Page 60 - The Errors the American National Academy of Sciences

The Errors of the American National Academy of Sciences

structure of the hemoglobin molecule is defective and its ability to carry
oxygen is severely impaired. The normal circular shape of the cells
which carry hemoglobin becomes deformed and turns into a sickle
shape. Since people with sickle-cell anemia gain a resistance to malaria,
evolutionists describe this as a beneficial mutation. The fact is, however,
that there is no increase in complexity nor any improvement in the or-
ganism's functions; on the contrary, there is a defect. Sufferers from

sickle-cell anemia experience impaired development, a lack of immu-
nity to infection, chronic organ damage due to clogged veins, poor
organ function and organ deficiencies, and lack of energy.
It is astonishing that this example of mutation, dealt with in the
chapters on diseases of the blood in medical text books, should be
seen as "beneficial." It is irrational for evolutionists to say that suffer-
ers' resistance to malaria is a gift to them from evolution, for which

reason the mutation in question is a favorable one. That claim is just
as illogical as telling a blind man he has an advantage because he can-
not be blinded by the sun.

Bacterial resistance to antibiotics:
Another example of evolutionists' "beneficial mutations" is the
resistance of bacteria to antibiotics. Like all the other examples, this

one, too, is a deception.
It is no secret that bacteria gradually develop a resistance to an-
tibiotics over time. What happens is this: Most bacteria subjected to
an antibiotic die, but some remain unaffected by it, and multiplying
rapidly they come to comprise the entire population. In this way, the
entire population comes to be immune to the antibiotic.
Evolutionists, however, claim that bacteria evolve according to

the conditions in which they find themselves. The truth is, however,
rather different. The Israeli biophysicist Professor Lee Spetner is one
of the figures who have carried out the most detailed studies in this

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