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Bacterial flagellum

More depths to the bacterial flagellum: Mysterious protein FliL now better understood

Researcher: "We've made incremental progress in understanding this fascinating machine," says Liu. "We hope to continue to work on this for decades to solve how the flagella of different bacteria uniquely evolved. We've just touched the tip of the iceberg of understanding this beautiful structure." Read More ›

At Bio-Complexity: An Engineering Perspective on the Bacterial Flagellum: Part 3 – Observations

Schulz: This third paper (Part 3) concludes the three-part study with original observations. The observations include an ontology of the exceedingly specific protein binding relationships in the flagellum. ... Finally, it is suggested that a motility organelle of this scope and scale seems profoundly unlikely to naturally evolve in the absence of foresight and mindful intent. Read More ›

Why a mechanic infers design. Karsten Pultz explains

Pultz: Empirical evidence (from the world of engineering) supports the assumption that complex functional systems like motors do not arise via random changes to already existing systems. Empirical evidence, even from biology itself, also supports the common knowledge that random changes to functional systems disturb, disrupt, or destroy function. Read More ›

Bacterial flagellum: Engineering design constraints

The flagellum is a good example of what doesn’t work in purely naturalist explanations. None of it happened by chance unless you think masses of information can just suddenly pop into existence by chance. Wouldn’t that be magic? Miracle? Read More ›

Researchers: The last bacterial common ancestor had a flagellum

Question: If the last common ancestor of the bacterium had a flagellum, what do we really know about the evolution of the flagellum? Isn’t that a bit like finding a stone laptop in a Neanderthal cave? That said, it’s nice to see horizontal gene transfer getting proper recognition. Read More ›

So fine tuning of the universe for life goes right down to the level of the atom?

Our universe seems fine-tuned for life to come into existence, as Michael Denton stresses. If so, life may indeed inhabit other planets. If people believe that there is intelligent life on other planets in the galaxy, the best theory to support it, absent evidence at present, is intelligent design. Read More ›

What? An honest admission about the bacterial flagellum from Darwin-driven biology?

Researchers: "To build the machinery that enables bacteria to swim, over 50 proteins have to be assembled according to a logic and well-defined order to form the flagellum, the cellular equivalent of an offshore engine of a boat." They ADMIT this? It sounds like a Recovery Meeting. Read More ›

Matzke is Back on the Flagellum Horse

In October 2006, Nick Matzke, a name not unfamiliar to denizens of UD, and Mark Pallen co-authored a review article for Nature Review of Microbiology regarding the status of research into the evolutionary origins of the bacterial flagellum.  Matzke and Pallen felt the need to write such an article because since the publication of Michael Behe’s book “Darwin’s Black Box” ten years prior, there had been much hand waving and hand wringing over exactly what is the evolutionary explanation for the seemingly irreducibly complex flagellar system.  Matzke’s first line of attack prior to the ’06 article was to lurk various discussion threads and offer up lists of studies that supposedly provided the very thing that Behe said was nowhere to Read More ›

Behe was right: Bacteria eject flagella to avoid starvation

Here’s an example of what Michael Behe is (actually) talking about in Darwin Devolves The evolution strategy “Break or blunt any functional coded element whose loss would yield a net fitness gain”: Eleven authors writing in PLOS Biology found that “γ-proteobacteria eject their polar flagella under nutrient depletion, retaining flagellar motor relic structures.” When there’s nothing to eat, these bacteria are willing to toss off their flagella and plug the hole in order to save energy. If you were out on a lake, would you unlatch your new Yamaha F250 4.2-liter V6 outboard motor and let it drop to the bottom? You might if the boat was taking on water and was about to sink, and you were about to Read More ›

Survival at a price: Bacteria cut off flagella to stay alive

The world of Darwinian evolution features so many exceptionally clever animals that are nothing like the humdrum creatures we must tie down or tranquilize in order to help. And the profs just attribute it all to natural selection, as if that would explain anything in a situation where some prevision seems required. Read More ›

Design Disquisitions: Critic’s Corner-Kenneth Miller

This week’s post at Design Disquisitions is the first in a series of articles entitled ‘Critic’s Corner’ where I focus on a critic of ID. The main purpose of these posts is to document their work relevant to ID and also to document the direct responses to the particular critic in question, by those sympathetic to ID. These posts will be a useful resource for anyone wanting to find responses to a particular ID critic. This first one is on the work of Kenneth Miller (no stranger to anyone involved in this debate of course). If there are any articles I have missed, do let me know and I shall add it to the page.