Genetic Variability by Design
Chris Ashcraft M.S., M.Ed., MTMS
Genetic Variability by Design:
Journal of Creation 18(2) 2004
(Read the full technical review article)
New alleles are accumulating rapidly in living populations and cellular mechanisms have not been adequately sought to explain the intentional production of these changes. Homologous DNA recombination occurs in all organisms and is at the heart of genetics. Since its discovery during meiosis, these reactions were assumed to occur randomly along the length of chromosomes, and only involved with gene crossovers. It is now well known that meiotic recombination is not the random process it was originally assumed to be, and controlled by highly organized regulatory systems. In addition, a form of homologous recombination has been discovered which is responsible for creating diversity in variable genes, and was recently linked to single base-pair substitutions in immunoglobulins. New allele formation may indeed be the key to explaining the rapid production of distinct breeds, but their presence in the genome has been assumed the result of random mutations. Therefore, the ability of the cell to purposefully edit genes requires evaluation.
About the Speaker:
Chris Ashcraft is a Christian educator employed as high school science teacher at Cedar Park Christian Schools. Formerly, Chris was a biology research tech specialized in plant tissue culture, and genetic transformation technology. He was employed at the Cotton Fiber Production Laboratory at Texas Tech University and the Plant Transformation Facility at Oklahoma State University, and lastly was the Plant Transformation Specialist for EDEN Bioscience in Bothell Washington.
He obtained a Bachelor of Science in biology from Wayland Baptist University in 1989, a Master of Science in biology from Texas Tech University in 1996, a Master of Education from the University of Washington in 2008, and a Master is Teaching Math and Science from Seattle Pacific University in 2012.
Chris moved from research science into the teaching profession to serve God in Christian education. His decision was motivated by the impact that secular science is having on people of faith. Today, close to 50% of Christian students lose their belief in God while attending secular schools. This tendency could be lessened if the Church was better equipped to defend the authority of Biblical teachings (1 Peter 3:15). To be prepared for these challenges, it is important that Churches provide regular educational programs on creation and other Bible apologetics.
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