One of the most incredible features of cellular life is the capability of self-replication. But can a Darwinian mechanism take the credit for the origin and design of the cell division process? On a new episode of ID the Future, I conclude a four-part series with Dr. Jonathan McLatchie on the intelligent design and irreducible complexity of eukaryotic cell division.

In his recent paper on eukaryotic cell division, Dr. McLatchie quotes a Latin expression Darwin uses in his famous book On the Origin of Species to describe natural selection: natura non facit saltus, nature does not make jumps. That’s the built-in limitation of Darwinian processes: by default they are stepwise and gradual. And of course, Darwin himself acknowledged this test of evolution himself in the Origin: “If it could be demonstrated that any complex organ existed, which not possibly have been formed by numerous, successive, slight modifications, my theory would absolutely break down.” The eukaryotic cell cycle is just one of the many biological systems and processes that could not have arisen by numerous, successive, slight modifications.

In this final segment of the series, McLatchie compares the disparity between prokaryotic cell division and the cell division process in eukaryotes. The Darwinian paradigm would have us believe that one came from the other, but when you take a close look, there’s essentially nothing in common between the two systems. They exhibit different parts and different design logic. McLatchie explains the key differences and illustrates the lack of evidence that these two systems are related through descent with modification. It adds up to yet another headache for a Darwinian framework, but as McLatchie notes, these findings are not at all surprising on the hypothesis of design.

Download the podcast or listen to it here. This is Part 4 of a four-part series. Listen to Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3.

Dig Deeper

• Read Dr. McLatchie’s open-access paper at BIO-Complexity.