Darwinian theory of evolution

There is a considerable gap in the neo-Darwinian theory of evolution, and we believe this gap to be of such a nature that it cannot be bridged with the current conception of biology.12... 

Schiitzenberger, M. P. (1967) Algorithms and the Neo-Darwinian Theory of Evolution in Mathematical Challenges to the Neo-Darwinian Interpretation of Evolution, ed. P S. Moorhead and M. M. Kaplan, Wistar Institute Press, Philadelphia, p. 75. 

The principle of in vitro selection is governed by a number of the same principles that apply to the Darwinian theory of evolution, as shown in Figure 2. First, the random sequence DNA is prepared by automated solid-phase synthesis. A mixture of four types of nucleotide is added in a stepwise condensation reaction process. When necessary, this DNA library may be converted to an RNA library by in vitro transcription or to a peptide library by in vitro translation. Second, the prepared DNA, RNA, or peptide library is subjected to affinity selection, and the molecules that bind to a target molecule are selected. Because only a very small part of the library is selected in each selection, the selected fraction is then amplified by a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) or a reverse transcription PCR (RT-PCR) technique. Successive selection and amplification cycles bring about an exponential increase in the abundance of the targeting DNA, RNA, or peptide until it dominates the population. 

Some of the mathematical basis for the equations is due to the geneticist Moto Kimura, who is considered a resolute proponent of the neutral theory of evolution , which states that statistical, chance fluctuations are more important in the formation of new species than is Darwinian natural selection. Evolution via such chance fluctuations is referred to as genetic drift . Dyson considers that both forms of evolution are important (Dyson, 1999). 

It is also apparent that the anti-Darwinian movement comes not so much from the present and past Pope, but rather from side-kick zealots - see, for example, the short editorial by Holden (Holden, 2005). As for myself, I would be more sympathetic towards the creationists camp if experimental evidence were to be provided. It is not difficult to conceive what this should be simply find equally old fossils of horses, dinosaurs, hominids, snails, cynobacteria, and sword fish. As long as this simple evidence is not forthcoming, it is probably safe to be scientifically very sceptical about the creationistic view (in this sense, it is almost funny that the creatioifists lament some small gaps in the theory of evolution). If you are interested in the creationist movement in Latin America and Mexico, in particular, see the recent article by Lazcano (Lazcano, 2005). 

Kimura, M. (1983). The Neutral Theory of Evolution. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, U.K. King, J.L. Jukes, T.H. (1969). Non-Darwinian evolution Random fixation of selectively neutral variants. Science 164, 788-798. 

In 2008, the journal Medical Hypotheses published an editorial announcing that genetic evidence exists that criminality is inherited.90 But despite the claim, no genetic evidence was presented, only genetic rhetoric. Completely serious, the editorial states Rather surprisingly, despite the Darwinian and the Scientific Revolution, most intellectuals and even many scientists are still reluctant to accept some inescapable social implications of Darwin s theory of evolution. ... 

Therefore it is impossible for the knee to evolve from a simpler joint like the hip or the elbow, according to the theory of evolution. How such a device could have evolved in a gradual, step-by-step process as required by classic Darwinian evolution is an insurmountable obstacle to evolutionists. ... 

Mayr, E., Darwin s five theories of evolution, in The Darwinian Heritage, Kohn, D., Ed., Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ, 1985, pp. 755—762. 

Pross A (2011) Toward a general theory of evolution extending Darwinian theory to inanimate matter. J Syst Chem 2 1... 

Ernst Mayr, the foremost living interpreter of Darwinian philosophy, is removing the evolutionary idea from the fundamental laws of science and declares it concept driven . He is distancing himself, Darwin and his evolutionary theory from Laplacien determinism and thus makes Darwinism untouchable by Popper s falsification test for hypotheses of science. Darwinism must be recognized as a scheme of plausible explanations, each justified by a prior assertion. Ernst Mayr is correct as concerns the character of the Darwinian model and with that realization the answer has been found as to why a new hypothesis of evolution. 

It is now approximately half a century since the neo-Darwinian synthesis was formulated. A great deal of research has been carried on within the paradigm it defines. Yet the successes of the theory are limited to the minutiae of evolution, such as the adaptive change in coloration of moths while it has remarkably little to say on the questions which interest us most, such as how there came to be moths in the first place.5... 

Publish or perish is a proverb that academicians take seriously. If you do not publish your work for the rest of the community to evaluate, then you have no business in academia (and if you don t already have tenure, you will be banished). But the saying can be applied to theories as well. If a theory claims to be able to explain some phenomenon but does not generate even an attempt at an explanation, then it should be banished. Despite comparing sequences and mathematical modeling, molecular evolution has never addressed the question of how complex structures came to be. In effect, the theory of Darwinian molecular evolution has not published, and so it should perish. 

The experimental discipline that is now known as combinatorial chemistry—although it is also known by such evocative terms as test tube or in-vitro evolution—arose almost 30 years ago. At that time, RNA evolution experiments showed that it was possible to create selection-pressure conditions in an experimental setting that caused certain species of RNA, but not others, to survive from one generation to the next [2], This work was complemented by advances of theories on how biopolymers organize themselves and change over time under specific conditions [3]. About 13 years ago, the use of evolution and Darwinian selection was proposed for RNA [4] and for proteins [5] in an... 

---