Evolutionists Rethink Randomness of Mutations
Some evolutionists attempt to modify the
long-standing view that random mutation is
the foundational mechanism in evolutionary theory
Evolution is not random. It was designed!
The new claim is that mutations are not random, as was widely believed by evolutionists.
by Jerry Bergman, PhD
Genetic parallelism underpins convergent mimicry coloration in Lepidoptera across 120 million years of evolution (Yacine, Ben Chehida, et al., PLOS Biology 24(4): e3003742 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.3003742, 2026).
This study reviews the claim that distantly related butterflies and moths have reused the same pair of genes for over 120 million years to produce similar warning coloration.[1] It presents this finding as evidence that mutations in evolution are not largely random, contrary to what is widely believed.
The headline in a Science News report (“Evolution is not Random”) contradicts this core evolutionary assumption, that evolution is largely due to random genetic changes.[2] Exceptions exist, but they are minor, with hotspots accounting for only 3.1% of the human genome.[3] For the rest of the genome, evolutionists widely believe, mutations are largely random. It is this view that is now being challenged by the paper reviewed here.
Princeton University Professor of Biology John Bonner explains the common view of mutations here: “It has been recognized early in the history of genetics that mutations were random… Not only is mutation random, but the genetic events involved in sexual reproduction are peppered with random events.” [4] The Yacine et al., peer-reviewed scientific paper reviewed here does not openly argue against the common random mutation assumption, but it is clear from their discussion that it challenges this long held view.
When these genes control highly similar phenotypes, evolution is surprisingly predictable, with convergence caused by recurrent mutations at very similar regions of these genes. These regions could be mutation hotspots that enable rapid adaptation. The repeatability of evolution also extends to the similar inversion architectures that maintain different allelic combinations in the locally polymorphic butterfly and moth species Hel. numata and C. histrio. These results suggest that developmental pathways controlling the convergent phenotypes are highly constrained. The different tiger sub-mimicry rings represent locally adaptive fitness peaks. Our results show that not only are the paths to reach these peaks constrained, but also that the steps along these paths tend to be few and large in size.[5]
In his book, Bonner argued that randomness actually explains more diversity of life than even natural selection.
Blind Watchmaker seeking to combine incompatible causes: random chance and purposeful function.
New View Overturns Dogma
This debate among biologists has a long history. From a 1952 magazine, UCLA Geneticists, Richard Goldschmidt wrote:
THE evolution of the organic world, from the synthesis of the first complex molecules endowed with the faculty of reproducing their kind to the most advanced type of life, must have taken place roughly within the past two billion years on our planet. All the facts of biology, geology, paleontology, biochemistry, and radiology not only agree with this statement but actually prove it. Evolution of the animal and plant world is considered by all those entitled to judgment to be a fact for which no further proof is needed. But in spite of nearly a century of work and discussion, there is still no unanimity in regard to the details of the means of evolution… .All other points of view besides the basic concepts of Darwin have been discredited completely. [6]
According to evolutionary theory, humans and chimpanzees diverged from a shared common ancestor in Africa approximately 6 to 9 million years ago.[7] Given the current understanding of mutations, the idea of 120 million years without any genetic change in this butterfly population presents a significant challenge for evolution. This challenge becomes even more pronounced in light of estimates that human evolution from a common ancestor involved roughly 450 million genetic changes arising within only 6-9 million years. Moreover, this estimate may actually understate the total number of genetic changes that would have been necessary.
The Convergent Evolution Problem
The second major problem in the Yacine et al. paper is the assumption of convergent evolution, defined as the independent development of similar structures in species of different phylogenetic lineages. Convergent evolution proposes that evolution produces structures that have similar forms and functions that were not present in the proposed last common ancestor of those groups. In other words, convergent evolution is when very similar structures arose in life-forms that evolved along enormously different paths.
The best-known proposed example of convergent evolution is the camera-type eye found in cephalopods (such as squid and octopus), vertebrates (including mammals), and cnidarians (such as jellyfish). Professors Salvini-Plawen and Mayr concluded that one of the most complex body organs, the eye, evolved independently more than 60 times.[8] However, the lack of a widely accepted account for the origin of the eye even once raises serious questions about claims of numerous independent origins of a similar design.
The Yacine et al. paper proposed that evolution operates, not by altering genes themselves, but through convergent evolutionary changes in gene regulation—how genes are turned on and off.[9] I have long believed that life includes an inherent genetic program enabling adaptation to environmental conditions. This capacity can generate substantial variation, as seen in breeding.
The wolf kind provides a classic example, having produced 360 recognized dog breeds according to the Fédération Cynologique Internationale (the largest international registry). The smallest recorded dog was just 5 inches (12.7 cm) long. She was shorter than a popsicle stick, standing just 3.59 inches (9.14 cm) tall and weighing just 1.22 pounds.[10] In contrast, the tallest dog , a Great Dane named Zeus, reached a height of 44 inches, while the heaviest dog, an English Mastiff named Hercules, weighed 282 pounds—231 times more than the smallest dog. [11] Both animals were healthy. Their differences in size reflect normal genetic variation, and illustrate the substantial range of innate variation possible within a single lineage.
Conclusions
The Yacine et al. paper highlights numerous problems, only three of which are discussed here. Chief among them is its apparent attempt to modify the long-standing view that random mutation is the foundational mechanism in evolutionary theory. Specifically, the core idea of evolution is “Mutations are random. The mechanisms of evolution — like natural selection and genetic drift — work with the random variation generated by mutation.”[12]
[1] Yacine, Ben Chehida, et al., “Genetic parallelism underpins convergent mimicry coloration in Lepidoptera across 120 million years of evolution, PLOS Biology 24(4): e3003742 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.3003742, 2026.
[2] University of York, “Evolution isn’t random. Scientists find the same genes used for 120 million years,” ScienceDaily, www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/05/260502233856.htm, 4 May 2026. .
[3] Long, Xi and Hong Xue. 2021. Genetic-variant hotspots and hotspot clusters in the human genome facilitating adaptation while increasing instability. Human Genomics. 2021;15(1):19. Mar 19 doi: 10.1186/s40246-021-00318-3.
[4] Bonner, John, Randomness in Evolution. Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ, p. 4.
[5] Yacine, et al., 2026, p. 9.
[6] Goldschmidt, Richard, “Evolution, as Viewed by One Geneticist,” American Scientist 40(1): 84-98. January 1952.
[7] Smithsonian, “What Does It Mean to be Human?,” https://humanorigins.si.edu, 16 April 2026.
[8] Salvini-Plawen, L., and E. Mayr, “On the Evolution of Photoreceptors and Eyes.” In Evolutionary Biology, Vol. 10. Plenum Publishing Corp., New York, NY. Edited by M. Hecht, W. Steeve, and B. Wallace, 1977, p. 247.
[9] University of York, 2026.
[10] https://www.cnn.com/2023/04/12/americas/pearl-world-shortest-dog-scli-intl, 12 April 2023.
[11] https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/news/2022/5/can-i-ride-him-zeus-the-great-dane-confirmed-as-worlds-tallest-dog, 4 May 2022.
[12] Understanding Evolution. Mutations Are Random. https://evolution.berkeley.edu.
Dr. Jerry Bergman has taught biology, genetics, chemistry, biochemistry, anthropology, geology, and microbiology for over 40 years at several colleges and universities including Bowling Green State University, Medical College of Ohio where he was a research associate in experimental pathology, and The University of Toledo. He is a graduate of the Medical College of Ohio, Wayne State University in Detroit, the University of Toledo, and Bowling Green State University. He has over 1,900 publications in 14 languages and 40 books and monographs. His books and textbooks that include chapters that he authored are in over 1,800 college libraries in 27 countries. So far over 80,000 copies of the 60 books and monographs that he has authored or co-authored are in print. For more articles by Dr Bergman, see his Author Profile.