Has E. coli evolved in 31,500 generations?
BQ: In "The Greatest Show on Earth: The Evidence for Evolution," Richard Dawkins claims evidence for totally new, useful genetic information within DNA of an organism based on a study of 31,500 generations of E. coli bacteria. What is significant about this?
A: In the experiment, E. coli incurred a mutation which allowed them to process citrate ("Historical Contingency and the Evolution of a Key Innovation in an Experimental Population of Escherichia coli," Z. Blount, C. Borland, R. Lenski, Proceedings of the National Academy of Science), something that the original generation did not do.
In order for evolution to be true, it must overcome genetic entropy through the addition of novel genetic information, which Dawkins claimed happened in the experiment. However, the above mentioned scientists concluded that there were two possible explanations for what happened: a once-functional transporter gene already silenced by previous mutations was activated due to the selective, intelligent pressure (sans the gene, survival and reproduction were impossible) by the researchers, or, more likely, "an existing transporter was co-opted for citrate transport."
Both of these mechanisms use EXISTING genetic information. That is, they do not create new information at all within a genome. There is no evidence for evolution creating new information, and, even ignoring deleterious mutations, mutation/selection cannot even a single gene "within the evolutionary time scale." When deleterious mutations are factored in, we can see that a new gene cannot ever be created.
Dawkins tries to convince people that evolution creates new information, but his one, lone example, as it turns out, is nothing more than him trying to pull the wool over people's eyes.
(PN218)
"For the entire Law is fulfilled in in this one word: "You shall love your neighbor as yourself."—Gal 5:14