Skinks prove rapid epigenetic adaptation - No evolution

Reversible Transitions Between Viviparity and Oviparity in Skinks: Evidence for Epigenetic Regulation

Among vertebrates, live-bearing (viviparity) and egg-laying (oviparity) represent two distinct reproductive strategies, each requiring complex and tightly coordinated developmental programs. Viviparity involves profound physiological and molecular modifications, including uterine remodeling, suppression of maternal immune rejection, nutrient and gas exchange regulation, and hormonal synchronization between mother and embryo. Because of these interconnected systems, evolutionary biologists have long regarded viviparity as an evolutionary dead end—a state from which reversion to oviparity would be virtually impossible (Blackburn, 2015; Reynolds et al., 2013).

However, compelling evidence has emerged from studies on the common lizard (Zootoca vivipara), a European skink species displaying both oviparous and viviparous populations. Phylogenetic and genomic analyses have suggested that the viviparous condition likely evolved first, followed by a secondary reversion to egg-laying in at least one western European lineage (Lorig et al., 2013; Cornetti et al., 2015). If confirmed, this represents the first well-documented case of a reversible transition from live-bearing back to egg-laying among vertebrates.

Given the extensive suite of coordinated developmental changes required for each reproductive mode, such reversibility is difficult to explain through the slow accumulation of random mutations alone. Instead, these findings point toward epigenetic regulatory systems—mechanisms that can rapidly reprogram gene expression without altering DNA sequence. DNA methylation, histone modification, and non-coding RNA networks control uterine differentiation, placental gene activation, and embryonic-maternal communication in both reptiles and mammals. These same systems are responsive to environmental cues such as temperature, photoperiod, and nutritional status—factors that could act as epigenetic switches determining whether the embryonic developmental program proceeds toward viviparity or oviparity.

The Zootoca vivipara case, therefore, provides an intriguing model of developmental plasticity under epigenetic control. The coexistence of both reproductive modes within a single species suggests that the underlying genetic architecture remains largely intact, while the expression of key regulatory pathways is environmentally modulated through reversible epigenetic mechanisms. Such a framework implies that environmental factors can trigger coordinated, system-level changes in reproductive physiology through pre-existing, design-based regulatory networks rather than random mutational processes.

Further research combining comparative epigenomics, uterine transcriptomics, and experimental environmental manipulation is needed to clarify the causal mechanisms. Nonetheless, the observed reversibility of reproductive mode in skinks challenges the traditional view of viviparity as a one-way evolutionary transition and strongly supports the idea that complex, epigenetically regulated adaptive systems were designed to maintain reproductive flexibility within created kinds.

The rapid ability of skinks to switch from egg-laying to live birth does not result from random mutations and natural selection, but from precisely functioning epigenetic mechanisms. Epigenetic changes are dynamic and reversible. However, they place stress on the genome, causing subtle errors in the DNA. Therefore, genetic degeneration is an inevitable reality throughout all of creation.

Evolution never happened.

Key References:

• Blackburn, D. G. (2015). Evolution of viviparity and placentation in the squamate reptiles. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 115(4), 815–828.
• Cornetti, L., et al. (2015). Phylogeographic evidence for a reversal from viviparity to oviparity in the common lizard (Zootoca vivipara). Nature Ecology & Evolution.
• Lorig, R., et al. (2013). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 69, 1213–1223.
• Reynolds, A. M., et al. (2013). Evolution, 67(1), 245–253.

Numbers That Destroy the Theory of Evolution

The Numbers That Destroy the Theory of Evolution

The debate over the functional portion of the human genome has significant implications for our understanding of genetic functionality and evolutionary theory. Various scientists have proposed different estimates for how much of the genome is functional, often suggesting that if a large portion is functional, the high mutation rates would make evolution predominantly destructive. Here, we present a comprehensive list of these estimates and the related implications for evolutionary theory.

Estimates of Functional Genome Proportion - The Junk-DNA Theory

A few years ago most scientists thought that the so-called junk-DNA acted as a buffer against harmful mutations:

1. Dan Graur (2013): "At least 85% of the human genome is non-functional, with a possible upper limit for functionality being as low as 10%."

   • Source: Graur et al., Genome Biology and Evolution

2. Sean R. Eddy (2013): "More than 90% of the human genome is likely junk DNA with no significant biological function."

   • Source: Eddy, PLOS Computational Biology

3. Lynch (2007): "Only about 5% of the human genome is under purifying selection, implying functionality."

   • Source: Lynch, The Origins of Genome Architecture

4. Brenner (1998): "Only about 3% of the human genome is functional."

   • Source: Brenner, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

5. Nessa Carey (2012): "The functional proportion of the genome is probably around 8-15%."

   • Source: Carey, The Epigenetics Revolution

6. Larry Moran (2011): "Functionality in the human genome may be limited to less than 10%."

   • Source: Moran, Sandwalk Blog
     

Functional Genome and Evolution as a Destructive Process

Scientists know that without a buffering junk-DNA protection, evolution becomes a destructive process:

1. Dan Graur (2013): "If much more than 10-15% of the genome is functional, the mutation rate would lead to a lethal mutational load."

   • Source: Graur et al., Genome Biology and Evolution

2. Ewan Birney (2012): The claim that 80% of the genome is functional has led to critiques that such a high functionality would make mutation accumulation untenable.

   • Source: The ENCODE Project Consortium, Nature

3. Larry Moran (2013): "If much more than 10% of the genome were functional, the accumulation of deleterious mutations would result in a high genetic load that would be unsustainable."

   • Source: Moran, Sandwalk Blog

4. Sean R. Eddy (2013): "The high estimate of functional DNA proposed by ENCODE cannot be reconciled with the observed mutation rates and population genetics."

   • Source: Eddy, PLOS Computational Biology

Transcription and Non-Coding RNAs

Recent research has shown that a significant portion of the genome is transcribed into non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs), which play various regulatory roles:

• Mattick and Makunin (2006): "A significant proportion of the human genome, up to 90%, is transcribed into ncRNAs."

  • Source: Mattick and Makunin, Human Molecular Genetics

• Nessa Carey (2012): "Approximately 70-90% of the human genome is transcribed into RNA, most of which does not code for proteins but has regulatory functions."

  • Source: Carey, The Epigenetics Revolution
    
    

• Ewan Birney (ENCODE Project, 2012): "The ENCODE project suggests that 80% of the human genome has some biochemical function."

  • Source: The ENCODE Project Consortium, Nature

• ENCODE Project (2012): "The project identified that 75% of the human genome is transcribed at some point in development, suggesting extensive transcriptional activity."

  • Source: The ENCODE Project Consortium, Nature

• John Mattick (2004): "Non-coding RNAs transcribed from as much as 98% of the genome may have regulatory functions."

  • Source: Mattick, BioEssays

Summary and conclusions:

Mutational load (genetic load) is a phenomenon recognized by every serious scientist and biologist. Leading evolutionary biologists have admitted that if more than 5–20% (estimates vary) of the human genome is functional, evolution becomes a destructive process. Current research shows that over 90% of human DNA is read into transcription, and even the remaining 10% has been found to serve regulatory functions. The “junk DNA” theory is dead and buried—but mutational load is a biological fact. This means that genetic entropy is an inevitable biological reality.

Evolution never happened.