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The Significance of ORFan and Taxonomically Restricted Genes | Dr. Paul Nelson
With the advent of automated DNA sequencing in the mid-1990s, biologists were able to look beyond the handful of gene sequences they had previously used to compare species. That new vista revealed a genetic and proteomic universe vastly larger than expected. Design perspectives illuminate many of the anomalies revealed by this larger universe. Design may also help to provide a stable definition of the concept of “homology,” a definition of potential value to evolutionary theory, which currently struggles with circular reasoning where explanations of similarity are concerned.
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Dr. Paul Nelson
Paul A. Nelson is a philosopher of biology who has been involved in the intelligent design debate internationally for three decades. Paul received his B.A. in philosophy and evolutionary biology from the University of Pittsburgh, and then entered the University of Chicago, where he received his Ph.D. (1998) in the philosophy of biology and evolutionary theory. He is currently a Senior Fellow of the Discovery Institute (since 1996) and Adjunct Faculty in the Master of Arts Program in Science & Religion at Biola University (since 2004). Paul lectures frequently at colleges and universities throughout the United States and internationally. His scholarly articles have appeared in journals such as PLoS One, Biology & Philosophy, BIO-Complexity, Zygon, Rhetoric and Public Affairs, and Touchstone. Paul is one of the authors of the biology textbook Explore Evolution, and has appeared in several films on intelligent design for Illustra Media. He is a member of the Society for Developmental Biology (SDB) and the Society for Molecular Biology and Evolution (SMBE). Paul is married to Suzanne Nelson, M.D., M.P.H., a pediatric gastroenterologist at Lurie Children’s Hospital of Northwestern University, and they have two daughters, both science teachers, and two grandchildren, Mars (a girl) and Felix (a boy). Paul and Suzanne reside in Glenview, Illinois.
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