tists finally settled on DNA as the molecule possessing the heritable genetic information.
Like so many scientific discoveries, the elucidation of the structure of DNA concluded one scientific story and started another. With this newfound knowledge, the scientific community could now go about the business of finding out the sequence of the DNA code in each species. Again, this information was slow in coming. Only in the last few years has enough DNA sequence existed in the public databases whereby Darwin’s origin claims can be directly evaluated.1
To clarify, no other scientific field directly records a species’ ancestry. Fossils, geography, anatomy, and physiology are not inherited. DNA is the actual chemical that is passed on in sperm and egg. Hence, only the field of genetics acts as a direct record of species’ ancestry.
Conversely, by virtue of the manner in which DNA changes each generation, DNA also records the passage of time.
To understand how the DNA clock ticks, it’s helpful to understand the structure of the DNA molecule. DNA exists in the form of a twisted ladder. Each rung of the ladder represents a chemical letter, and the different colors of the rungs represent the different DNA letters.
Though only four different DNA letters exist in the DNA code, this small chemical alphabet of sorts can carry tremendous amounts of information. For example, in humans, a total of six billion DNA letters—rungs of the ladder—exist in each person.2 The arrangement of these letters—their order, their spatial relationship to other letters, and so on—carries the information for a species’ traits and characteristics.
When sperm and egg copy their DNA in preparation for fertilization, the copying process is imperfect. In terms of the diagram we just examined, copying errors change the color of one of the rungs to a different rung color. Over time, the number of color-changed rungs increases, acting like a clock that measures time since the DNA sequence first came to be.
By comparing the rungs of the DNA ladder in various individuals, we can assess how long ago this event was. For example, by comparing the rungs between any two humans, we can estimate how many generations ago two people shared a common relative, like a great-great-great-great-grandfather. It so happens that the vast majority of our DNA rungs are the same, making these comparative analyses straightforward.
For technical reasons that will be explained in a subsequent post, only a small subset of the DNA letters in an individual lend themselves as simple timekeepers.3 In particular, a subset of DNA termed the mitochondrial DNA acts as a very straightforward timekeeper. Mitochondrial DNA encodes some of the most important and basic information for our bodies to function. Without mitochondrial DNA, we would be unable to convert the food we eat into energy usable to our cells. In other words, without mitochondrial DNA, human and animal life largely stops.
Comparing the rungs of the mitochondrial DNA ladder among various species reveals a stunning result. If species have been in existence for millions of years, a large number of the mitochondrial DNA rungs should have a different color. In contrast, the vast majority of these rungs are the same.4 It’s as if species originated recently, in the last few thousand years. In other words, if species originated within the last 6,000 years, very few ticks of the mitochondrial DNA clock would have occurred, and this is exactly what we observe.
Thus, by two independent lines of evidence, species look as if they originated recently. First, by Darwin’s own breed-species comparison and criteria, species must have originated contemporary with intelligent human populations. Second, when we examine the direct genetic record of their origin, we see very few genetic differences—far too few for species to have arisen over millions of years—but just the right amount if they originated within the last few thousand years.
Not surprisingly, evolutionists have tried to rebut this contradictory evidence. But their claims are vacuous.5 For exampl