Page 118 - The Errors the American National Academy of Sciences

The Errors of the American National Academy of Sciences

Work on unraveling the
genetic code revealed
that anatomical and
morphological similari-
ties between living
things were non-exis-
tent at the genetic level.

species are specified by quite different genes. 8

In fact, this was well known long before. In 1971, the famous evo-
lutionist Gavin de Beer wrote:

It is now clear that the pride with which it was assumed that the in-
heritance of homologous structures from a common ancestor ex-
plained homology was misplaced. 9
De Beer had proven with a number of examples that homologous
structures could emerge from different genes. One of these was the seg-

ments in insects' bodies. The development of these body parts is con-
trolled by different genes in the fruit fly, the locust, and the wasp. Since
it is accepted that the bodies of all insects are homologous, this shows
that there is no need for homologous features to be controlled by equiv-

alent genes. Another example is the gene known as "sex-lethal," neces-
sary for sex determination in the fruit fly. This gene is not required for
the emergence of males and females in other insects. 10
Another matter which shows that similar organs are not con-

trolled by similar genes is that a gene is generally responsible for more
than one feature of a living thing. The gene which determines the

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