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CT Scan: Critical Thinking Scan
Can Mutations Create New Information?
Season 8, Episode 11 • 25-Nov-2020
Do mutations create the kind of new information required for microbes-to-man evolution? Mutations can produce new traits which may be beneficial in certain environments. But because genes often encode multiple layers of information, even “beneficial” mutations typically come at a cost. Let’s look closer at why mutations can’t drive ‘onwards and upwards’ evolution.
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Up Next in S8: Genetics and DNA
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Thinking Through “New Information” Cl...
Often, claims that mutations produce useful new genetic information involve one of four processes: 1) duplication of information, 2) loss of control over how information is used, 3) degeneration of information, and 4) transfer of information. In each case, you can ask, “Does this involve somethin...
