Examples of new information

If you describe the math you'd like to use for quantifying information I'll go ahead and promote this thread.

Hey, my alma mater! How would you go about measuring the amount of information in a gene? For example, let's say the gene was this: How would you calculate its information content?Edited by Admin, : Remove sig.

One common answer to your question about a new function is nylon eating bacteria, but the usual response is that the behavior was caused by a deletion rather than an addition. If your criteria is merely new function, then your question has already been answered. But if your criteria is new function by adding information to the genome then we need to know how you're measuring information. If by the number of nucleotides, a rather simplistic measure, then nylon eating bacteria do not qualify. But if by the number of alleles for the gene in the bacterial population, then nylon eating bacteria do qualify.Your understandable reaction is probably, "Sheesh, I was just trying to ask a simple question." But as you must have guessed by now, the question has been raised here before, so I was hoping for a little clarification.Edited by Admin, : Grammar.

Hi Dan4Reason,We're just going through the thread proposal process, not having a pre-discussion about your topic. Nylon-eating bacteria was just the example I chose to explain why the approach used to measure information is important. If we don't agree on the method for measuring genetic information then we'll have no criteria for judging success or failure in answering your question. If you can describe how you're measuring information I can promote your thread.Or we can take the other approach you suggested of providing examples of mutations that produce new proteins.

Thread copied here from the Examples of new information thread in the Proposed New Topics forum.