Page 530 - Atlas of Creation Volume 3

"merely hereditary fluctuations around a me-

dian position; a swing to the right, a swing to
the left, but no final evolutionary effect. . .
They modify what preexists." 111

Dr. Grassé says that in the case of
evolution, the problem is that "some con-
temporary biologists, as soon as they ob-
serve a mutation, talk about evolution." In

his view, this opinion does not agree
with the facts because "no matter how
numerous they may be, mutations do
not produce any kind of evolution." 112

The best evidence that mutations
do not produce new genetic data is
that of the fruit fly. Mutations done
to fruit flies show that in nature,

balance, not change, dominates organ-
isms. Thanks to the fast gestation period of fruit flies, which
lasts only 12 days, for years they have been the favorite subject of mutation experiments. In order to in-
crease the mutation rate by 15,000 percent, X-rays were used in these experiments. Scientists could observe

fruit flies that, in a short time, were subjected to the number of mutations they would be exposed to for mil-
lions of years under natural conditions. But even such rapid mutations produced no new species. Scientists
were not able to obtain any new genetic data.
In fruit flies, the classic case of supposed "beneficial mutation" is the instance of the four-winged mu-

tant. Normally, fruit flies have two wings, but some with four wings have hatched occasionally. Darwinist
literature offers this example as a "development," but as Jonathan Wells has shown in detail in his Icons of
Evolution, this interpretation is wrong. These extra wings have no muscles for flying and so are actually dis-
advantages to the fruit fly. And not one of these mutants has survived outside a laboratory. 113

Despite all this, evolutionists assert that beneficial instances of mutation do occur, even if rarely; and
that through natural selection, new biological structures come into being. However, this is a major error. A
mutation certainly brings about no increase in genetic data and, therefore, does not foster evolution. As
Lester and Bohlin explain:

Mutations will be capable only of modifying what already exists, usually in a meaningless or deleterious way.

That is not to say that beneficial mutation is prohibited; unexpected maybe, but not impossible. A beneficial mu-
tation is simply one that makes it possible for its possessors to contribute more offspring to future generations
than do those creatures that lack the mutation. . . But these mutations have nothing to do with changing one
kind of organism into another. . .

In this regard, Darwin called attention to the wingless beetles of Madeira. For a beetle living on a windy island,
wings can be a definite disadvantage. Mutations causing the loss of flight are definitely beneficial. Similar
would be the case of sightless cavefish. Eyes are quite vulnerable to injury, and a creature that lives in total dark-

ness would benefit from mutations reducing their vulnerability. While these mutations produce a drastic and
beneficial change, it is important to notice that they always involve loss, never gain. One never observes wings
or eyes being produced in species that did not previously possess them. 114

Therefore, Lester and Bohlin conclude that overall, mutations are always a cause of genetic impairment
and degeneration.

Mutations always cause a loss of genetic data; to believe that they produced the extraordinarily com-
plex genetic codes of the millions of different species is like believing that books falling randomly onto a
computer keyboard have written millions of encyclopedias. It is unthinkable nonsense. Dr. Merle

528 Atlas of Creation Vol. 3