Pseudogenes: Argument for Evolution and Against Design?
by Rich Deem

Pseudogenes are Bad Design?

It has been argued that the presence of apparently copied, non-functional Deoxyribonucleic acid: the chemical inside the nucleus of a cell that carries the genetic instructions for making living organisms.DNA The order of nucleotides in a DNA or RNA molecule, or the order of amino acids in a protein molecule.sequences (known as Sequence of DNA that are very similar to normal genes but that has been altered so they are not expressed.pseudogenes) support the theory of evolution and invalidate the idea that an intelligent Agent created life on earth. Until 2003, no function had been found for any A sequence of DNA that is very similar to a normal gene but that has been altered so it is not expressed.pseudogene. However, like other classes of DNA that does not carry the information necessary to make a protein.non-coding Deoxyribonucleic acid: the chemical inside the nucleus of a cell that carries the genetic instructions for making living organisms.DNA, a regulatory function has been found for at least one mammalian A sequence of DNA that is very similar to a normal gene but that has been altered so it is not expressed.pseudogene. This finding destroys the evolutionary argument that these Functional and physical units of heredity passed from parent to offspring. Genes are pieces of DNA, and most genes contain the information for making a specific protein.genes are merely evolutionary mistakes. This page also examines some of the underlying assumptions implicit in the argument that God would not design Sequence of DNA that are very similar to normal genes but that has been altered so they are not expressed.pseudogenes.

Rich Deem

Introduction

Sequence of DNA that are very similar to normal genes but that has been altered so they are not expressed.Pseudogenes are regions of DNA that does not carry the information necessary to make a protein.non-coding Deoxyribonucleic acid: the chemical inside the nucleus of a cell that carries the genetic instructions for making living organisms.DNA ( Deoxyribonucleic acid: the chemical inside the nucleus of a cell that carries the genetic instructions for making living organisms.DNA that does not code for functional An organic compound made of amino acids arranged in a linear chain, joined together by peptide bonds between the carboxyl and amino groups of the adjacent amino acid residues.protein) that has been apparently duplicated from functional Functional and physical units of heredity passed from parent to offspring. Genes are pieces of DNA, and most genes contain the information for making a specific protein.genes. Genes, and even Threadlike "packages" of genes and other DNA in the nucleus of a cell. Different kinds of organisms have different numbers of chromosomes. Humans have 23 pairs of chromosomes, 46 in all: 44 autosomes and two sex chromosomes. Each parent contributes one chromosome to each pair, so children get half of their chromosomes from their mothers and half from their fathers.chromosomes and entire All the DNA contained in an organism or a cell, which includes both the chromosomes within the nucleus and the DNA in mitochondria.genomes can be duplicated through copying errors. If evolution were true, it would be expected that some of these duplicated Functional and physical units of heredity passed from parent to offspring. Genes are pieces of DNA, and most genes contain the information for making a specific protein.genes would undergo mutation that could render them useless. These Sequence of DNA that are very similar to normal genes but that has been altered so they are not expressed.pseudogenes would be passed down from generation to generation and across species as one species evolved into another. Random Permanent structural alterations in DNA, consisting of either substitutions, insertions or deletions of nucleotide bases.mutations would be expected to be inserted into the The order of nucleotides in a DNA or RNA molecule, or the order of amino acids in a protein molecule.sequence, since there would be no selection pressure to eliminate less fit The order of nucleotides in a DNA or RNA molecule, or the order of amino acids in a protein molecule.sequences. An examination of these Sequence of DNA that are very similar to normal genes but that has been altered so they are not expressed.pseudogenes among families related through descent would be expected to reveal a simple inheritance of these Sequence of DNA that are very similar to normal genes but that has been altered so they are not expressed.pseudogenes and the Permanent structural alterations in DNA, consisting of either substitutions, insertions or deletions of nucleotide bases.mutations that they would have accumulated over time.

Non coding DNA

Much has been made in the past of DNA that does not carry the information necessary to make a protein.non-coding (does not code for messenger Ribonucleic acid: a chemical that directs the manufacture of proteins and sometimes codes for the genetic material within certain organisms.RNA or codes for defective Messenger ribonucleic acid is a molecule of RNA encoding a chemical 'blueprint' for a protein product, which is transcribed from a DNA template, and carries this information to the sites of protein synthesis.mRNA, and therefore has no An organic compound made of amino acids arranged in a linear chain, joined together by peptide bonds between the carboxyl and amino groups of the adjacent amino acid residues.protein product) or "junk" Deoxyribonucleic acid: the chemical inside the nucleus of a cell that carries the genetic instructions for making living organisms.DNA found in eukaryotes. To a large degree, these "non-useful" DNA that carries the information necessary to code for a protein.coding regions do not exist in the prokaryotes (bacteria). However, bacterial Deoxyribonucleic acid: the chemical inside the nucleus of a cell that carries the genetic instructions for making living organisms.DNA is not enclosed in a nucleus, nor is it found in individual Threadlike "packages" of genes and other DNA in the nucleus of a cell. Different kinds of organisms have different numbers of chromosomes. Humans have 23 pairs of chromosomes, 46 in all: 44 autosomes and two sex chromosomes. Each parent contributes one chromosome to each pair, so children get half of their chromosomes from their mothers and half from their fathers.chromosomes (as in eukaryotes), but exists as just one long piece of Deoxyribonucleic acid: the chemical inside the nucleus of a cell that carries the genetic instructions for making living organisms.DNA. At least nine classes of DNA that does not carry the information necessary to make a protein.non-coding Deoxyribonucleic acid: the chemical inside the nucleus of a cell that carries the genetic instructions for making living organisms.DNA are now recognized: Noncoding sequences of DNA that are initially copied into RNA but are cut out of the final RNA transcript.introns, satellites, Regions of DNA in which repeat units of 6–100 base pairs are arranged in tandem arrays that are 500–30,000 bases in lengthminisatellites, Repetitive stretches of short sequences of DNA used as genetic markers to track inheritance in families.Y microsatellites, 3' untranslated regions, heterogeneous nuclear Ribonucleic acid: a chemical that directs the manufacture of proteins and sometimes codes for the genetic material within certain organisms.RNA, short interspersed elements, long interspersed elements, and Sequence of DNA that are very similar to normal genes but that has been altered so they are not expressed.pseudogenes. Sequence of DNA that are very similar to normal genes but that has been altered so they are not expressed.Pseudogenes are regions of Deoxyribonucleic acid: the chemical inside the nucleus of a cell that carries the genetic instructions for making living organisms.DNA which resemble portions of coding Functional and physical units of heredity passed from parent to offspring. Genes are pieces of DNA, and most genes contain the information for making a specific protein.genes from which they are hypothesized to have been derived. They themselves do not code for Organic compounds made of amino acids arranged in a linear chain, joined together by peptide bonds between the carboxyl and amino groups of the adjacent amino acid residues.proteins, since they usually do not begin with a "start" DNA that carries the information necessary to code for a protein.coding sequence. The fact that Sequence of DNA that are very similar to normal genes but that has been altered so they are not expressed.pseudogenes are expressed to a high degree in mammals as opposed to other animals was the first hint that these The order of nucleotides in a DNA or RNA molecule, or the order of amino acids in a protein molecule.sequences were not just non-functional relics of evolution.

Pseudogenes do not fit the evolutionary paradigm

An article by Gary Gilbert published in the October, 1992 Spectrum magazine presented the beta globin A sequence of DNA that is very similar to a normal gene but that has been altered so it is not expressed.pseudogene as compelling evidence for human's and ape's evolution from a common ancestor. Gilbert suggested Sequence of DNA that are very similar to normal genes but that has been altered so they are not expressed.pseudogenes, and other DNA that does not carry the information necessary to make a protein.non-coding Deoxyribonucleic acid: the chemical inside the nucleus of a cell that carries the genetic instructions for making living organisms.DNA, are molecular potsherds that can be used to reconstruct a species' evolutionary history, requiring that this Deoxyribonucleic acid: the chemical inside the nucleus of a cell that carries the genetic instructions for making living organisms.DNA really have no function, but continues to be produced as a partial record of what once was an important adaptation.

A study by Minghetti and Dugaiczyk1 examined the enolase A sequence of DNA that is very similar to a normal gene but that has been altered so it is not expressed.pseudogene, present in humans and four other An order of mammals including man, apes, monkeys, etc., often characterized by large brains and flexible hands and feet.primates, including the baboon, an Old World monkey. The accepted value of 5 x 10-9 One of the structural components, or building blocks, of DNA and RNA. A nucleotide consists of a base plus a molecule of sugar and one of phosphate.nucleotide Replacement of one nucleotide in a DNA sequence by another nucleotide or replacement of one amino acid in a protein by another amino acid.substitutions per site per year as the evolutionary rate for Sequence of DNA that are very similar to normal genes but that has been altered so they are not expressed.pseudogenes would lead one to conclude this A sequence of DNA that is very similar to a normal gene but that has been altered so it is not expressed.pseudogene arose 14 million years ago. However, evolutionary theory states Old World monkeys diverged from the hominid lineage some 30 million years ago. It is difficult to explain how the The order of nucleotides in a DNA or RNA molecule, or the order of amino acids in a protein molecule.sequence Replacement of one nucleotide in a DNA sequence by another nucleotide or replacement of one amino acid in a protein by another amino acid.substitution rate would vary from one A sequence of DNA that is very similar to a normal gene but that has been altered so it is not expressed.pseudogene to another, since they are DNA that does not carry the information necessary to make a protein.non-coding, and, therefore, should not be subject to any form of natural selection.

What is common to all these A sequence of DNA that is very similar to a normal gene but that has been altered so it is not expressed.pseudogene studies is that the Sequence of DNA that are very similar to normal genes but that has been altered so they are not expressed.pseudogenes from humans and apes are not identical. One would expect some similarity, since 98% of our All the DNA contained in an organism or a cell, which includes both the chromosomes within the nucleus and the DNA in mitochondria.genome is identical to that of chimpanzees. What is the purpose of this DNA that does not carry the information necessary to make a protein.non-coding Deoxyribonucleic acid: the chemical inside the nucleus of a cell that carries the genetic instructions for making living organisms.DNA? In humans, 97% of the All the DNA contained in an organism or a cell, which includes both the chromosomes within the nucleus and the DNA in mitochondria.genome is DNA that does not carry the information necessary to make a protein.non-coding, suggesting that it must serve some purpose. Even evolution would not be expected to produce a species which has an efficiency of only 3%. Natural selection should have removed all this useless Deoxyribonucleic acid: the chemical inside the nucleus of a cell that carries the genetic instructions for making living organisms.DNA. Much of the DNA that does not carry the information necessary to make a protein.non-coding Deoxyribonucleic acid: the chemical inside the nucleus of a cell that carries the genetic instructions for making living organisms.DNA that was once considered nonfunctional is actually highly functional. In fact, recent studies show that some of this DNA that does not carry the information necessary to make a protein.non-coding Deoxyribonucleic acid: the chemical inside the nucleus of a cell that carries the genetic instructions for making living organisms.DNA can control expression of other Deoxyribonucleic acid: the chemical inside the nucleus of a cell that carries the genetic instructions for making living organisms.DNA, and other DNA that does not carry the information necessary to make a protein.non-coding Deoxyribonucleic acid: the chemical inside the nucleus of a cell that carries the genetic instructions for making living organisms.DNA probably serves to give structure to Deoxyribonucleic acid: the chemical inside the nucleus of a cell that carries the genetic instructions for making living organisms.DNA and the Threadlike "packages" of genes and other DNA in the nucleus of a cell. Different kinds of organisms have different numbers of chromosomes. Humans have 23 pairs of chromosomes, 46 in all: 44 autosomes and two sex chromosomes. Each parent contributes one chromosome to each pair, so children get half of their chromosomes from their mothers and half from their fathers.chromosomes.

Functional pseudogenes

The idea that Sequence of DNA that are very similar to normal genes but that has been altered so they are not expressed.pseudogenes are merely evolutionary relics has been so ingrained in the scientific community that few studies have actually attempted to find any kind of function for many of the thousands of mammalian Sequence of DNA that are very similar to normal genes but that has been altered so they are not expressed.pseudogenes. In fact, the first functional role for a A sequence of DNA that is very similar to a normal gene but that has been altered so it is not expressed.pseudogene was found through a study that was not even designed to study Sequence of DNA that are very similar to normal genes but that has been altered so they are not expressed.pseudogenes.2 This study was looking at expression of a fruit fly The functional and physical unit of heredity passed from parent to offspring. Genes are pieces of DNA, and most genes contain the information for making a specific protein.gene that was being inserted into the Functional and physical units of heredity passed from parent to offspring. Genes are pieces of DNA, and most genes contain the information for making a specific protein.genes of laboratory mice. The investigators produced several lines of mice by inserting the fruit fly The functional and physical unit of heredity passed from parent to offspring. Genes are pieces of DNA, and most genes contain the information for making a specific protein.gene randomly into the mouse Deoxyribonucleic acid: the chemical inside the nucleus of a cell that carries the genetic instructions for making living organisms.DNA. However, just one line of the genetically-altered mice was found to have multi-organ failure in at least 80% of the individuals. Instead of discarding the aberrant line, the scientists probed to find out why the A type of chromosomal abnormality in which a DNA sequence is inserted into a gene, disrupting the normal structure and function of that gene.insertion was lethal. What they found is that the fruit fly The functional and physical unit of heredity passed from parent to offspring. Genes are pieces of DNA, and most genes contain the information for making a specific protein.gene had been inserted into the middle of a A sequence of DNA that is very similar to a normal gene but that has been altered so it is not expressed.pseudogene The order of nucleotides in a DNA or RNA molecule, or the order of amino acids in a protein molecule.sequence called Makorin1-p1. The scientists found that this A sequence of DNA that is very similar to a normal gene but that has been altered so it is not expressed.pseudogene produced an Messenger ribonucleic acid is a molecule of RNA encoding a chemical 'blueprint' for a protein product, which is transcribed from a DNA template, and carries this information to the sites of protein synthesis.mRNA product that regulated the expression of the functional Makorin1 The functional and physical unit of heredity passed from parent to offspring. Genes are pieces of DNA, and most genes contain the information for making a specific protein.gene. Not only was the A sequence of DNA that is very similar to a normal gene but that has been altered so it is not expressed.pseudogene functional, but its destruction resulted in a lethal A permanent structural alteration in DNA, consisting of either a substitution, insertion or deletion of nucleotide bases.mutation in the mice. Scientists had found the first required A sequence of DNA that is very similar to a normal gene but that has been altered so it is not expressed.pseudogene.

The abstract from a commentary in issue of Nature in which the study was published indicated:

"' Sequence of DNA that are very similar to normal genes but that has been altered so they are not expressed.Pseudogenes' are produced from functional Functional and physical units of heredity passed from parent to offspring. Genes are pieces of DNA, and most genes contain the information for making a specific protein.genes during evolution, and are thought to be simply molecular fossils. The unexpected discovery of a biological function for one A sequence of DNA that is very similar to a normal gene but that has been altered so it is not expressed.pseudogene challenges that popular belief."3

Since this first study, many other studies have found that Sequence of DNA that are very similar to normal genes but that has been altered so they are not expressed.pseudogenes exhibit functional activity, including gene expression, gene regulation, and generation of genetic diversity.4 Recent work shows that up to 50% of Sequence of DNA that are very similar to normal genes but that has been altered so they are not expressed.pseudogenes in some genomes appear to be transcriptionally active.5 A large study (over 350 investigators), comprehensively examining 1% of the human genome, estimated that at least 19% of all Sequence of DNA that are very similar to normal genes but that has been altered so they are not expressed.pseudogenes are transcribed.6 In humans, 8,000 of the estimated 12,000 Sequence of DNA that are very similar to normal genes but that has been altered so they are not expressed.pseudogenes are actually processed.7 Out of those 8,000, 60% are "conserved" across mammalian species.7 Such a high percentage of similar sequences among different species suggest that these sequences do have some kind of function.

Pseudogenes and siRNA

Another study has found that numerous A sequence of DNA that is very similar to a normal gene but that has been altered so it is not expressed.pseudogene RNA products produced from the DNA sequence of a gene by the action of the enzyme RNA polymerase.transcripts interact with protein- DNA that carries the information necessary to code for a protein.coding mRNAs to form dsRNAs, which are processed into endo-siRNAs, through the action of a ribonuclease enzyme called Dicer.8 Dicer cleaves double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) into short double-stranded RNA fragments called small interfering RNA (siRNA), which are about 20-25 nucleotides long. In the study, cells that were Dicer knockouts (the Dicer gene was deleted) expressed more RNA products produced from the DNA sequence of a gene by the action of the enzyme RNA polymerase.transcripts of several genes, indicating that these A sequence of DNA that is very similar to a normal gene but that has been altered so it is not expressed.pseudogene-derived endo-siRNAs were active in gene regulation through RNA interference pathways. Another study found that a large percentage of the Sequence of DNA that are very similar to normal genes but that has been altered so they are not expressed.pseudogenes in the parasite Trypanosoma brucei generated siRNAs that regulated the corresponding DNA that carries the information necessary to code for a protein.coding gene.9 So, rather than being useless junk or leftovers of duplicated genes Sequence of DNA that are very similar to normal genes but that has been altered so they are not expressed.pseudogenes seem to function as active regulatory elements for DNA that carries the information necessary to code for a protein.coding genes. A recent review was written to show "the ways in which pseudogenes exert their effect on coding genes and explore the role of pseudogenes in the increasingly complex web of noncoding RNA that contributes to normal cellular regulation."10

Evolutionists' assumptions about God

Does the presence of Sequence of DNA that are very similar to normal genes but that has been altered so they are not expressed.pseudogenes eliminate the possibility that God created life? To come to this conclusion, there are some assumptions that are implicit in the evolutionists' argument. The first assumption is that God would only create new creatures by producing an entirely new copy of Deoxyribonucleic acid: the chemical inside the nucleus of a cell that carries the genetic instructions for making living organisms.DNA. In other words, Deoxyribonucleic acid: the chemical inside the nucleus of a cell that carries the genetic instructions for making living organisms.DNA would be expected to be completely redesigned from any previously existing organism. Is this the way God works? We know from science that the Sun is a second generation star - formed from the remains of a supernova. For this reason, the Solar System is highly metal enriched, which is required for the existence of life on earth.11 Therefore, God does reuse material when designing "new" structures. When Jesus made wine at the marriage feast in Cana of Galilee (John 2:1-11), He did not begin with nothing or air, but began with water. Part of the water was changed into alcohol, but greater than 80% of the original water was unchanged. When God brings a person to salvation, He does not change the genetics or physical makeup of the individual. The person remains in the same body - often a body that has been ravaged by the effects of a lifetime of sinful behavior.

A good analogy in the design of a genetic code is the design of computer programs. I do a significant amount of computer programming as part of my job. When I write programs, I always reuse sections of code in the new programs. I do not begin by writing an entire program from scratch. This would be silly, and highly inefficient. The computer program consists of the GUI (graphical user interface) and the code that performs the actual computations. This is analogous to biological organisms. The GUI is the The observable traits or characteristics of an organism, for example hair color, weight, or the presence or absence of a disease.phenotype (the way the organism looks) and the code that performs the computations is the biochemical pathways. If one Designer created all biological organisms, we would expect to see similar genetic code for both The observable traits or characteristics of an organism, for example hair color, weight, or the presence or absence of a disease.phenotype and biochemical pathways. This is a good argument in favor of monotheism as opposed to polytheism.

A creationary model for genetic similarity

The Bible says that God created humans from the dust of the earth.12 This statement suggests that humans were designed from preexisting material. I propose that part of this "dust" consists of the genetic code of previously existing organisms. If you were going to create a new species of An order of mammals including man, apes, monkeys, etc., often characterized by large brains and flexible hands and feet.primate, you would begin with An order of mammals including man, apes, monkeys, etc., often characterized by large brains and flexible hands and feet.primate Deoxyribonucleic acid: the chemical inside the nucleus of a cell that carries the genetic instructions for making living organisms.DNA. This Deoxyribonucleic acid: the chemical inside the nucleus of a cell that carries the genetic instructions for making living organisms.DNA would be altered to form the unique characteristics of the new species. I believe that this is the method that God used to create new species of life on earth. How does this differ from evolution driven through natural selection and how can you distinguish the two methods? Naturalistic evolution could, in theory, produce some of the changes in structures that would account for some of the Related to the observable traits or characteristics of an organism, for example hair color, weight, or the presence or absence of a disease.phenotypic differences observed between the old and new species. However, evolution is unable to account for the design of new structures. Even more of a problem are the ravages of A permanent structural alteration in DNA, consisting of either a substitution, insertion or deletion of nucleotide bases.mutation on the All the DNA contained within species of organisms, which includes both the chromosomes within the nucleus and the DNA in mitochondria.genomes of organisms.13 Mutation, the mechanism by which evolutionary change is proposed to occur, most often has no effect upon the fitness of an organism. In humans, these "neutral" Permanent structural alterations in DNA, consisting of either substitutions, insertions or deletions of nucleotide bases.mutations occur at a rate of 2.6 Permanent structural alterations in DNA, consisting of either substitutions, insertions or deletions of nucleotide bases.mutations per person per generation. However, Having a harmful of bad effect.deleterious Permanent structural alterations in DNA, consisting of either substitutions, insertions or deletions of nucleotide bases.mutations occur at a rate of 1.6 Permanent structural alterations in DNA, consisting of either substitutions, insertions or deletions of nucleotide bases.mutations per person per generation. Although these Having a harmful of bad effect.deleterious Permanent structural alterations in DNA, consisting of either substitutions, insertions or deletions of nucleotide bases.mutations are usually A genetic disorder that appears only in patients who have received two copies of a mutant gene, one from each parent.recessive (not expressed unless there are two copies), they will accumulate in the The functional and physical unit of heredity passed from parent to offspring. Genes are pieces of DNA, and most genes contain the information for making a specific protein.gene pool over time. Decreases in population size leads to the expression of these Having a harmful of bad effect.deleterious Permanent structural alterations in DNA, consisting of either substitutions, insertions or deletions of nucleotide bases.mutations through inbreeding, which seriously affects the fitness of the species. In fact, this is the mechanism by which species go extinct. Because of the small amount of genetic variation among humans, evolutionists have proposed that the human species went through a population bottleneck in the recent past. However, such a bottleneck would lead to expression of Having a harmful of bad effect.deleterious Permanent structural alterations in DNA, consisting of either substitutions, insertions or deletions of nucleotide bases.mutations, which would further drive down the population numbers, leading to extinction. I believe that God created humans by editing An order of mammals including man, apes, monkeys, etc., often characterized by large brains and flexible hands and feet.primate Deoxyribonucleic acid: the chemical inside the nucleus of a cell that carries the genetic instructions for making living organisms.DNA - adding new features and removing the Having a harmful of bad effect.deleterious Permanent structural alterations in DNA, consisting of either substitutions, insertions or deletions of nucleotide bases.mutations of this Deoxyribonucleic acid: the chemical inside the nucleus of a cell that carries the genetic instructions for making living organisms.DNA template. If evolution were the mechanism by which species arose, Having a harmful of bad effect.deleterious Permanent structural alterations in DNA, consisting of either substitutions, insertions or deletions of nucleotide bases.mutations would continue to accumulate as new species evolved. This mechanism would lead to ever increasingly defective Deoxyribonucleic acid: the chemical inside the nucleus of a cell that carries the genetic instructions for making living organisms.DNA through the biological history of the earth. How does this creationary model relate to Sequence of DNA that are very similar to normal genes but that has been altered so they are not expressed.pseudogenes? Since Sequence of DNA that are very similar to normal genes but that has been altered so they are not expressed.pseudogenes are not Having a harmful of bad effect.deleterious, I believe that God left them in the All the DNA contained in an organism or a cell, which includes both the chromosomes within the nucleus and the DNA in mitochondria.genome as part of the filler Deoxyribonucleic acid: the chemical inside the nucleus of a cell that carries the genetic instructions for making living organisms.DNA required to maintain One of the threadlike "packages" of genes and other DNA in the nucleus of a cell. Different kinds of organisms have different numbers of chromosomes. Humans have 23 pairs of chromosomes, 46 in all: 44 autosomes and two sex chromosomes. Each parent contributes one chromosome to each pair, so children get half of their chromosomes from their mothers and half from their fathers.chromosome structure and function.

Conclusion Top of page

The Myth of Junk DNAUntil 2003, evolutionists claimed that Sequence of DNA that are very similar to normal genes but that has been altered so they are not expressed.pseudogenes were the best evidence that macroevolution was purely an undirected function of mutation. However, recent studies have shown that some Sequence of DNA that are very similar to normal genes but that has been altered so they are not expressed.pseudogenes are actually required an organism's survival. A survey of the human genome has shown that 19% of Sequence of DNA that are very similar to normal genes but that has been altered so they are not expressed.pseudogenes are transcribed, implying that they are functional. Subsequently, it was shown that RNA products produced from the DNA sequence of a gene by the action of the enzyme RNA polymerase.transcripts of Sequence of DNA that are very similar to normal genes but that has been altered so they are not expressed.pseudogenes are involved in gene regulation through RNA interference pathways. However, it is also possible that non-transcribed Sequence of DNA that are very similar to normal genes but that has been altered so they are not expressed.pseudogenes might perform regulatory functions in nearby genes. So, I would not be surprised that a thorough examination of our genome will reveal function in at least half of all Sequence of DNA that are very similar to normal genes but that has been altered so they are not expressed.pseudogenes, with the remainder playing some role in chromosomal stability and structure. We will continue to report new studies and findings as they become available.

Related Pages Top of page

PSEUDOGENES AND ORIGINS L. J. Gibson, Geoscience Research Institute (from Origins 21(2):91-108, 1994)

The Cell's Design: How Chemistry Reveals the Creator's ArtistryFazale Rana (Ph.D. in chemistry), vice president of research and apologetics at Reasons To Believe, has written a new book, The Cell's Design: How Chemistry Reveals the Creator's Artistry, that attempts to show that cellular biochemistry points to the existence of the Creator who designed it. Whereas most intelligent design books attempt to show the existence of design by demonstrating the existence of irreducible complexity, Dr. Rana examines the cell's biochemistry with broad strokes of how everything works together with such marvelous fidelity. So, even if a single piece or line of evidence might be dismissed as a statistical outlier, the weight of evidence makes a powerful case for design by a Creator.

Darwin's God: Evolution and the Problem of Evil by Cornelius G. Hunter. Biophysicist Cornelius Hunter examines the evolutionary argument common among atheists "God would not have done it that way." Hunter points out that this argument is nothing less than theology under the guise of "biology."

Creation As Science: A Testable Model Approach to End the Creation/evolution WarsReasons To Believe's third in a series of books proposing a testable creation model takes on the origin and design of the universe. Previous books, Origins of Life: Biblical and Evolutionary Models Face Off and Who Was Adam?: A Creation Model Approach to the Origin of Man, examined the origin of life on earth and the origin of mankind, respectively. Creation As Science develops a biblical creation model and compares the predictions of this model compared to a naturalistic model, young earth creationism, and theistic evolution. This biblical creation model is divided into four main areas, the origin of the universe, the origin of the Solar System, the history of life on earth, and the origin and history of mankind.

The Edge of evolutionThe Edge of Evolution: The Search for the Limits of Darwinism by Michael Behe

Darwin's Black Box author Michael Behe takes on the limits of evolution through an examination of specific genetic examples. Behe finds that mutation and natural selection is capable of generating trivial examples of evolutionary change. Although he concludes that descent with modification has occurred throughout biological history, the molecular devices found throughout nature cannot be accounted for through natural selection and mutation. Behe's book claims to develop a framework for testing intelligent design by defining the principles by which Darwinian evolution can be distinguished from design.

References Top of page

  1. Minghetti PP. and Dugaiczyk A. 1993. The emergence of new Deoxyribonucleic acid: the chemical inside the nucleus of a cell that carries the genetic instructions for making living organisms.DNA repeats and the divergence of An order of mammals including man, apes, monkeys, etc., often characterized by large brains and flexible hands and feet.primates. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 90(5):1872-1876.
  2. Hirotsune, S., Yoshida, N., Chen, A., Garrett, L., Sugiyama, F., Takahashi, S., Yagami, K., Wynshaw-Boris, A., and Yoshiki, A. 2003. An expressed A sequence of DNA that is very similar to a normal gene but that has been altered so it is not expressed.pseudogene regulates the messenger- Ribonucleic acid: a chemical that directs the manufacture of proteins and sometimes codes for the genetic material within certain organisms.RNA stability of its homologous coding The functional and physical unit of heredity passed from parent to offspring. Genes are pieces of DNA, and most genes contain the information for making a specific protein.gene. Nature 423:  91-96.
  3. Lee, J. T. 2003. Molecular biology: Complicity of gene and A sequence of DNA that is very similar to a normal gene but that has been altered so it is not expressed.pseudogene [News and Views] Nature 423: 26-28.
  4. Balakirev, E. S. and F. J. Ayala. 2003. PSEUDOGENES: Are They "Junk" or Functional DNA? Ann. Rev. Genetics 37: 123-151.
  5. Zheng, D. and M. B. Gerstein. 2007. The Ambiguous Boundary between Genes and Pseudogenes: The Dead Rise Up, or Do They? Trends in Genetics 23: 219-24.
  6. The ENCODE Project Consortium. 2007. Identification and analysis of functional elements in 1% of the human genome by the ENCODE pilot project. Nature 447: 799-816.
  7. Wen YZ, Zheng LL, Qu LH, Ayala FJ, Lun ZR. 2012. Pseudogenes are not pseudo any more. RNA Biol. 9:27-32.
  8. Oliver H. Tam, O. H. et al. 2008. Pseudogene-derived small interfering RNAs regulate gene expression in mouse oocytes. Nature 453: 534-538.
  9. Yan-Zi Wen, Ling-Ling Zheng, Jian-You Liao, Ming-Hui Wang, Ying Wei, Xue-Min Guo, Liang-Hu Qu, Francisco J. Ayala, and Zhao-Rong Lun. 2011. Pseudogene-derived small interference RNAs regulate gene expression in African Trypanosoma brucei. PNAS : 1103894108v1-201103894.
  10. Pink, R. C., K. Wicks, D. P. Caley, E. K. Punch, L. Jacobs and D. R. F. Carter. 2011. Pseudogenes: Pseudo-functional or key regulators in health and disease? RNA 17: 792-798.
  11. Leslie Mullen. 2001. In Search of the Milky Way's Habitable Zone
  12. Then the LORD God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being. (Genesis 2:7)
  13. Crow, J.F. 1999. The odds of losing at genetic roulette. Nature 397: 293-294.
    Eyre-Walker, A. & Keightley, P. D. 1999. High genomic Having a harmful of bad effect.deleterious A permanent structural alteration in DNA, consisting of either a substitution, insertion or deletion of nucleotide bases.mutationrates in hominids. Nature 397, 344-347.

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