Complex Grammar in the Genome Defies Evolution | The Institute for Creation Research

Complex Grammar in the Genome Defies Evolution

A recent press release from a prominent European research group started off with this amazing proclamation: “A new study from Karolinska Institutet shows that the ‘grammar’ of the human genetic code is more complex than that of even the most intricately constructed spoken languages in the world.”1 Such a statement could not be more true or refreshing. The evolution-dominated research community consistently downplays the overwhelming evidence of intelligent design found in the human genome.

Many different languages exist in the genome, just as many different computer languages exist on your computer. They all work together to provide meaning, context, and function to the physical hardware of the system.2 Without information expressed in programming languages, your computer would be nothing but an expensive paperweight. Complex encoded information with syntax, grammar, structure, and rules are required to run complex systems.

This new research, recently published in the prestigious journal Nature, began, “The set of rules by which a DNA sequence can be converted into knowledge of spatial and temporal expression patterns of a protein has been difficult to decipher.”3 Only one thing in our human sphere of understanding even comes close to the genome’s linguistic complexity and that is the variety of high-level computer programming languages. But even these elaborate programming languages don’t really compare since code in the genome contains information in both forward and reverse, code that overlaps other code, three-dimensional code, and many other mind-bending linguistic complexities.2 Human written code goes in one direction, one word or character at a time.

In this recent study, researchers analyzed transcription factors and small portions of sophisticated vocabulary in the genome that specify the binding of different types of regulatory proteins.3 These proteins regulate genes. The team was especially interested in the different combinations of transcription factors that bind cooperatively in a gene-controlling region. Because of the limitations of current technology, they could only evaluate two transcription factor combinations at a time. But they analyzed 9,400 different binding interactions and the order of nucleotides (DNA sequences) that controlled them.

Consider the set of sequences that bind transcription factors to the DNA as a pair of words. Instead of simply deleting the space between two words to form a new, larger word, as in human languages, the system in the genome is totally different. In the genome, the individual words join together so that two transcription factors (proteins) will cooperatively bind in the same place and develop compound words through the three-dimensional altering and interaction of the DNA molecule. This process creates a new collection of larger words that are not immediately obvious when looking at the two-dimensional linear arrangement of the DNA bases. By studying the physical binding of the transcription factors in many different combinations, the researchers uncovered yet another highly complex language. They also unexpectedly found that DNA itself is just as involved in facilitating the binding process as the proteins themselves.

If complex information like this is so difficult to understand and decipher—even for highly educated humans with generous amounts of time and money—why do people find it hard to believe that an omnipotent, all-knowing Creator God engineered these marvelous genetic languages from the beginning? Clearly, we have only just begun to unravel the mysteries of the genome, and further discoveries will only glorify our great God.

References

  1. Sternudd, K. Complex grammar of the genomic language. Karolinska Institutet. Posted on ki.se/en/news on November 9, 2015, accessed December 4, 2015.
  2. Tomkins, J. 2015. Extreme Information: Biocomplexity of Interlocking Genome Languages. Creation Research Society Quarterly. 51 (3): 187-201.
  3. Jolma, A. et al. 2015. DNA-dependent formation of transcription factor pairs alters their binding specificity. Nature. 527 (7578): 384–388.

* Dr. Tomkins is Research Associate at the Institute for Creation Research and received his Ph.D. in genetics from Clemson University.

Cite this article: Jeffrey P. Tomkins, Ph.D. 2016. Complex Grammar in the Genome Defies Evolution. Acts & Facts. 45 (2).

The Latest
NEWS
Dino Footprints Down Under
Dinosaur trackways1 are once again making the news. Australia is the setting of a remarkable series of dinosaur tracks attributed to ornithischian...

NEWS
April 2025 ICR Wallpaper
"But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things...

NEWS
Human Evolution and the Inner Ear
The vain attempt by evolutionists to make an evolutionary connection between people and ape-like ancestors continues. This time, it is in regard to...

CREATION PODCAST
Defending the Faith with a Rocket Scientist | Creation.Live Podcast:...
How do engineering principles, biological complexity, and a solid understanding of apologetics work together to further the cause of Christ? Why...

NEWS
Aerobic and Anaerobic Hot Spring Bacteria
God designed a domain of prokaryotes called Archaea that thrive in harsh and extreme environments. In 1969, two microbiologists, Thomas Brock and Hudson...

CREATION PODCAST
The Soulless Hominid Theory: A Fatal Flaw in Old Earth Creationism...
Welcome to the second episode in a series called “The Failures of Old Earth Creationism.” Many Christians attempt to fit...

NEWS
Humpback Whale Calls Echo Creation
There is nothing simple about the system of communication called language, whether animal or human.1 Human language is a very sophisticated...

NEWS
Mary Parker, Creation Ministry Partner of Dr. Gary Parker, Is...
Mary Parker, the wife and co-laborer of Dr. Gary Parker, went home to be with her Lord on March 20, 2025. Dr. Parker was a popular and effective...

NEWS
Plants Rely on Quantum Mechanics
Scientists will probably never fully understand photosynthesis as additional research uncovers even more fascinating mysteries.1,2 ICR’s...

NEWS
Martian Polar Ice Cap ''Surprisingly Young''?
A team of German planetary scientists has concluded that a three-kilometer-thick northern polar ice cap on Mars has a “surprisingly young”...