The diminishing returns of beneficial mutations

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Photo by Eric Erbe, wikipedia

Escherichia coli

Low-temperature electron micrograph of a cluster of E. coli bacteria. Each individual bacterium is oblong shaped.

by Shaun Doyle

Published: 7 July 2011(GMT+10)

Subsequently published in Journal of Creation 25(3)

Beneficial mutations are often seen as the engine of evolution (Mutations: evolution’s engine becomes evolution’s end!). However, beneficial mutations by themselves don’t solve the problem (see Beetle Bloopers). Mutations not only have to be beneficial, but they have to add biological information, i.e. specified complexity. However, practically all beneficial mutations observed have been losses of specified complexity (The evolution train’s a-comin’), with only a few disputable examples of mutations increasing information ever found (e.g. bacteria that digest nylon, citrate or xylitol).

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via Antagonistic epistasis.

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