Stephen C. Meyer
Signature in the Cell: DNA and the Evidence for
Intelligent Design 1
by Stephen C. Meyer is the latest
book from a major proponent for intelligent design
(ID).2 Signature is Meyer’s magnum opus. Meyer is the
director of the Discovery Institute’s (www.discovery.org)
Center for Science and Culture, the flagship organization
for the ID movement. He is a trained geologist and has a
Ph.D. in the Philosophy of Science from Cambridge. 3
Signature is written at a level accessible to the layman but
also informative to the specialist in biochemistry. The
book is a history of Meyer’s interest and involvement with
ID. The main focus of the book is the origin of the
informational code in DNA, especially as it relates to the
origin of life. The book discusses several topics including
the history of the discovery of the structure of DNA, the
cracking of the DNA code, the history and status of origin
of life theories (especially the RNA world), basic
information theory, various scientific methodologies and
modes of thought and why ID is scientific, historical
sciences, detecting design, why ID is the best explanation
for the origin of the information in DNA, and responses to
ID critics. This review will touch upon some of the book’s
highlights.
- 1. Meyer SC (2009) Signature in the Cell; DNA and the Evidence for Intelligent Design, HarperCollins, New York, NY. The book’s website is www.signatureinthecell.com
- 2. Reynolds D (2006) Intelligent Design. TASC Newsletter, May, 2006. See http://www.tasc-creationscience.org/ sites/default/files/newsletters/2006/may06.pdf
- 3. Meyer’s dissertation was on the topic of origin of life biology.
