Michael F. Whiting
Encyclopedia
Michael F. Whiting is the director of the Brigham Young University
(BYU) DNA Sequencing Center and an associate professor in BYU's Department of Integrative Biology. Whiting received his bachelors degree from BYU and his Ph.D. from Cornell University
.
Whiting is an expert on the evolution of Diptera
and other insects and was the author of the article on Strepsiptera
in the Encyclopedia of Insects. His research has mainly focused on using DNA sequencing to unlock the evolutionary history of insects.
Whiting has also written on why the critics of the Book of Mormon
on DNA issues have overstated their case.
Whiting was also involved in the research that led to the discovery of how stick insects had lost their wings and then re-evolved them several million years later.
Brigham Young University
Brigham Young University is a private university located in Provo, Utah. It is owned and operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints , and is the United States' largest religious university and third-largest private university.Approximately 98% of the university's 34,000 students...
(BYU) DNA Sequencing Center and an associate professor in BYU's Department of Integrative Biology. Whiting received his bachelors degree from BYU and his Ph.D. from Cornell University
Cornell University
Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...
.
Whiting is an expert on the evolution of Diptera
Diptera
Diptera , or true flies, is the order of insects possessing only a single pair of wings on the mesothorax; the metathorax bears a pair of drumstick like structures called the halteres, the remnants of the hind wings. It is a large order, containing an estimated 240,000 species, although under half...
and other insects and was the author of the article on Strepsiptera
Strepsiptera
The Strepsiptera are an order of insects with ten families making up about 600 species...
in the Encyclopedia of Insects. His research has mainly focused on using DNA sequencing to unlock the evolutionary history of insects.
Whiting has also written on why the critics of the Book of Mormon
Book of Mormon
The Book of Mormon is a sacred text of the Latter Day Saint movement that adherents believe contains writings of ancient prophets who lived on the American continent from approximately 2600 BC to AD 421. It was first published in March 1830 by Joseph Smith, Jr...
on DNA issues have overstated their case.
Whiting was also involved in the research that led to the discovery of how stick insects had lost their wings and then re-evolved them several million years later.
Sources
- Daniel C. PetersonDaniel C. PetersonDaniel C. Peterson is a professor of Islamic Studies and Arabic in the Department of Asian and Near Eastern Languages at Brigham Young University and currently serves as editor-in-chief of BYU's Middle Eastern Texts Initiative. He is a member of the executive council of the Neal A...
, ed. The Book of Mormon and DNA Evidence. (Provo: Neal A. Maxwell Institute, 2008) p. vii. - BYU faculty bio page
- University of Utah announcement of Whiting lecture
- bio-medicine.org article on Whiting's insect discovery and its importance