OK I am with you on this.I see these changes as information being affected. I know natural selection can select from information but the information must be there to select from.I understand how those processes are effecting information.I want to understand the process of new information being provided.Does mutation add new information or just effect pre existing information? I am honestly trying to understand this from a simplistic point of view.
Something is not clicking here for me and I can't pin point it.
For me it still makes more sense that all information is there from the beginning and as time goes on and the universe expands information is lost and effected by change.
I just can't buy into new information being added but easy to see information being lost.
There are a few mutations that can "add information".
One example is an insertion mutation... where a single nucleotide is inserted into a segment of DNA during duplication.
But the best example is a duplication mutation... where a larger segment (whole genes) are inserted into a string of DNA during duplication. This second copy can have several effects on the organism from good to bad to neutral.
Good- the extra copy of the gene means you can produce more of a beneficial product. An example in humans is a gene that helps us digest carbohydrates some populations of people have extra copies of this gene and that lets them digest carbs more efficiently.
Bad- The extra copy means you produce extra of a cell product that has a negative effect in high quantities. An example in humans is Huntington's disease where the more copies of the gene you have the worse the effects of the disease and the faster it develops.
Neutral- The extra copy of the gene doesn't have a measurable effect on the cell at all. In this case the extra copy of the gene is free to mutate in other ways and can become a new gene with a new purpose. An example of this is the antifreeze genes in Ice Fish.
wa:do