Sanford, J.C. Genetic Entropy, FMS Publications, Waterloo, NY 2008
The entropy is the degradation of genes and nucleotides thru mutations which has a net downward effect or which there is no escape and no upward creation of more complex genes occurring. The primary axiom is that man is the product of mutations plus natural selection. He shows that genetics refutes this. The frequency distribution of mutations is described: It is dominated by nearly neutral mutations, followed by minor negative ones, followed by beneficial ones which are extremely rare. The neutral and negative ones overwhelm and make very unlikely the survival on any positive ones. p.27-32 (fig. 3) Mathematical curves describe these distributions. In addition researchers are finding that much of what was thought Junk DNA (non functional) is actually functional p.20-21 Muller’s Ratchet is described (p.169) as genetic degradation heavily loaded with mutations. “Everything about the true distribution of mutations argues against their possible forward evolution: p.25
He gives the analogy of an instruction manual where letters are changed randomly by a copying scribe. If one started with a manual for a red wagon, the manual would be a book; for a jet aircraft it would be library. DNA is a very detailed information code for which the letters A,C,T,G are used. If letters were changed by copping them incorrectly in the wagon manual, is impossible to the get the jet aircraft library of manuals. One would get a degraded incorrect wagon manual. P 5-13.
Bergman reviewed the topic of beneficial mutations form the literature in 2004. He found 453,732 mutations hits, but only 186 of those were called beneficial. When the 186 were reviewed, they were beneficial in a limited sense but all involved loss of information. P.26 This has also been shown true of bacterial antibiotic résistance. P17 Dr. Sanford was involved, along with other researchers, in doing accelerated plant mutation experiments using radiation and chemicals. Millions of plants were mutagenized and screened for improvements over two decades. Huge numbers of deformed aberrant plants were produced with almost no meaningful improvements. This effort was a failure and for the most part has been now abandoned. There are a couple of exceptions. One example is low phytate corn. This is an example of a net loss of genetic information where plants producing phytic acid no longer produce much of it. Some ornamental plant were produced which were dwarfs, which were interesting to the eye. P.27 Selection involves death of the weaker and survival of the fittest. However due to the population distribution statistics, the power of selection is limited. The lethal mutations are easily selected out, but the vast majority of mutations are near neutral and very minor, and make it difficult for an beneficial mutations to ever survive, and change the genome. Many animals die due to environmental factors unrelated to their genes.
He gives the example of a biochemistry textbook compared to a simple bacterial genome. If random letter errors (misspellings, duplications and deletion) are generated, say 100 new errors per text. Then the textbooks are given to students and they are tested on their biochemistry scores. The students with the best test scores are selected and their textbooks kept and again subjected to the error changing procedure. Would you expect any improvement in the textbooks or in the students test scores over time? Why not? P.50 Many of the errors will be minor. A number of factors, other that the errors, influence the student’s success. The statistics for the changes vastly support the degradation of the quality of the textbook, not its improvement.
When one chromosome is doubled it is called aneuploidy and when many are doubled it is called Polyploidy. Theses extra copies are not generally beneficial; and extra copy of chromosome 21 causes Down’s Syndrome. In plants the nucleus is enlarged disrupting the cell shape. It also results in stunted and deformed plants. P.194-5
Chap.10 the human genome is generating at 1-2 % per generation of about 20 yrs. Mutation is clearly implicated in aging. He accounts for the long lives the Adam and early figures and the shorter lives now by a curve based on genetic degradation. Our genes will continue to degrade. Mathematical modeling curves are given for this.
Appendix 1 has many quotes form notable geneticists supporting some the genetic trends cited in the book. p.161-181 Haldane made a case for human gene degradation ruling out gene improvement statistically.p.163 Degeneration of genes is the precise antithesis of evolutionary theory. P.206. The first part of the process is identifying what has already been done experimentally to address the questions. The National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) is the major repository of abstracts from the peer-reviewed literature in the life scie