Page 199 - The Cambrian Evidence that Darwin Failed to Comprehend
P. 199
HARUN YAHYA
However, Hox genes contain no information
about any given organ, the eye for in-
stance. They are merely charged with
switching the genes that do bear these da-
ta on or off. In short, Hox genes are like
buttons that activate or deactivate the
gene group concerned with a particular
production. For example, the body plan, appear-
ance and development of mammals are controlled by some for-
ty Hox genes. 144
One important feature of Hox genes is that they line up on the
chromosome in the same sequence as the regions with which they
are concerned. For example, if we examine a fly, we see that its body
consists of a number of sections: its head, thorax, and abdomen. The
first gene in the fly’s Hox gene series is the one that regulates the de-
velopment of the head. The next one regulates the development of
the thorax, and so forth.
When scientists discovered this arrangement, they wondered if
they tampered with the sequence of Hox genes in organisms, what
the effects would be. To that end, they carried out a number of ex-
perimental mutations. Changing the position of these genes in
Drosophila fruit flies led to the emergence of monstrous insects, such
as those with legs emerging from their heads. 145
These results make it clear how complex the genetic codes in
living things are, and that any random changes to that complexity
will have inevitably harmful effects. The idea that Hox mutations
could cause living things to evolve into other species was thus
shown to be illusory.
Dr. Christian Schwabe from the Department of Biochemistry
and Molecular Biology, Medical University of South Carolina de-
scribes these results:
Adnan Oktar
197