Page 446 - Wisdom and Sound Advice from the Torah

WISDOM AND SOUND ADVICE FROM THE TORAH

Accidental mutations develop into defects in
humans as well as other living beings. The
Chernobyl disaster is an eye-opener for the
effects of mutations.

theory: Mutations do not cause living beings to develop; on the con-
trary, they are always harmful.
The reason for this is very simple: DNA has a very complex struc-
ture, and random effects can only harm it. The American geneticist B. G.
Ranganathan explains this as follows:
First, genuine mutations are very rare in nature. Secondly, most mu-
tations are harmful since they are random, rather than orderly
changes in the structure of genes; any random change in a highly or-
dered system will be for the worse, not for the better. For example,
if an earthquake were to shake a highly ordered structure such as
a building, there would be a random change in the framework of
the building which, in all probability, would not be an improve-
ment. 70
Not surprisingly, no mutation example, which is useful, that is,
which is observed to develop the genetic code, has been observed so far.
All mutations have proved to be harmful. It was understood that muta-
tion, which is presented as an "evolutionary mechanism," is actually a ge-

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