Biblical Genetics

Dr. C Explains how we figured out how to sequence DNA.

Genetic engineering is a controversial topic. From vaccines to fetal cells to transhumanism, the debate rages. Yet, there are certain aspects to genetic engineering that are demonstrably good. How are we supposed to make heads or tails of this new technology, especially since it is impacting every aspect of our lives? I thought that a simple explanation (at least, as simple as I could make it!) of the things I did while earning my PhD could help increase our understanding. I, as a conservative Christian, made the 'frankenfish'. I stole the genes for the bright green and red fluorescent proteins in corals, engineered them into bacteria, then into fish. There is nothing inherently difficult in what I did, but there were a LOT of steps. Perhaps, after this explanation, we can have a more civil discussion on the pros and cons. Links and notes: Gibbs PDL, Carter RW, and Schmale MC (2008) Nucleic acid encoding fluorescent proteins from aquatic species. US Patent #7,413,874. Gibbs PDL, Carter RW, and Schmale MC (2007) Fluorescent Proteins from Aquatic Species. US Patent #7,291,711. Carter RW, Schmale MS, and Gibbs PDL (2004) Cloning of anthozoan fluorescent protein genes. Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology, Part C 138:259–270. Carter RW (2003) Cnidarian Fluorescent Proteins. PhD Dissertation. University of Miami. Manica A, Carter RW (2000) Morphological and fluorescence analysis of the Montastraea annularis species complex in Florida. Marine Biology 137:899–906. Monkeying around with human embryos? Harnessing God’s design to help prevent sickness, but will the new vaccine technology alter our DNA? Unnatural selection: CRISPR on Netflix Gene editing babies? A dangerous, pointless experiment Human/animal hybrids? Human Cloning? Mammoth clones coming to a zoo near you

This presentation was produced for a conference at the Scandinavian School of Theology in Uppsala, Sweden. I was speaking as a representative of Creation Ministries International, but since this recording is similar to my talk The Historical Adam: theological conundrums and scientific implications,* which is free on the CMI store, by the way, CMI decided to not publish my new talk. Yet, I hated to let all that work go to waste, so I am putting it out on my Biblical Genetics platform. *If that link does not work in your country, go to Creation.com, click on “Store” in the header bar. Hover over Media tab that appears below the header and click on “Streaming Video”. Links and notes: A good article to explain the difference between historical and operational science: Batten D, It’s not science!, creation.com, 28 February 2002. Sanford, J. et al., Adam and Eve, designed diversity, and allele frequencies, 8th International Conference on Creationism, pp. 200–216, 2018. Carter RW, The non-mythical Adam and Eve: refuting errors by Francis Collins and BioLogos, creation.com, 20 August 2011. Carter RW and Powell M, The genetic effects of the population bottleneck associated with the Genesis Flood, J. Creation 30(2):124 – 127, 2018. Carter, R., Effective population sizes and loss of diversity during the Flood bottleneck, J. Creation 32(2):124–127, 2018. Simons Genome Diversity Project 1000 Genomes Program Carter RW. Patriarchal drive in the early post-Flood population, J Creation 33(1):110–118, 2019. Carter R, How old was Cain when he killed Abel? Creation 36(2):16–17, 2014.

Video Link:

https://youtu.be/OTj_P8P1v6Q

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In this, the 6th episode on biblical genealogy, Dr Rob explains where the nation of Edom came from, how they tie into the main biblical story, and how to handle several tricky textual problems in Genesis 36.

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In this, the 7th episode in our series on biblical genealogy, Dr Rob takes us deep into the genealogy of the nation of Edom. This was a people/tribe/kingdom that existed south of the Dead Sea and southeast of the kingdom of Judah, which dominated Edom for several centuries. There are several textual mysteries in Edom’s data, but they can be solved satisfactorily if we think through the issues carefully.