Signature in the Cell
DNA and the Evidence for Intelligent Design
Chapter One
DNA, Darwin, and the Appearance of Design
When James Watson and Francis Crick elucidated the
structure of DNA in 1953, they solved one mystery, but
created another.
For almost a hundred years after the publication of On
the Origin of Species by Charles Darwin in 1859, the
science of biology rested secure in the knowledge that
it had explained one of humankind's most enduring
enigmas. From ancient times, observers of living
organisms had noted that living things display organized
structures that give the appearance of having been
deliberately arranged or designed for a purpose, for
example, the elegant form and protective covering of the
coiled nautilus, the interdependent parts of the eye,
the interlocking bones, muscles, and feathers of a bird
wing. For the most part, observers took these
appearances of design as genuine. Observations of such
structures led thinkers as diverse as Plato and
Aristotle, Cicero and Maimonides, Boyle and Newton to
conclude that behind the exquisite structures of the ... read full excerpt from Signature in the Cell ebook
