THE END OF EVOLUTION?

Yes. Heat still dissipates in a closed system and solutes still diffuse out through a solution. As others have mentioned this only applies to closed systems at equilibrium. The Earth is not a closed system. There is energy being pumped into the system. It's called sunlight. This is the reason that we have fresh water and water flowing downhill at a good clip. If you think that evolution violates the 2nd law then you should have an even larger problem with mountain streams full of fresh water.

Look no further than Dr. T. D. Schneider's EV program. It's a computer model that simulates evolution of a DNA binding protein and a DNA binding site using Shannon information (the protein and DNA serve as the sender and receiver). He shows that the process of evolution produces Shannon information.http://www-lmmb.ncifcrf.gov/~toms/paper/ev/***************************************
Nucleic Acids Research, 2000, Vol. 28, No. 14 2794-2799
2000 Oxford University PressEvolution of biological informationThomas D. SchneiderHow do genetic systems gain information by evolutionary processes? Answering this question precisely requires a robust, quantitative measure of information. Fortunately, 50 years ago Claude Shannon defined information as a decrease in the uncertainty of a receiver. For molecular systems, uncertainty is closely related to entropy and hence has clear connections to the Second Law of Thermodynamics. These aspects of information theory have allowed the development of a straightforward and practical method of measuring information in genetic control systems. Here this method is used to observe information gain in the binding sites for an artificial ‘protein’ in a computer simulation of evolution. The simulation begins with zero information and, as in naturally occurring genetic systems, the information measured in the fully evolved binding sites is close to that needed to locate the sites in the genome. The transition is rapid, demonstrating that information gain can occur by punctuated equilibrium.
************************************************ Not if energy is constantly being pumped into the system as is the case with the Earth. There is a reason that the equator has been warmer than the poles for the last 4.5 billion years. If, as you say, these systems go to equilibrium then the temp at the equator should be the same as the poles.Edited by Taq, : No reason given.

You are going to need to supply some context here. The addition of a single base to a DNA strand is not thermodynamically favorable so it requires the addition of a high energy ATP molecule (the conversion of an ATP to an ADP if memory serves). Energy has to be put into the system to link each base together.However, the change in entropy is the same for DNA strands of equal length. It requires the same change in entropy to copy a DNA strand without errors as it does to include mutations if the strands are the same length. Insertions and deletions require neglibile amounts of energy compared to extension of DNA through polymerase activity. I really can't see how changes in the genome of a species over time can not happen while faithful copying of DNA can. If evolution violates the laws of thermodynamics then so does the replication of a single cell or a single strand of DNA.

I couldn't agree more. There should be a national movement to describe entropy as the movement of heat to things that are colder. There are certainly other aspects, but this is the basics of the 2nd law. It's right there in the name, thermo (heat) + dynamics (movement).I have yet to see a creationist explain why evolution violates a law that states that heat moves to things that are colder.

Ok. Then let's work from that. Find a DNA difference between humans and chimps that violates these "laws of information" that you speak of.

You mean a priori dispositions such as differences between species can not be produced by mutations?

Whether humans and chimps share a common ancestor or not it still begs for an answer. Which of the DNA differences between humans and chimps can not be produced by the known mechanisms of mutation? Which of these differences required an intelligent designer, and why?

You need different mutations to accumulate in each population. Think of languages. If two populations continually spoke to each other then any changes to the language that occur in one population will quickly travel to the other. If the two populations do not speak to one another then different changes will occur to the language in each population. Over time these changes can add up to the point that the two populations are no longer able to understand one another. The same thing happens with DNA.

That is exactly what Schneider modeled in his EV program. He looked at a DNA binding sequence and DNA binding protein as the sender and receiver. He then looked at the evolution of this system. He observed that the application of evolutionary mechanisms resulted in an increase of Shannon information.Schneider also discusses how this program produces Complex Specified Information (Dembski's CSI):http://www.ccrnp.ncifcrf.gov/~toms/paper/ev/dembski/

The point is that the genetic flow between the groups is restricted. Their ranges only overlap at the edges. This makes it difficult for a mutation on one side of the ring to make it to the other. Restricted gene flow is what produces divergent populations.

Why don't you hit us with the research that backs your claim?But since we are talking in hypotheticals . . .Would you first agree that chimps and modern humans are separate species? Would you also agree that they can not produce viable hybrids? Would you also agree that the explanation for a lack of viable hybrids and the difference in morphology between chimps and humans is the 5% difference in DNA (counting indels), along with the chromosomal fusion in human chromosome 2?If you agree with all of these, then continue on . . .Please show how two separate human populations can not accumulate a 2-5% genetic difference if those populations are not allowed to interbreed for 5-7 million years. Please show how microevolutionary events will not accumulate to the point that the DNA differences between the two human populations will not allow for viable offspring between the two populations.

What if there wasn't a global village? Would you then be okay with the idea that two human species could develop? Say, for instance, that we sent a population of humans to a distant planet where they became stranded for 10 million years. In this situation, are you saying that the resulting populations will be the same species no matter what?

The inescapable question for me is the DNA difference between species. If such differences between the genomes of species is not allowed by the 2LoT then I would really like to know how this is.How can the observed mutations seen between each generation not accumulate over several generations so that you end up with two populations with a 2% difference like that seen between humans and chimps.