How can evolution be tested?
1 Answer
Do experiments to see if mutations can create innovations and new information. Check the fossil record to see there are gradual changes in organisms.
Explanation:
Neo Darwinian Evolution is a theory that life as it observed today resulted from gradual uniform changes in living things. These changes are assumed to have occurred by random accidental changes in the DNA caused by mutations.
Darwinian evolution can also be described as descent with modification. The idea behind the theory is that all life started from a primitive cell that has changed by natural causes into the complex forms of life observed today. These natural causes are limited to causes that can be observed today. These natural causes are random chance changes to the DNA.
The idea that mutations can cause new innovations and improvements to the DNA can be tested by experiments that cause mutations. These experiments have been conducted since De Vries proposed mutations as the source of variations required by Darwinian evolution in 1906. These experiments have all failed.
Mental experiments can be conducted using math and extrapolation from experiments. For example experiments on changes in proteins due to random changes can be conducted to see the frequency of producing a new protein. The frequency of improvements can be multiplied by the number of proteins needed for a change to see if the possibility is reasonable. The ratio of functional protein enzymes to total enzyme is 1 good one for
The fossil record does not support slow gradual changes.
