A video showing how human joints contain masterful design is given below. The video contains references to my own research. With thanks to Wayne Begnaud for brilliant work in creating the video.
In September 2026 I published the following review paper in the journal of Bioinspiration and Biomimetics (Institute of Physics):
Design features in human joints with recommendations for humanoid robot design:
A link to the paper is given here: https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-3190/ae91be
The above paper has a discussion section that criticizes evolution and recommends the application of intelligent design approaches to scientific research.
In September 2024 I published the following review paper in the journal of Biomimetics:
How Multifunctioning Joints Produce Highly Agile Limbs in Animals with Lessons for Robotics
A link to the paper is given here:
https://www.mdpi.com/2313-7673/9/9/529
Section 6.7 of this paper addresses lessons for the origins debate:
6.7. The Emergence of Multifunctioning in Biology
Complexity in biological systems is sometimes labelled as an emerging property [109]. However, it is very difficult to explain how a multifunctioning system could emerge from an initially single-functioning system because the first single-functioning system would have to be one of the very few solutions that could lead to a later multifunctioning system [106]. When discussing the origin of mechanical linkage mechanisms in animal joints, Muller has stated that it is very difficult to see how complex mechanical linkage systems can be developed in a bottom-up step-by-step process [53]. Therefore, multifunctioning in biological systems such as limb joints presents a major challenge of irreducible complexity for evolutionary biologists [110].
In 2021 I published the following Review paper in the journal of Bio-inspiration and Biomimetics (Institute of Physics)
A review of linkage mechanisms in animal joints and related bioinspired designs
A link to the paper is given here;
https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-3190/abf744
The paper describes 10 incredible mechanical linkage mechanisms in animal joints. All of them are multifunctioning to some degree. Whilst the paper does not mention irreducible complexity explicitly, it is clear that the mechanical systems are irreducibly complex. As of September 2026 the paper has been cited over 50 times in other scientific papers. This shows that the paper is seen as important by the scientific community.
Professor Stuart Burgess 