Bear Wild
Well-Known Member
You are misunderstanding or how genetics works. From microbiological systems which are more simple to test and reproduce fast enough for greater data collection, we know that the environment can influence the activation of different genes but that is not the same as completely rearranging their dna or rna. They may produce different proteins but the genetic code is not changing only responding to the environmental stimulus.I am talking about mechanisms like natural genetic engineering,.... when there is selective preassure of some sort, organisms can rearrange their DNA, and produce say new proteins, to overcome that selective preassure.
These mechanisms have been observed, new proteins (and functional genetic material) appear by these me mechanisms, and at least "micro evolution" has been observed to have happened by these mechanisms.
My claim is that this mechanisms where responsable for most of the complexity and diversity of life. While random mutations are responsable for a minor part.
Note that these me mechanisms are not random, (as in random mutations) organisms are predetermined to react in certain ways given certain information that they receive from the environment.
@Subduction Zone
See this is how some answers to a question.
There are the effects of methylation of cysteine which increases conservation of the DNA thus the lack of this methylation increases the rates of expression of the DNA referred to as epigenetics. There are transposons that can cut and paste genetic material but is not under a directed control. There are plasmids seen especially in bacterial that transfer new genetic material. Group I and II introns are a product from self-splicing in the host transcripts, and they act as ribosomes that can invade tRNA, rRNA, and protein coding genes in bacteria. There are also viral genetic introductions that affect the genetic code. Histones affect the genetic code and there is also crossing over during meiosis.
James Shapiro has been arguing these points and has some very good research however when he states the this is some intelligent design he has gone beyond the realm of science into things he wants to believe. There is no evidence for a specific direction but rather the influence of natural selection thus not intelligent design. These new aspects of increasing variation in the genetic code beyond just random mutations has been selected by natural selection. It is only in humans wishes that the desire come up with a reason to incorporate intelligent design is present without the evidence to support it.
So where is the intelligent designer located? In atoms so that all living and non living things has some aspect of intelligence, which is an interesting idea and certainly supports animism (which is an belief I have great respect for}. Is the intelligence in the electrons or the space between matter. The location for the intelligence is the problem. Of course one could believe in the Force as seen in the movies Star Wars. And this is an aspect seen in some views of the pantheist view point.
Yes genetic variation is not only due to random mutations and there are amazing ways the genetic code can be altered but it is still driven by natural selection and not by an intelligence outside of the intelligence of plants and animals.