[...]
DJT>This is because determining our "genetic makeup" is not a
DJT>case of creating new information.
[...]
If the statement above were modified to "... not necessarily a
case of ..." it would be unexceptionable. But the process of
reproduction in humans is not simply a matter of drawing a set
of alleles, like cards from two decks, from each parent, even
when one excludes the usual potential for point mutations to
occur. Recombination does not respect reading-frame
boundaries. This means that information *different* from that
seen in the parent providing the gamete is possible. Whether
that information change also marks a *novelty* is another
matter, but one which is a possible outcome.
Theretically, in the presence of sufficient base-pair
diversity, a series of recombination events can produce the
same result as a series of point mutations, or a single point
mutation. There is no theoretical basis upon which to divide
recombination and point mutation as possible information
sources.
Wesley