Proponents of naturalism:
The naturalistic origin of all living things has been further supported by recent discoveries in molecular biology
"All the discoveries of modern molecular biology strongly support the Darwinian theory that evolution is the outcome of accidental genetic variations."Christian de Duve, The Nature of Nature conference, Baylor University, April 12-15, 2000.
Design proponents:
Recent discoveries in molecular biology increasingly challenge the idea that Darwin's theory can account for the molecular structure of life
"... the idea of intelligent design has advanced, not primarily because of anything I or any individual has done. Rather, it's been the very progress of science itself that has made intelligent design plausible. Fifty years ago much less was known about the cell, and it was much easier then to think that Darwinian evolution was true. But with the discovery of more and more complexity at the foundation of life, the idea of intelligent design has gained strength. That trend is continuing. As science pushes on, the complexity of the cell is not getting any less; on the contrary, it is getting much greater."
M. Behe, "Blind Evolution or Intelligent Design?" talk presented at the American Museum of Natural History, April 23, 2002. view transcript
Question: How can such disparate views be held by experts regarding the same field?Answer: By focusing on different aspects of the data!
vs
mechanism of origin
Proponents of naturalism assert that the patterns of similarities and differences resulting from protein and DNA/RNA sequence comparisons can only be interpreted within the framework of common ancestry. The question of mechanism is either not addressed or treated in a hand-waving manner.
In other branches of science, little can be made of inferential evidence without a plausible mechanism. Behe and others focuses on mechanism, and conclude that the discoveries of the past 40-50 years in molecular biology severely challenge the Darwinian explanation.
"The discovery, early in the history of molecular genetics, that the genetic code is apparently univeral - the same in Escherichia coli, Homo sapiens, and all other organisms, is awesome evidence that all living things are descended from a common ancestor."Curtis and Barnes, Biology, pg 355."Every molecular comparison of various life forms is a "repeat observation" of evolution".
D. Thomas, Albq. Trib., Aug 31, 1996."Those proteins (lens proteins) are derived from proteins that do something completely different, they are derived from enzymes that somehow became adapted to becoming lenses.
Christian de Duve, The Nature of Nature conference, Baylor University, April 12-15, 2000.Problems with inferences based on sequence similarities:
1. data are obtained only from existing organisms, beyond that all is conjecture2. different molecules can give different answers
3. convergence is ubiquitous
"My view is that the ubiquity of convergence makes it crucial for understanding the history of life." Simon Conway Morris, New Scientist Nov 16, 2002 pg 26-29.4. existing fitness landscapes may preclude continuous variation - a recent analysis indicates that, even away from the active site, enzymes can tolerate very little variability before loss of function. D. D. Axe, J. of Molecular Biology, 2000, 301, 585.
(Data can be presented selectively, may not be distinctive to only one interpretation, problems with mechanism can be ignored).
Original expectation of submicroscopic - simpleErnst Haeckel's view of a cell (quoted in Darwin's Black Box pg 24, 101):Actual finding during last 50 years - mind-boggling complexitya "simple little lump of albuminous combination of carbon"a "homogenous globule of protoplasm"
irreducible complexity, molecular machines, astoundingly high information density..life is based on machines - machines made of molecules! Molecular machines haul cargo from one place in the cell to another along "highways" made of other molecules, while still others act as cables, ropes, and pulleys to hold the cell in shape. Machines turn cellular switches on and off, sometimes killing the cell or causing it to grow. Solar-powered machines capture the energy of photons and store it in chemicals. Electrical machines allow current to flow through nerves. Manufacturing machines build other molecular machines, as well as themselves. Cells swim using machines, copy themselves with machinery, ingest food with machinery. In short, highly sophisticated molecular machines control every cellular process. Thus the details of life are finely calibrated, and the machinery of life enormously complex.M. Behe, Darwin's Black Box, pg 4-5
The world is already full of nanomachines: they are called living cells. Each cell is packed with tiny structures that might have come straight from an engineer's manual. Miniscule tweezers, scissors, pumps, motors, levers, valves, pipes, chains, and even vehicles abound. But of course the cell is more than just a bag of gadgets. The various components fit together to form a smoothly functioning whole, like an elaborate factory production line. The miracle of life is not that it is made of nanotools, but that these tiny diverse parts are integrated in a highly organized way.
P. Davies The Fifth Miracle, pg 97-98.
Animations of molecular machines
DNA molecules contain the highest known packing density of information. This exceedingly brilliant storage method reaches the limit of the physically possible, namely down to the level of single molecules. At this level, the information density is more than 1021 bits per cm3.W. Gitt, In The Beginning Was Information, pg 195.