Self-Correcting Genetics

Genesis 1:12
“And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was good.”

Charles Darwin’s natural selection as the driving force for evolution was abandoned almost a century ago and replaced by random mutations. Every textbook since then has therefore claimed that all the varieties of extinct and living plants and animals have been the result of random mutations. However, the Bible teaches us that plants and animals reproduce “after their kind.” Plant biologists at Purdue University recently made a startling discovery that supports the Bible’s teaching.

Researchers were working with a species of mustard plant commonly used in genetic experiments. This plant sometimes has a mutation that causes deformed flowers. Since it is a recessive mutation, such plants have no genetic information that would enable them to have normal flowers. To their amazement, the scientists found that 10 percent of these plants were producing offspring with normal flowers, even without the correct genetic information. The plants were put through all sorts of genetic testing to see if the correct genetic information might be found hiding in unexpected places within the plants. None of the correct genetic information was ever found, and they ruled out the possibility that the wrong genetic information changed back into the correct kind.

God created living things to reproduce after their kind. He has made DNA so that it can correct itself. Apparently, He has included other ways for living things to do this, too.

Prayer:
Father, I thank You that living things reproduce after their kind, to our good and to Your glory. Amen.

Notes:
Science News, 4/9/05, p. 235, “Plants fix genes using copies from ancestors.”