More Than Meets the Eye: The Human Genome

One of the most frequently posited arguments for evolution is the supposed similarity of ape and human DNA. For instance, it seems that nearly any article about “human-like” chimpanzee behavior manages to squeeze in a mention of ninety-some percent similarity between chimp and human genomes.

Answers in Genesis has long tried to show both the illogic and misunderstanding such claims spread. For one thing, similar genomes do indicate similar biological construction, but do not indicate common descent any more than they indicate common design. For another thing, the supposed similarity is often referenced without explanation of how the genomes are dissimilar.

Evolutionary science is just now catching up with the conclusions creationists have already drawn. “A close-up view of the human genome has revealed its innermost workings to be far more complex than first thought,” reports a BBC NEWS article on a recent Encyclopaedia of DNA Elements (Encode) study. Encode’s goal is to build upon the successful mapping of the human genome by understanding exactly how the genome works. The article explains:

The surprising results, explained Tim Hubbard from the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, “transform our view of the genome fabric.”

Previously, genome activity was thought of in terms of the 22,000 genes that make proteins—the functional building blocks in our cells—along with patches of DNA that control, or regulate, the genes.

The other 97% or so of the genome was said to be made up of “junk” DNA—so called because it had no known biological function. . . .

Dr Hubbard said: “We are now seeing the majority of the rest of the genome is active to some extent.”

The reality is that human understanding of how genes actually control biological construction is woefully inadequate, albeit advancing more each year. Claims that genome similarity between chimps and humans “prove” evolution are not only misleading; they are based on a considerably immature field of science.

Claims that genome similarity between chimps and humans “prove” evolution are not only misleading.

Beyond the chimp-human relatedness debate, this genomic revelation reminds us of the incredible information processing going on inside our bodies at each moment—information processing that puts human computing efforts to shame. Not only does evolution not explain how such intricate information could have evolved from scratch, it also fails to explain how such an advanced information-management system could have evolved before or concurrently with the information so that the genes could actually be “read” and used by cells. Design perfectly explains both the presence of such vast amounts of data and the awe-inspiring system used to decode it.

To find more on this latest discovery, return to this website in early July for a more in-depth article by AiG’s Dr. Georgia Purdom.