Difference between revisions of "Richard Lenski"
m (since he's an academic, it's not a resume but a CV, even if it's not a full CV on his page) |
(it's not labeled a CV, it shares no characteristics with a CV) |
||
| Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
| − | '''Richard Lenski''' is a professor of microbial [[ecology]] at Michigan State University. He holds a doctorate from the [[University of North Carolina]] and a B.A. from Oberlin College but, oddly, does not disclose his fields for those degrees on his own | + | '''Richard Lenski''' is a professor of microbial [[ecology]] at Michigan State University. He holds a doctorate from the [[University of North Carolina]] and a B.A. from Oberlin College but, oddly, does not disclose his fields for those degrees on his own biographical sketch. <ref>https://www.msu.edu/~lenski/</ref> |
Lenski is best known for his claim to have observed [[evolution]] of [[E. coli]] in a long-term laboratory study, insisting that it was not due to contamination. His 2008 paper asserting his claims was [[peer review]]ed in a mere 14 days, sparking questions from the [[user:Aschlafly|owner]] of this site<ref>See [[Conservapedia talk:Lenski dialog]].</ref> about the thoroughness of the review. | Lenski is best known for his claim to have observed [[evolution]] of [[E. coli]] in a long-term laboratory study, insisting that it was not due to contamination. His 2008 paper asserting his claims was [[peer review]]ed in a mere 14 days, sparking questions from the [[user:Aschlafly|owner]] of this site<ref>See [[Conservapedia talk:Lenski dialog]].</ref> about the thoroughness of the review. | ||
Revision as of 20:46, June 29, 2008
Richard Lenski is a professor of microbial ecology at Michigan State University. He holds a doctorate from the University of North Carolina and a B.A. from Oberlin College but, oddly, does not disclose his fields for those degrees on his own biographical sketch. [1]
Lenski is best known for his claim to have observed evolution of E. coli in a long-term laboratory study, insisting that it was not due to contamination. His 2008 paper asserting his claims was peer reviewed in a mere 14 days, sparking questions from the owner of this site[2] about the thoroughness of the review.
When challenged, Lenski thrice referred to the challenges as slander, yet has filed no lawsuit charging that (or libel). Truth offers total legal protection from accusations of libel.
When Lenski received a public request for the data underlying for his published claims, he did not provide the actual data even though his study was taxpayer-funded.
Undisclosed data from the central claims in Lenski's 2008 paper are noted below (pp. 2-3 from paper, superscripts omitted):
| Undisclosed Data | Our Questions about the missing data |
Visual inspection
|
Evolution of Cit Function in Population Ara-3. The LTEE populations are transferred daily into fresh medium, and the turbidity of each is checked visually at that time. |
DATA ON THESE OBSERVATIONS? |
Study Omissions
|
Owing to the low concentration of glucose in DM25 medium... |
DATA ON SPECIFIC CONCENTRATIONS USED? |
Turgidity
|
...the cultures are only slightly turbid when transferred. Occasional contaminants that grow on citrate have been seen over the 20 years of this experiment. |
DATA? WHEN AND HOW MANY? |
Contaminants???
|
These contaminated cultures reach much higher turbidity owing to the high concentration of citrate in the medium, which allows the contaminants to reach high density. (When contamination occurs, the affected population is restarted from the latest frozen sample.) |
DATA FOR WHEN THAT OCCURRED, AND HOW OFTEN? |
The Numbers Please?
|
After 33,127 generations, one population, designated Ara-3, displayed significantly elevated turbidity that continued to rise for several days (Fig. 1). |
HIGHER RESOLUTION DATA UNDERLYING FIGURE NOT PROVIDED DESPITE REQUEST |
More missing Numbers
|
A number... |
DATA? HOW MANY? STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT? |
We're Professional Scientists
|
of Cit clones were isolated from the population and checked for phenotypic markers characteristic of the ancestral E. coli strain used to start the LTEE: all |
DATA? HOW MANY? STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT? |
Missing Characteristics
|
...were Ara, T5-sensitive, and T6-resistant, as expected (2) |
DATA ABOUT THESE AND OTHER CHARACTERISTICS? |
DNA
|
DNA sequencing also showed... |
DATA?? |
More missing data
|
...that Cit clones have the same mutations in the pykF and nadR genes as do clones from earlier generations of the Ara-3 population, and each of these mutations distinguishes this population from all... |
DATA ABOUT THESE AND OTHER CHARACTERISTICS? |
Fast Tracked
|
...of the others (30). Therefore, the Cit variant arose within the LTEE and is not a contaminant. |
MEANINGFUL PEER REVIEW FOR THIS CONCLUSION MAY NOT HAVE OCCURRED IN THE ASTOUNDINGLY SHORT 14-DAY PEER REVIEW PERIOD! |
Lenski's paper was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, a publication produced by an atheist [3] lobbying [4] organization.
Lenski's work has been criticized in the past also. In a paper Lenski published in Nature in May 8, 2003 entitled "The Evolutionary Origin of Complex Features," he described a computer simulation that contained no actual biology. In fact, the discussion section of the paper stated:
- "Some readers might suggest that we 'stacked the deck' by studying the evolution of a complex feature that could be built on simpler functions that were also useful. However, that is precisely what evolutionary theory requires ...."
Dr. William Dembski explained, "In other words, the computer programmers built into the simulation what they thought evolution needed to make it work. The validity of this study therefore depends on whether the simulation faithfully models biological reality."[5]
See Also
- Conservapedia:Lenski dialog (letters requesting data, and Lenski's responses)
- Conservapedia talk:Lenski dialog (discussion of Lenski controversy[6])