Behe Picks Up Other End of Stick

Michael Behe, of Darwin's Black Box fame, has a new book out titled The Edge of Evolution. I have not seen it yet--and frankly, I doubt I will read it--but critical reviews have been coming in, which I will link to below. Apparently, the gist of the book is that, in addition to re-iterating 'irreducibly complexity', Behe calculates the probability of a malaria drug resistance gene arising and uses that as the standard by which one can declare a mutation to have been designed or not. Or something like that.

It has long been apparent that if the argument of design is to be taken seriously, then it must apply to pathogens and parasites as well. Behe apparently takes that step with this quote:

Here's something to ponder long and hard: Malaria was intentionally designed. The molecular machinery with which the parasite invades red blood cells is an exquisitely purposeful arrangement of parts. C-Eve's children died in her arms because an intelligent agent deliberately made malaria, or at least something very similar to it.

Well, at least he is consistent. (Of course, the designer of malaria need not be God; it could have been Satan. Take your pick. And welcome back to an age where diseases are caused by God's cursing or Satan's meddling.)

Anyway, here is some further reading:
Of cilia and silliness (more on Behe) - wherein Nick Matzke discovers the irony that malaria undercuts Behe's argument about the irreducible complexity of cilia.

Not for the faint of heart: the continuing dismemberment of Michael Behe - which contains links to a number of reviews.

See especially Sean Carroll's review in Science.

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