Intelligent Design Investigations
Living things and the universe display remarkable order, complexity, information, and organization. Intelligent Design asks whether some of these features are best explained by natural processes alone or whether intelligence should also be considered as a possible cause.
This series approaches that question as an investigation. We will look at what is known, what has been proposed, where important uncertainties remain, and how different explanations attempt to account for the evidence.
Investigation 01
Fine-Tuned Universe
The Fine-Tuned Universe
Our universe did not have to look exactly as it does. Physics describes fundamental forces, particle properties, and cosmic conditions whose values help determine what kind of universe can exist. Change some of these conditions and the consequences can be enormous. Galaxies may not form. Stars…
Investigation 02
Habitable Earth
A Habitable Earth
A universe capable of supporting life is only the beginning. Life also needs somewhere to live. Earth provides such a place. It has remained home to life for billions of years while its atmosphere, oceans, climate, continents, and living organisms have undergone enormous changes. What makes…
Investigation 03
Origin of Life
The Origin of Life
Every living thing comes from other life. But at some point in Earth's distant past, the first life had to appear.How did that happen?This is a different question from how living things change through evolution. Before evolution by natural selection could begin, something had to exist…
Investigation 04
Biological Information
Biological Information, DNA and the Genetic Code
Every cell depends upon information. DNA stores enormous amounts of it. Cells copy that information, read it, and use it to make the proteins needed for life.But DNA does not work alone. An elaborate system of RNA molecules, enzymes, and molecular machinery is needed to use…
Investigation 05
Molecular Machines
Molecular Machines and Integrated Biological Systems
A living cell is filled with tiny working systems. Some produce energy. Some build proteins. Some transport materials from one place to another. Others help proteins fold correctly, remove damaged molecules, or allow cells to move.Scientists often describe many of these systems as molecular machines because…
Investigation 06
Biological Innovation
Biological Innovation and Evolutionary Mechanisms
Living things change over time. Mutations occur. Natural selection favors some variations over others. Genes can be duplicated, rearranged, lost, or changed. Populations can divide and eventually become different species.These are observed parts of biology.The larger question is how much these processes can accomplish.