It’s not just intelligent design theorists who are calling for a major rethink of biology and origin-of-life research. For a new episode of ID the Future, I spoke with Casey Luskin about two recent articles in the prestigious journal Nature that review major problems with current theories on the origin of life and the source of genetic complexity in living things.

In a recent Nature comment, biochemist Nick Lane and bioengineer Joana Xavier give a sobering assessment of the origin-of-life research field, advising fellow researchers that “brash claims for a breakthrough on the origin of life are unhelpful noise if they do not come in the context of a wider framework.” Lane and Xavier identify key issues in this fractured research field, including “the relentless pressure to publish, to secure funding, tenure, or promotion.” They also summarize the major problems facing two of the most popular theories for the origin of the first life: the prebiotic soup model and the hydrothermal systems hypothesis. Dr. Luskin breaks down each of their points in detail. 

He also discusses another recent article in Nature from Oxford emeritus biologist Denis Noble calling for a major rethink of biology in a piece titled “It’s time to admit that genes are not the blueprint for life.” Noble argues that the view of biology often presented to the public is oversimplified and out of date. He says that life is “far more interesting and wonderful” than previously thought, and in a surprising twist, even acknowledges that it’s the organism that controls the genome!

As Luskin explains, these frank acknowledgements from evolutionary scientists are encouraging signs and serve to confirm what ID theorists have long argued: the need for a fundamentally new way of looking at the natural world. Download the podcast or listen to it here.

Dig Deeper

• Watch bioengineer Joana Xavier discuss Dr. Stephen Meyer’s book Signature in the Cell, calling it “one of the best books I’ve read.”

Read the coverage at Evolution News that inspired this interview: 

• “From Nature, a Devastating Critique of Origin-of-Life Research“
• “Denis Noble in Nature: ‘Time to Admit Genes Are Not the Blueprint For Life’”