Biological evolution recently just got stopped dead in its tracks. If you recall, there are three main mechanisms that drive evolution; natural selection, gene pool shift and random mutations. Of the three, only one actually "creates" new genetic material or information- mutations. Gene pool shift simply shuffles information around while natural selection actually reduces genetic information. So if we are to believe that the tale of molecules to man could be possible, obviously genetic mutations are the key because an incredible amount of new information had to be added to the DNA code to get from a single-celled organism to a human being. But 2014 produced some studies that absolutely crushed the hopes and dreams of many evolutionary scientists. Their parade wasn't just rained on, it was canceled and all the floats were set on fire. Why? Because several studies proved that random mutations cannot produce new genetic information. One study showed the near impossibilty of mutations adding new information to DNA due to the shocking discovery that there are actually two sets of code that every DNA strand instructs for- changing a single letter of DNA actually has implications for two sequences. This makes mutation very problematic- even if the mutation was lucky enough to be beneficial for one sequence, the chances it would also be beneficial for the second are astronomically small. Another study found that cells actually have corrective mechanisms that filter out and dispose of useless gene sequences. For a new trait to evolve, many, many random mutations have to occur, most of them being worthless due to them being, well, random. But the theory goes, give a monkey enough time on a typewriter and eventually, by chance, he can hammer out Shakespeare. If that notion wasn't hard enough to swallow, now they'll need the Heimlich maneuver because the cells would have disposed of the new, incomplete (and therefore worthless) play long before Romeo even meets Juliet. Talk about a star-crossed blunder. This discovery calls into question the previous scientific claims that a large portion of our DNA is "junk"- leftovers from random mutations that ultimately didn't amount to anything useful. In fact, some claims, even as recent as last year, were that as low as 8.2% of human DNA actually serve any purpose. Unsurprisingly, scientists are beginning to figure out that just because they didn't know what purpose "junk DNA" served, doesn't mean it doesn't serve any. This latest discovery indicates that much more of our DNA will likely to be found useful or necessary. A third study found that what mutations do occur are too small for natural selection to see or act upon, leading to a build up of tiny, but harmful mutations- not beneficial ones. So last year brought a trifecta of theory-killing discoveries... But don't worry, evolution has more lives than reincarnated cats. This will only be a minor setback while new and even less plausible theories can be concocted to get around these inconvenient facts and get evolution patched up and back in business. Because when you refuse to acknowledge the possibility of God, believing in evolution isn't a choice- it's a lack of options. Read an overview from the Institute of Creation Research of these and other major blows to evolution in 2014 here. For the more technical reader, a condensed and free synopsis of the three new genetic findings can be downloaded here.