For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together ....
Romans 8:22
"A gene duplication event can influence evolution only if the genes
duplicated are in the germ cells (the sperm and eggs), not somatic cells
which are not passed on to the offspring.
*And, of the trillions of germ
cells, the cell with the duplicated genes must be the one that is
fertilized to be passed on to its offspring.
*And it must normally occur
very early in the cell division to ensure that all of the cells in the
new organism have the aberration. At the least, the germ cells for the
next generation must have the aberrant trait and produce the seeds of
the next generation to allow the duplicated gene to become a new cell
line and also a new strain of an organism.
*Additional gene duplications in the germ cells must be occur many
times. This is the only way a Darwinian process could ensure that the
cell has sustained all of the mutations required to evolve a new
functional.
*The novel gene must produce a novel protein capable of
conferring a survival advantage to the organism compared to the
individual that does not have it. This is only the beginning of problems
with the notion that gene duplication is a source of new genetic
information.
*Another problem is, if only one gamete possesses the duplicated
gene—depending on how large the duplicated gene is—the gamete’s
chromosomes may not pair correctly in zygote formation.
*For the
duplication to be passed on to the progeny, it must become part of the
allele pair that produces the next generation. And the same unlikely
scenario must occur many times to create a future progeny so that the
duplicated gene has become fixed to the point of improving the
survivability of the descendants and the population.
*When gene duplication occurs, cell repair processes will often
attempt to correct the error by removing the duplicated genes.
In cases
where the aberrant genes are not removed, the evolutionary argument must
consider additional hurdles required for the duplicate to successfully
add new information.
---To function properly, genes require the correct
regulatory factors related to gene expression. Regulatory elements can
be adjacent to the gene they regulate, or they may be either upstream or
downstream from it. Sometimes they are found at a significant distance
away from the gene they regulates.
---So if the required regulatory genes
were not also duplicated, evolution comes to a stop; the duplicated gene
will normally not function properly, if at all.
Transposition is a system designed to produce genetic variety by the
movement of genes from one location to another in the genome. This is
another process requiring regulation.
*Many cases exist of transposition
causing problems, including cancer, due to improper regulation. Assuming
the regulatory system was also duplicated (an unlikely event) the gene
copy will continue doing what the original gene did. This can cause
up-regulation of the resulting protein, which may not be beneficial.
More is not always better.
-*-As is true of the location of words in a book, the location of the
gene in the genome is also critical. Duplication of words in a book will
most often interfere with the story, distorting the meaning of the
affected text. Assuming that no problems are encountered up to this
point, the duplicated gene will continue to produce the protein coded
for by the original gene.
---The new gene will also be useless or worse until it has sustained 
the
mutations required to produce a protein of use to the organism. *This
protein, moreover, must give it at least a slightly greater survival
advantage than other organisms of the same type. This is a very unlikely
scenario given the fact that 99.9 percent of the mutations that are not
repaired will be deleterious, or at least near-neutral, 99 percent of
the time.
*Furthermore, both the original gene and the duplicate
gene will experience mutations primarily in locations called hot spots.
If not repaired, as 99.99 percent of the time they will be, this will
cause both genes to become useless and the cells with them will die and may be recycled.
*Another problem is that the vast majority of mutations that are not
repaired are in the above-mentioned hot spots. (Note: most of the genes
that do not sustain many mutations are called cold spots.)
In cancer cases, we know that a majority of the mutations are in these
hot spots.
Hot spots are one reason why most mutations are near-neutral
or deleterious.
The mutations in the duplicated gene will almost always
cause damage to the cell and will not become functional genes. For these
reasons, life cannot be built from mutations." CEH
