Evolution: a different view with loss of traits; not Behe (Introduction)

by dhw, Tuesday, September 08, 2020, 12:13 (1318 days ago) @ David Turell

dhw: I suggest that the process is on-going, with a constant acquisition of new genes (or new functions for old genes) and loss of unwanted genes. Natural selection merely decides which genes are necessary and which are not.

dhw: The use of ‘complexity’ is not the same as ‘innovation’, which is crucial to speciation in the broad sense (as opposed to variations within species, which some people also regard as speciation). I don’t see any hidden meaning in the quotes, which quite explicitly emphasize the role of the environment, and the fact that under certain conditions genes become dispensable and are therefore discarded, in keeping with the theory of natural selection. I find this completely logical. Perhaps now, forgetting about Darwin and using my own terminology, you would tell me why my own proposal bolded above is not feasible.

DAVID: The acquisition of new genes in your statement now in red is not supported. Remember I am forced to use Darwin-biased articles, and this one agrees with Behe in carefully couched terms. Your Darwinism is showing.

You are not forced to do anything. You quoted the article as if it confirmed that evolutionary advances always result from loss of genes. The article does no such thing. As far as my own proposal is concerned, the acquisition of new genes has plenty of support:

New Gene Evolution: Little Did We Know
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4281893

“Genes are perpetually added to and deleted from genomes during evolution. Thus, it is important to understand how new genes are formed and evolve as critical components of the genetic systems determining the biological diversity of life.”

New genes drive the evolution of gene interaction networks ...
paperity.org/p/74138386/new-genes-drive-the-evolution-of-gene-interaction-ne

New genes as drivers of phenotypic evolution | Nature ...
https://www.nature.com/articles/nrg3521

Under “Evolution: viruses critical role” you have even quoted another source:

'The second study, Sakashita et al., involves endogenous retroviruses that act as another type of enhancer—gene regulatory elements in the genome—to drive expression of newly evolved genes. This helps fine tune species-specific transcriptomes in mammals like humans, mice, and so on.

Now please tell me why my proposal is not feasible.