Research & Analysis

Callao Cave
Callao Cave, by Ervin Malicdem [CC BY-SA 4.0], via Wikimedia Commons.

New Fossil Human Species Thwarts Core Darwinian Predictions

The rewriting of the evolutionary narrative of human origins is proceeding at such an unbelievable pace that I am running out of new ways to introduce my comments on the latest findings. Just a few weeks ago, for Evolution News and ID the Future, I discussed the ongoing rewriting of human fossil history in Asia (Bechly 2018, 2019, Klinghoffer 2019). Now a new fossil species of Read More ›

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Responses to Criticism of Michael Behe’s Darwin Devolves

With the release of Michael Behe’s Darwin Devolves, the scientific dialogue between its detractors and defenders continues. Here we collect some of the most noteworthy criticisms and responses by Michael Behe and others. Find the most comprehensive coverage and most recent responses of Darwin Devolves at Evolution News. Re: Lents at Skeptic Magazine Regarding “Behe’s Last Stand: The Lion of Intelligent Design Roars Read More ›

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Professional audio mixing console in concert.
Photo by Day Of Victory Stu. on Adobe Stock

List of Fine-Tuning Parameters

“Fine-tuning” refers to various features of the universe that are necessary conditions for the existence of complex life, including the initial conditions and “brute facts” of the universe, the laws of nature or the numerical constants present in those laws, and local features of habitable planets. Read More ›
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fossil trilobite imprint in the sediment
Photo by abrilla on Adobe Stock

A Précis of Darwin’s Doubt

A comprehensive critique of the neo-Darwinian paradigm, examining the Cambrian explosion, where nearly all of the major animal phyla appeared abruptly in the fossil record, without evolutionary precursors. Read More ›
Digital Microscope In Laboratory

What Is the Science Behind Intelligent Design?

Intelligent design (ID) is a scientific theory that employs the methods commonly used by other historical sciences to conclude that certain features of the universe and of living things are best explained by an intelligent cause, not an undirected process such as natural selection. ID theorists argue that design can be inferred by studying the informational properties of natural objects Read More ›

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multiple mouse traps with cheese on a dark background
Photo by fergregory on Adobe Stock

Introduction and Responses to Criticism of Irreducible Complexity

Modern biology has discovered that cells are like miniaturized factories that function using micromolecular machines. In Darwin’s Black Box (1996), Lehigh University biochemist Michael Behe proposed that many of these molecular machines exhibit irreducible complexity and therefore could not have been produced by an undirected Darwinian process. Instead, they appear to be the product of intelligent design. Behe’s book initiated a firestorm of controversy both inside and outside of the scientific community, and the debate continues to rage. As the responses below demonstrate, Behe’s arguments have not been refuted. Indeed, the case for the irreducible complexity of the bacterial flagellum and other molecular machines has continued to grow.

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Science and Evidence for Design in the Universe

As progress in science continues to reveal unimagined complexities, three scientists revisit the difficult and compelling question of the origin of our universe. As mathematician, biochemist, and philosopher of science, they explore the possibility of developing a reliable method for detecting an intelligent cause and evidence for design at the origin of life. In the process, they present a strong Read More ›

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View of red, blood-like liquid patterns
Photo by Cassi Josh on Unsplash

In Defense of the Irreducibility of the Blood Clotting Cascade

In Darwin's Black Box: The Biochemical Challenge to Evolution I devoted a chapter to the mechanism of blood clotting, arguing that it is irreducibly complex and therefore a big problem for Darwinian evolution. Since my book came out, as far as I am aware there have been no papers published in the scientific literature giving a detailed scenario or experiments to show how natural selection could have built the system. However three scientists publishing outside science journals have attempted to respond. Read More ›
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Child dressed in cardboard astronaut costume and rocket

Molecular Machines

This article presents an overview of the key ideas in biochemist Michael Behe's book Darwin's Black Box: The Biochemical Challenge to Evolution. A more detailed discussion of these ideas can be found in the book itself. Those interested in the debate over intelligent design in biology should also check out Michael Behe's extensive responses to various critics. Read More ›