User:D.g.lab./sandbox

In genetics, Genetic entropy is a mutational meltdown in which the Genome of any population accumulates deleterious mutations more rapidly than beneficial mutations. The phrase genetic entropy has been used by proponents of intelligent design to describe the devolution they found in biological evolution, reflecting the idea that genetic systems are subject to entropy.

History
The problem of genetic entropy was first addressed by Muller in 1964 and termed Muller's ratchet. In his book, Muller sought to explain how he thought sexual reproduction began to develop to counter the effects of genetic entropy. John C. Sanford published a full book, Genetic Entropy & the Mystery of the Genome (2005, 2008, 2014), on the sole subject. In it, he claims that natural selection's being the cause of biological evolution (which he calls the primary axiom) “is essentially indefensible.”

Description
The minimal rate of human mutation is estimated to be 100 new mutations per generation. According to Sanford, Kimura's curve shows that most mutations have a near-neutral effect, and are furthermore slightly deleterious. As such, they cause a slight genetic rust unstoppable by natural selection. Therefore, the main claim of genetic entropy is that the rise of random genetic mutations is too slight to be affected by natural selection, yet harmful enough to cause the gradual extinction of any species through time.

An important corollary to genetic entropy is that “beneficial mutations are so rare as to be outside of consideration.” Therefore, natural selection is considered too slow to allow evolution. Additionally, the selective cost is considered too high to override genetic drift and noise.