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A New Interview with Wolf-Ekkehard Lönnig

Here is an interview Wolf-Ekkehard Lönnig did recently with Marco Respinti, representing an Italian intelligent design organization, in English with Italian subtitles.

A couple of highlights from the interview: After describing his PhD thesis work in the first 10 minutes, Lönnig summarizes “The outcome was in full agreement with one of the more important basic predictions of intelligent design theory: mutations usually do not produce any real new information.” Then, “So to accept intelligent design and to be critical of evolutionary arguments and put them to the test can be very fruitful for biology and science in general.” 

Only Devolution Occurred

Lönnig also discusses the well-funded attempts at, among other places, his own Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research, to speed up evolution in plants using radiation and advanced artificial selection techniques. Lönnig reports that only devolution occurred: the only progress observed before this effort was given up was that the genes that made some plants toxic were damaged, making these plants more useful as animal fodder. He cites experimental evidence that mutation and selection are (as also argued by Michael Behe) self-limiting.

Lönnig is certainly one of the most knowledgeable (and courageous) ID scientists in the world today.  Here is a German TV interview with Lönnig (with English subtitles), and more background information. To those who say intelligent design advocates are only critical of Darwinism because they are just not sufficiently versed in genetics and evolutionary theory, I have a two-word (or rather three?) reply: Wolf-Ekkehard Lönnig.

Cross-posted at Uncommon Descent, with permission from Dr. Sewell.