Genetic load from mutations would make populations unviable (Talk.Origins)

Response ArticleThis article (Genetic load from mutations would make populations unviable (Talk.Origins)) is a response to a rebuttal of a creationist claim published by Talk.Origins Archive under the title Index to Creationist Claims.

Index

Claim CB120:

The overall effect of mutations is to lower the viability of populations, due to the "genetic load," or genetic burden, that they add to the gene pool.

Source:

• Morris, Henry M., 1974. Scientific Creationism, Green Forest, AR: Master Books, 56-57.

CreationWiki response:

(Talk.Origins quotes in blue)

1. As new harmful mutations enter the population, selection removes existing harmful traits. The genetic load of a stable population is an equilibrium between the two.

This is a typical Evolutionist response: wave the magic wand of Natural selection and POOF! all harmful mutations go away. The simple fact is that Natural selection is just not that good at removing harmful mutations. In reality, it only removes the really dangerous ones, those that kill the organism before it can reproduce. As a result the harmful mutations that an organism can live with are not removed. Since most harmful mutations are of this type, they would just accumulate over time adding to genetic load.

2. Bacteria mutate much faster than plants and animals do, yet their populations are not becoming less viable.

Such calculations of mutation rate assume that all genetic variations are mutations. However, there are other sources of variations, including Mobile genetic elements, Natural Genetic Engineering, and Gene transference.