The origin of the species is recorded in our DNA and the story does not tell about creation but about evolution. The evidence for evolution is massive and everywhere around us; in our anatomy, in the fossil record, in the development of embryos, the geographic distribution of the species, the tree of life, sub-optimality, vestigal features, etc, as well as in the DNA.

However, religious zealots have convinced large portions of the population in the United States and the Islamic world that creationism is a viable scientific alternative to evolution, or even a better “theory”. That is despite the fact that there is no scientifically acceptable evidence for creation but there is massive amounts of evidence for evolution. That is why creationists typically focus on alleged problems with evolution, or alleged problems with the evidence for evolution. In my experience all these alleged problems with evolution have turned out not to be problems. In fact, in many cases creationist claims are nonsense, smoke screens and even fraud but still accepted as facts by gullible religionists. Ironically the problems with traditional creationism in light of modern science are devastating. Books like these are unfortunately still needed in the 21stcentury because religion is still at war with science after all these centuries.


The Powerful Evidence for Evolution in DNA

Our understanding of DNA has literally exploded over the last couple of decades. The human genome has been sequenced along with that of many other species, and we are able to compare the DNA and the genes of various species, and trace origins. An analogy the author uses is that of making copies of a picture over and over again using many copying machines (DNA is copied down generations). Dust and similar things will leave specks on the paper that are copied and multiplied throughout the process. A detective could use these specks to trace the origins of the copies back to the originals and even tell you which copying machines were used.

Of special interest with respect to our evolutionary heritage are not so much the true genes (the picture above), of which there are 19,438 confirmed, and possibly 2,188 more, but other stuff (the specks). There are 19,724 confirmed pseudo genes, three million transposable elements (transposons and retroelements), and genes in general contain active elements exons, as well as useless sequences, introns. These segments are especially interesting because they are unaffected by natural selection and therefore mutations pile up in them at a fairly constant rate. By comparing two such segments in two species we can tell how far the species are apart and even how far back in time their common ancestor lived.

Based on the similarity in transposons we know that the closest related living animals to whales and dolphins (outside their order) are Hippopotamus, which confirms what we know from the fossil record of whales and the mammals that whales evolved from. Based on the similarity in transposons, pseudo genes, and genes in general (all of the genome) we know that the closest related living animals to humans are chimpanzees and bonobos. In fact chimpanzees and humans are more closely related than chimpanzees and the other great apes. Based on the genetic record chimpanzees are no longer classified as great apes but as Hominini together with humans. Also based on the genetic record we know that chimpanzees and humans had a common ancestor that lived about six million years ago. The fossil for this common ancestor has not been found, but the information in the DNA can often tell us more than the fossil record.

Say hello to the other human species; the chimpanzee. We are not alone. Now why can’t chimpanzees vote?

Creationists have to answer why these kinds of genetic elements even exist and why they are so similar between species that are closely related according to evolution. Transposons, retroelements, and pseudo genes is evidence for evolution and a problem for creationism.

However, there is more. There are also chromosome rearrangements including fusions, fissions, inversions, translocations, and major duplications and deletions. The first chapter discusses an interesting case of fusion. Humans have 23 pairs of chromosomes but the great apes and the chimpanzees as well have 24 pairs. This was once used by creationists as an argument against human evolution from the great apes.

However, as the DNA was sequenced it stood clear that the human chromosome number two was almost identical to the chimpanzee chromosomes 2A and 2B combined, and by studying the sequences of the base pairs in the so called telomeres and centromeres of these chromosomes geneticists can even tell what happened and when. The human chromosome is a fusion of two chimpanzee/human ancestor chromosomes as opposed to a chimpanzee/human ancestor chromosome being broken up. In appendix two of the book the author is discussing the nine inversions that differentiate chimpanzees from humans.

There is also evidence for evolution in the DNA mitochondria, and it can tell us some interesting things about our very distant history as well as our very recent human history. Mitochondria are bacteria that got trapped inside what would become animal cells about 1.8 billion years ago forming the first eukaryotes (complex cells). The closest living relative to animal mitochondria is the bacteria causing Rocky Mountain spotted fever and epidemic typhus. Chloroplasts in green plants evolved in a similar fashion. Of course there is a lot more in this book but that should be enough for this review.

I should say that the book explains about DNA, genes, base pairs, RNA, and how DNA makes protein via RNA, chromosomes, telomeres, centromeres, and much more. This is necessary to understand what the genetic evidence for evolution tells us. The book also discusses religion, creationism, and the history of evolutionary theory, the history of DNA research, several dozen scientists, and more. It covers a lot of ground.


A Few Discussion Points

The book is well written and well organized and it is written so that laymen can understand it even though the topic is fairly complex. The author is referencing hundreds of research articles in addition to presenting his own research and understanding as an expert in the field. This makes the book more trustworthy than a book written by, for example, a journalist. The fact that the author is including pictures of DNA sequences (from the genome project) featuring hundreds of base pairs for your own comparison gives you a feeling of "seeing" the evidence with your own eyes.

Perhaps to the surprise of some people, the author is a believing Christian who worries that the nonsense put out by creationists serves as a turn off to Christianity. It is not science education that turns young Christians into doubters. However, when they understand the topic much better they will discover that they’ve been hoodwinked by creationists and by gullible preachers believing creationists. Then they might start questioning their faith as well since it has been tied to creationism. Well that is partially what happened to me so I can agree.

Creationism kills the faith of young Christians receiving science education because it inevitably damages trust. However, I have to admit I don’t really care.

This book states that with respect to sequencing of genes the similarity between chimpanzees and humans is 98% (or 98.6%). One creationist counter to this book that I’ve seen is that the similarity between mice and humans is 99%. This is based on sensationalist news media misconstruing a report that said that 99% of mouse genes have homologues in man. However, based on sequencing of genes the similarity between mice and humans is between 70% and 90%, with average of 85%. I’ve seen many similar misleading creationist claims. As some say the devil is in the details.

Another possible objection to the book is that the author is cherry picking evidence. This is not true since he is presenting an overall picture at the same time as he is highlighting some illustrative examples. That is not cherry picking.

However, these examples demonstrate a problem with this book. The evidence for evolution is powerful and probably the most compelling and massive evidence there is. The problem is that the topic is complex and if a creationist attacks this evidence, even if his counter arguments are nonsense, a layman is probably not going to be able to sort it out. Therefore I think that everyone should be aware of the existence of this powerful evidence but unless you know a lot about genetics you should probably keep to simpler but still compelling evidence (geobiography, the fossil record, etc) when engaging in discussions with a diehard creationist. Other than that I highly recommend this book.

To read reviews of other books on evolution and creationism click on any of the links below.

Why Evolution is True

The Evidence for Evolution

The Counter Creationism Handbook

The Death of Evolution: Restoring Faith and Wonder in a World of Doubt


Soon I will review a book called “Evolution: What the Fossils Say and Why It Matters” and Richard Dawkins book as well as a few Creationist books.


Finally I would like to say thank you to Christal Calderon for adding this book to the epinions data base.

Recommended: Yes