[jpapadpapa]

</span><blockquote><span class="smallfont">Quote:</span><hr size="1" />Originally Posted by
For example, we'll use the claim that mutations are harmful or that no beneficial mutation has ever been observed. While it is true that most virulent human diseases are caused by genetic defects (downs syndrome, sickle cell anemia, hemophilia, and progeria, to name a few), most mutations are actually neutral[1]. That is, neither beneficial nor deleterious. To counter the claim that no beneficial mutation has ever been observed, let's go back to the mid-1970s at the University of Rochester where Professor Barry Hall is conducting an experiment with special strains of E. coli[2]. A typical nutrient of bacteria is lactose, so Hall decided to remove the lacZ gene, responsible for the metabolization of the milk sugar substance. Hall placed one strain in an environment rich in lactose with little nutrient to survive on, and the other strain was placed in an environment with no lactose. The former recovered its ability to metabolize lactose over the course of a few days, with two mutations to preexisting genes along a different operon in the genome from the original. The first mutation produced a beta-galactosidase enzyme (34% homologous to its predecessor), tasked with breaking down lactose via a process of hydrolysis into the two monosaccharides glucose and galactose. This new enzyme was dubbed the ebg, or evolved b-galactosidase enzyme. The second mutation altered the control region, or repressor protein (25% homologous), so that the enzyme may be expressed in the presence of glucose. The second strain displayed no such progress.<hr size="1" /></blockquote><span class='postcolor'>

I agree that creationists should not make the claim that no beneficial mutation has ever been observed. While cases such as the one you site are rare, they do happen. The point that needs to be made is that scientists have yet to find a mutation that actually increases genetic information.