Evolution

For nearly a century it has been claimed that mutations are the engine that drives evolution, bringing new traits and information to the genome. And yet, the more we have learned about mutations, the more they have been shown for what they really are: A destructive force, rather than a creative one—responsible for hundreds of thousands of different diseases in humans alone! Even when mutations produce ‘beneficial’ changes (for example, bacteria developing resistance to antibiotics), a closer examination nevertheless reveals that mutations have broken something existing, rather than creating something new. Mutations aren’t the engine of evolution. They are its end. Join plant biologist Dr Don Batten for a revealing exploration of the true power of mutations.