Choanoflagellates are single-celled organisms that are mentioned in The Design Matrix(pp. 264-265) to illustrate the plausibility of front-loading evolution. While summarizing a 2003 study, I noted, these single-celled organisms contained a whole toolkit of genes that allowed the researchers to conclude choanoflagellates have “key proteins required for animal development” that probably “evolved before the origin of animals.”

Recently, the choanoflagellate genome has been sequenced. These protists have abouit 9200 genes, far less than the 25,000 seen in flies or humans. Yet the genome shows an abundance of data that further strengthen the plausibility of front-loading.

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From Here

In Dec 2005, Seth Shostak, from the SETI Institute, wrote an article that attempts to distance SETI from Intelligent Design. I highly recommend this article, as it helps us see how a scientist goes about trying to detect non-human design.

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It is truly a joy to watch the “evolution debates” through the prism of The Design Matrix. For example, Peter Forbes reviews two new books on evolution, including The Making of the Fittest: DNA and the Ultimate Forensic Record of Evolution, by Sean B Carroll. Let’s conider this review in the light of the DM.

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