBN: 978-0-9823554-4-2

Zoologist Richard Dawkins has historically used the concept of ‘junk DNA’- those apparently useless portions of genomes- to lead the charge against the creationists’ position of purpose in nature. His view on the matter is quite simple: “creationists might spend some earnest time speculating on why the Creator should bother to litter genomes with untranslated pseudogenes and junk tandem repeat DNA”. In light of what we now know about DNA, Dawkins’ should spend some earnest time reviewing whether his littered genomes are so littered after all. In fact the term ‘junk DNA’ is now seen by many an expert as somewhat of a misnomer since much of what was originally categorized as such has turned out to be pivotal for DNA stability and the regulation of gene expression. In his book Nature’s Probability And Probability’s Nature author Donald Johnson has done us all a service by bringing these points to the fore. He further notes that since junk DNA would put an unnecessary energetic burden on cells during the process of replication, it stands to reason that it would more likely be eliminated through selective pressures. That is, if the Darwinian account of life is to be believed. “It would make sense” Johnson writes “that those useless nucleotides would be removed from the genome long before they had a chance to form something with a selective advantage….there would be no advantage in directing energy to useless structures”. Read More ›

PART I: Experimental Foundations

The plans had been made, details finalized and all expenses paid.  I was to travel to the south coast of England to complete my training for the British Sub-Aqua Club Sports Diver certificate.  I boarded a train from London’s Waterloo station down to the quiet seaside resort of Bournemouth where I was received by relatives.  For the next two weeks I commuted to the nearby harbor town of Poole and headed out on a rigid hull inflatable boat with five other students to complete a series of required dives.  The testosterone-induced camaraderie soon brought us together into a close-knit group.  We were assigned our respective diving ‘buddies’- a practice that is almost a mandatory requirement of amateur sport diving.  We quickly picked up on the diving lingo and were Hi-fiving our way to the end of each day.     

All of our sorties out to sea went according to plan.  That is, until the final afternoon.  As we were heading back to the safety of the mooring station the weather took a turn for the worst.  Surging waves reduced visibility to little more than a few feet and with the quickly darkening skies we knew we were in trouble.  In desperation the pilot of the boat radioed for help.  Minutes later we were spotted by the coastal ‘cavalry guard’- a British Navy Sea King helicopter equipped with all the fittings that one might expect for a major rescue operation.  Fortunately the terrifying experience of being stranded out at sea ended without further incident.  We were escorted to the calmer waters of a local bay from which we headed home for a feast of fried fish served in greasy, vinegar-sodden newspaper (the quintessentially English supper). That same evening we all reconvened to mull over the events as they had unfolded.  We bonded socially knowing that, in the midst of our differences, there was at least one thread of commonality by which we could all relate to each other.  We were all now sports divers with a story to tell. 

A craving for social connection is a deeply-rooted aspect of the human psyche (1).  So much so that even at the cellular level there are key molecular markers associated with the subjective feeling of social isolation (loneliness).  Just three years ago a seminal study using a microarray based approach identified some of the genes that are differentially expressed in the immune cells of individuals who struggle with subjective social isolation (2).  The ‘transcriptional fingerprint of loneliness’ that came about as a result provided researchers with a window into how negative feelings over social experiences can adversely impact our health.  Most importantly a total of 209 transcripts, representing 144 genes, were found to be differentially expressed in the leukocytes of subjectively lonely individuals (2). Read More ›

The Paseos Por La Naturaleza (A Walk Through Nature) series in Spanish continues with an examination of the atheistic brand of religion that pervades the scientism movement. The neo-atheist Peter Atkins has been one of the modern day crusaders of this movement with his scathing allegation that science presents the only reliable means by which to understand nature and the world around us. Many are those who today revolt against such a position. The Paseos Por La Naturaleza series aims to further strengthen the global influence that the Intelligent Design movement already enjoys and raise awareness of important academic resources that are today challenging orthodox Darwinism and revitalizing the call for a fresh perspective on scientific discourse. The fourth installment can Read More ›

Review Of Probability’s Nature And Nature’s Probability – Lite, by Donald Johnson
ISBN: 978-0-9823554-4-2

The Spanish Paseos Por La Naturaleza (A Walk Through Nature) series continues with an exploration of catalytic RNA within the larger context of the RNA world.  Pulling together key lines of evidence from molecular biology, this installment builds a linchpin case against the fragile trusses of naturalistic causation. The Paseos Por La Naturaleza series aims to further strengthen the global influence that the Intelligent Design movement already enjoys and raise awareness of important academic resources that are today challenging orthodox Darwinism and revitalizing the call for a fresh perspective on scientific discourse.   The third installment can be found at: Paseos Por La Naturaleza: El ARN catalítico — un catalizador indigno de una discusión seria acerca del origen de la vida (See also OIACDI)

Santa Fe Institute economist Brian Arthur believed that much of what we see in global economic patterns can be explained by a process of ‘locking in’ of historical events (1).  Notably, the success of the QWERTY keyboard or the increased sales of the VHS video system over its arch rival Beta Max did not depend so much on any inherent better quality of the winning system but rather on small details in the history of innovation that, over time, lead to the establishment and the overwhelming success of particular technologies (1).  Once such winning technologies became wide-spread, they became a locked and established part of our culture.   

Arthur undoubtedly received much of his insight from long conversations that he had with biophysicist Stuart Kaufman as the two of them thrashed out the concepts of biology and economic policy in an attempt to reconcile both under the umbrella of their unifying theory of complexity (1).  It was clear that a great number of parallels could be drawn between these two otherwise distinct areas of research. 

From an origin of life standpoint, Kauffman has long been unconvinced by the usual crop of prebiotic synthesis experiments.  There is after all no basis upon which to suppose that amino acids and nucleotides could randomly form long polymer chains with specific functions such as we see in the cell (2).  Following such a realization Kauffman became enthralled by the idea that maybe there was a self-organizing process through which compounds could come together in an autocatalytic cycle- a closed cycle of catalysts that converted one molecule to another in a self sustaining fashion (3).  What was interesting about Kauffman’s idea was the manner through which he reached it- a multidisciplinary environment, such as the Santa Fe Institute with economists, political analysts and archaeologists coming together to look for a common thread uniting the emergence of complexity in lost civilizations, economically autonomous states and ultimately life’s biochemistry. Read More ›

2010 sees the beginning of a new series in Spanish exploring key findings from contemporary science that support the intelligent design inference. The series Paseos Por La Naturaleza (A Walk Through Nature) aims to further strengthen the global influence that the Intelligent Design movement already enjoys and raise awareness of important academic resources that are today challenging orthodox Darwinism and revitalizing the call for a fresh perspective on scientific discourse. Second installment can be found at: Paseos Por La Naturaleza See also: Organización Internacional para el Avance Científico del Diseño Inteligente Un nuevo libro sobre el diseño inteligente: Un hito en la lucha contra el naturalismo científico, by Robert Deyes and Carolina Deyes (transl: New Intelligent Design Book A Landmark Assault On Read More ›

Synopsis Of Chapter Eleven, Signature In The Cell, by Stephen Meyer
ISBN: 9780061894206; ISBN10: 0061894206; Imprint: HarperOne

Review Of Intelligent Design 101: Leading Experts Explain The Key Issues
ISBN 978-0-8254-2781-7