Genetic Controls of the Embryo — Unfriendly to Evolution

Flickr/Ed Uthman (image use does not imply endorsement of this post)

Let me over-simplify: Neo-Darwinism relies heavily on a series of gradual mutations so that one organism can, eventually, turn into another organism. Microbes to microbiologist, goo to you, that sort of thing. This flies in the face of observational science. Everything has to be in place at the same time, or an organism cannot change, or even survive, because mutations are meaningless at best, but usually harmful.


The startling complexity of DNA and genetics should make anyone an evolution denier with even a cursory glance at the processes. It helps illustrate the design and wonder of life. For example, embryonic development has genes that switch growth processes on and off... Here, let the author explain:

As they say in the real estate business, location is everything. It looks like the same working principle applies to genes and their control sequences in the genome during embryo development. And not just the gene’s simple location in a linear sense, but its three-dimensional spatial location. 

During the growth of an embryo, genes that direct the developmental processes are precisely switched on and off. This highly complex process contextually confers specific properties to different cells that eventually become the various organs and tissues of the developing embryo. The precise timing and control of these genetic switches is critical to building a properly proportioned healthy animal. 

One of the best studied individual genes in this process encodes a protein called “Fgf8” (Fibroblast growth factor 8). There are actually a number of different types of fibroblast growth-factor genes that are not only important for basic cell survival, but also for embryonic development, cell growth, cell differentiation, and tissue repair.

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