Evidence
August 25th, 2008
I’m giving a talk to the biophysics group on Wednesday about molecular rulers, which are little molecules that bacteria use like ropes to determine how long they should build their toxin injection needles. Most of the research I’m relying on for this presentation refers to how similar the toxin injection needles are to the bacteria flagellum, the little corkscrew motor that allows bacteria to swim around, and how this probably means that the injection needles are their evolutionary predecessor.
While reading this, I am reminded of how intelligent designers often cite the bacteria flagellum as evidence for creation. It is too complex a piece of machinery, and the individual parts are useless, they argue. I was intending to add this to my presentation as an introductory side note. When looking for a source for the intelligent design argument, I found these humorous google suggestions:
That’s right. The evidence for the existence of Jesus is on the same list as the evidence for the existence of dragons and astrology.