DNA and Information
What characterizes DNA (as information found in chromosomes which contain the genetic information or genome) in cells and all living organisms that speaks to origins?
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How did the information contained in the DNA get into the DNA in the first place?
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Is there any evidence that new information is today finding its way into extant (present) DNA sequences?
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Is it possible that times scientists are merely observing new expression of information already present within a genome? [This makes for the perception of the addition of new information but does not reveal how or when the information was put into the genome]
see our book recommendations below, we even include a link to a free PDF download of a most interesting volume ... scroll down for details!
Short Answer:
The basic starting point: DNA is a chemical. The DNA molecule's arrangement or sequence of chemical subunits is the basis for holding a code and this in turn is what contains information. DNA molecules in part make up the structures we call chromosomes. All the information for an entire organism, contained in the chromosomes, is called the genome. Information in the genome directs—by way of mechanistic material processes—the physical construction of what we are in bodily form.
Taking a moment to consider what is the cause of life's information is instructive. For example: "The efficient cause of something is that by which it comes to be. The instrumental cause is that through which it comes to be. And the material cause is that out of which it is made. Now material and instrumental causes do not necessarily resemble their effects but efficient causes do. For example, the painting does not resemble the artist's paint brush, but it does resemble the artist's mind. The reason is because the brush is only the instrumental cause, whereas the artist is the efficient cause." (quotation from Geisler & Saleeb, page 138, see our booklist reference to their book: Answering Islam). When we think of DNA, we may find ourselves focusing on the material and instrumental and not the efficient cause of information. Biologists often explain the result of genetic information in terms of regulating protein production which is more like the painting and not the artist's mind! Here the view is narrowed to the material and instrumental. But there is more to consider!
More than making biological structures, biological information channels the flow of materials and energy throughout our life span. Aside from making the components of cell, tissue, and body structures (for example, by making protein molecules), information embodies the 'plan' or 'blueprint' that establishes how life's unique organisms are to be assembled and function. Yet no one has identified where this information comes from.
The often cited cause is that mutations — externally caused chance alterations in the genetic code — make for change and thus cause new information. And earlier we addressed this from a probabilistic perspective. That potentially explains some slow appearance and genomic changes over time. Certainly, with events where life forms appear rapidly, there must also be a rapid delivery of information. There is no mechanistic model, computer or otherwise, that comes close to telling us how all that information was created and captured in life systems — which has us reflect back on what is the efficient cause. No one seems to be doing that directly, but scientists talk around the problem perhaps in hopes that some bright light will one day illuminate a material-based answer. That approach would be consistent with the standard evolution theory based on a random process and natural selection. But the material evidence reveals remarkable differences in the information base held by various organisms ...
The trend in science is generally to document what's there. The Human Genome Project essentially is a large cataloging of genetic information. From that new drugs or therapies may come, but all this is based on understanding what is contained within that base of information, not what brought it into existence. And tomorrow the sequences of information in the human genome will certainly bring us incredible surprises. So much of what has been cataloged is either [apparently] a large reservoir of nonsense or 'junk DNA,' or perhaps once deciphered a bit more ... just perhaps a reservoir of vast complexity revealing something else that chance could have never produced. For now, today's science has simply created a catalog to document what is there ... and not yet discovering how all that information might have been pulled together in the first place. Yes, we know, the assumption as always is evolution did it. Well, what science will say tomorrow may bring some clarity on that, but will clarity be couched in terms of evolution or will the discoveries continue to pull back the shutters to reveal an entirely new view!
FREE PDF of Mystery of Life's Origin (compliments of the authors) or purchase copy via link at the bottom of this page
Take a look at a few interesting points and see what the window now offers for our consideration ...
Bradley and Thaxton recall that information theory starts with the work of Claude Shannon and fellow engineers as the Bell Telephone Laboratories in the 1940's. This work measures information by mathematics, but the concept is also applicable to human language, Morse-code based messages, and the genetic transmission of information. In the case of genetics the messages are coded in the base sequences (the nucleic acid units of DNA) that serve like letters in an alphabet that makes written (recorded) language possible.
This structural identity is the basis for the application of information theory to biology. As Hubert P. Yockey notes in the Journal Of Theoretical Biology, "The sequence hypothesis applies directly to the protein and the genetic text as well as to written language and therefore the treatment is mathematically identical." Bradley and Thaxton (CH) Page 205 Now the existence of information, its structure, and transmission can be expressed not only in terms of passing along a message but also can be characterized in terms of a source for an origin.
This development is highly significant for the modern origin-of-life discussion and is an observation in the present that proponents of an intelligent origin of life use as a key to the past. In the case of written messages, we have experience that they have an intelligent cause. We use analogical reasoning to conclude that the remarkable information sequences in DNA also had an intelligent source. On the basis of analogy, then, we infer an agent with intelligence that is similar to human intelligence. Since DNA is an essential molecular component of every form of life we know, we likewise conclude that life on earth had an intelligent cause. Bradley and Thaxton (CH) Page 206
And remember time and context ... the cell diagram below is as about as sophisticated a view on cellular complexity that humanity had just past Darwin's time. And that view had very little to show for knowing exactly to what extent a single cell contained information. Years later we'd be shocked to learn that all the information in the entire genetic code was held within each cell of an entire organism—millions and trillions of copies—even when the cells themselves differed in structure and function. The presence of information is a common denominator throughout all biological life forms. We expand on this remarkable information system in the 'Consider This' section in Part 2 (see link below).
A most significant text that is a must read for all readers. Follow the scientific explorations and the conclusions that tell why DNA is more than a molecule, but IS information by design and beyond mere chance product of an abiotic origin. Read the book for yourself (to consider obtaining a copy click on the image below):
Also, we recommend watching a video from yet another source that addresses the complexity of information in DNA. The original source is found at the web site on Programming of Life. Their site provides the video in Flash format ... and we provide viewing of the QuickTime version for mobile devices or our WindowView visitors ... just click on this WindowView VIDEO LINK!
Remarkable Dimensions to Life's Information Storage, etc..
Generally, at this point in our feature articles we follow with a more detailed discussion. In this case, the 'Consider This' portion is a bit longer than typically found in other articles. So, to access this special 'Consider This' section ... simply click here!
Excerpts and links to Feature Articles:
Traditional approaches that fail to take account of new findings in molecular cell biology cannot survive the present day. Materialistic explanations for the origin of information have been systematically eliminated over the past forty years. Has origin-of-life research brought us to the brink of a new scientific revolution?: - Dr. Stephen Meyer on DNA and Information
Quotations from "The Creation Hypothesis" (CH) edited by J. P. Moreland are used by permission of InterVarsity Press, P.O. Box 1400, Downers Grove, IL 60515. www.ivpress.com All rights reserved. No portion of this material may be used without permission from InterVarsity Press.
Quotations from "Not By Chance" (NBC) written by L. Spetner, are used by permission granted by Dr. Lee Spetner.
Writer / Editor: Dr. T. Peterson, Director, WindowView.org
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References of Interest
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