Lamarck's Vit C saves Darwin from the skurvy


This first section states the old Vit C Darwinian story to prove creationism wrong and evolution right.

The ability to synthesize vitamin C is a trait that is shared by most mammals, but not by humans, apes, and guinea pigs. This suggests that humans and these other primates diverged from a common ancestor that could synthesize vitamin C.

The loss of the ability to synthesize vitamin C is thought to have occurred about 6 million years ago, when our ancestors moved from a diet of fruits and vegetables to a diet that was more reliant on meat. Meat does not contain vitamin C, so our ancestors had to rely on their livers to store the vitamin. Over time, the ability to synthesize vitamin C was lost.

The fact that humans, apes, and guinea pigs share this trait suggests that we all share a common ancestor that lived about 6 million years ago. This is further supported by other evidence, such as the similarities in our DNA and our skeletal structure.

The ability to synthesize vitamin C is a fascinating example of how our genes can change over time in response to changes in our environment. It is also a reminder of our shared ancestry with other primates.

Couple of quick points on this fable:

  • It's been recently discovered humans were mostly  vegetarian 100,000 years ago not 6 million years ago.

  • NeoDarwinism has of recently not been shown to "evolve" a single gene. The time to make 2 simultaneously useful mutations is 2 million years in humans.

  • NeoDarwinism only describes a change to a gene not how it came into existence.

  • The human vitamin C gene, also known as the L-gulono-gamma-lactone oxidase gene (GULO), is about 22,000 nucleotides long. Therefore the odds it arose by random mutations is 4^22,000 minus 10^5 (Shannon entropy equation). That's the odds of winning the California lottery 2,000 in a row with one ticket each time.

  • But Darwinists exclaim - " but…but  it can happen."

With metagenomics and the discovery of TEs and IDP this is yet another Icon of evolution in the dust bin of science.

Now the rest of the story as Paul Harvey says:

The vitamin C gene (GULO) is present in all mammals, but it is non-functional in humans and a few other species. This is due to a mutation in the gene (by a TE not Darwin's mutations)  that makes it unable to produce the enzyme necessary for vitamin C synthesis.

However, the GULO gene is still present in humans and other non-functional vitamin C synthesizing species. This is because the gene is also involved in other metabolic pathways, and it is not advantageous to lose the entire gene.

The presence of the GULO gene in humans and other non-functional vitamin C synthesizing species can give the appearance of common ancestry, even though this is not the case. This is because TEs can be transferred between species through horizontal gene transfer (HGT). HGT is a process by which genes are transferred between different species, and it can occur through a variety of mechanisms.

In the case of the GULO gene, it is thought that HGT may have occurred on TEs from species giving  evidence that looks like common ancestry, but rather is due to horizontal gene transfer.

HGT can have a significant impact on the evolution of species, and it can also lead to the appearance of common ancestry where it does not actually exist.

There is evidence to suggest that a faulty vitamin C production pathway may allow for longer lifespan. In one study, mice with a mutation in the gene that controls vitamin C production lived an average of 20% longer than wild-type mice. The researchers believe that this is because the mutation led to a build-up of a compound called 2-oxoglutarate, which has antioxidant properties. Antioxidants help to protect cells from damage, and so it is possible that the build-up of 2-oxoglutarate helped to slow down the aging process in the mice.

For human that live up to 80 years old "faulty" Vit C avoids brain damage. For smaller animals with a short lifespan this is useful. From a design aspect this is what you would expect.

The SLC23A1 gene  encodes the protein SVCT1, which is an intrinsically disordered protein (IDP). IDPs are proteins that lack a well-defined three-dimensional structure. They are often characterized by a high degree of flexibility and disordered regions.

SVCT1 is an IDP because it does not have a stable three-dimensional structure. This allows it to bind to vitamin C and transport it across cell membranes. The disordered regions of SVCT1 are thought to be important for its binding to vitamin C and for its ability to interact with other proteins.

IDPs are becoming increasingly recognized for their important roles in biology. They are involved in a wide variety of cellular processes, including protein folding, signal transduction, and cell adhesion.

They make up the majority (51%) of our genes and the rest have some disorder.

Intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs) and their intrinsically disordered regions (IDRs) are not easily changed by Neo-Darwinian mutations because they are not under the same selective pressure as other proteins. 


IDPs and IDRs are often involved in structural and functional plasticity, which means that they can change their conformation in response to different environmental cues. This plasticity makes them less susceptible to mutations that would disrupt their function. Their epigenetic speed is 100,000 as fast as the time it take one mutation per Darwin.

In addition, IDPs and IDRs are often involved in interactions with other proteins, and these interactions can also help to protect them from mutations. For example, if an IDP interacts with a protein that is essential for cell survival, then any mutation that would disrupt the interaction would be lethal.

As a result of these factors, IDPs and IDRs are often very old proteins, dating back billions of years. 

Billions of years with no Darwinian gradualism.

They are an important part of the protein repertoire of all living organisms, and they play a variety of essential roles in cell biology.

The genes for IDP are more likely to have originated via HGT of TEs. IDPs, or intrinsically disordered proteins, are proteins that lack a well-defined structure. They have  are often found in regulatory proteins, and they can play a role in a variety of cellular processes.

TEs, or transposable elements, are DNA sequences that can move from one location in the genome to another. Most organisms have 50% or more of their DNA made up of them. Scientists for decades have called them Darwinian "Junk DNA." This stands to be NeoDarwinists' most significant failure. 

Intelligent design theorists predicted this DNA would be found to be "useful" 15 years before the ENCODE project buried the term.

TE's are thought to be responsible for a significant amount of HGT, and they are often found in IDPs.

One study, published in the journal Nature in 2011, found that a large number of IDPs in humans were derived from TEs. The study also found that these TE-derived IDPs were often involved in regulating gene expression.

Another study, published in the journal Molecular Biology and Evolution in 2014, found that TEs were more likely to be found in IDPs than in other types of proteins. The study also found that TE-derived IDPs were more likely to be found in species that had a high rate of HGT.

These studies suggest that HGT of TEs is a major source of IDP genes. This is because TEs are often found in IDPs, and they are also more likely to be found in species that have a high rate of HGT.

In addition, TE-derived IDPs are often involved in regulating gene expression. This suggests that HGT of TEs may have played a role in the Lamarckian  evolution of new regulatory pathways.

So as you can see the old story no longer carries water. It turns out Vit C affects were contemplated billions of year's ago without Darwin. After all Darwin can't cause a change billions of years ago it can only act on the here and now for natural selection to act.

Now who would have thought of that!?

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