Posted on 01/10/2004 8:05:30 AM PST by PatrickHenry
GAINESVILLE, Fla. --- Researchers at the University of Florida say they have shown that minerals were key to some of the initial processes that formed life on Earth. Specifically, a borax-containing mineral known as colemanite helps convert organic molecules found in interstellar dust clouds into a sugar, known as ribose, central to the genetic material called RNA. This announcement provides a key step toward solving the 3-billion-year-old mystery of how life on Earth began. The findings will appear in Friday's issue of the journal Science. Steven Benner, Alonso Ricardo, Matthew Carrigan and Alison Olcott built on a famous experiment done 50 years earlier by Stanley Miller that is found in many textbooks. In 1953, Miller showed that electric sparks in a primitive atmosphere made amino acids, the building blocks of proteins.
Miller's experiment failed to identify sugars that were needed for genetic material, however. "The sugar ribose can be formed from interstellar precursors under prebiotic conditions," said Benner, who led the research funded by NASA, the National Science Foundation and The Agouron Institute in Pasadena, Calif. "But ribose is too unstable to survive under Miller's conditions." Ribose, like most sugars, turns into tar if not handled carefully. "It is like baking a cake too long," said Benner, a UF distinguished professor of chemistry and anatomy and cell biology. In 1995, Miller gave up trying to make ribose prebiotically, writing: "The first genetic material could not have contained ribose or other sugars because of their instability."
Benner, who also is a member of NASA's Astrobiology Institute, did the first experiments as an instructor at an international geobiology course last summer funded by the Agouron Institute and held at the University of Southern California Wrigley Institute for Environmental Studies. "We asked two questions. First, what simple organic molecules might have been present on early Earth as starting materials to form ribose? Then, what might have been present on early Earth to capture ribose and keep it from burning up like overcooked cake?" Benner said.
To identify simple organic molecules that might be the starting materials, Benner turned to compounds known to exist in interstellar dust, such as formaldehyde, used to preserve tissue. "Formaldehyde may not seem to be a good starting point for the life that we know," he said. "But it is simple. With only one carbon atom, one oxygen atom and two hydrogen atoms, there is a lot of formaldehyde to work with in the cosmos."
Benner and his team showed that formaldehyde, with other interstellar compounds, could form ribose and other sugars when treated in the presence of base materials such as lime, a material used to adjust the pH level of lawns, among other things. Lime was effective, but the ribose decomposed soon after it was formed.
Recognizing that ribose had a particular chemical structure that allowed it to bind to minerals containing the element boron, they turned to another substance called colemanite. "Colemanite is a mineral containing borate found in Death Valley," he said. "Without it, ribose turns into a brown tar. With it, ribose and other sugars emerge as clean products." Benner then showed similar reactions with other borate minerals, including ulexite and kernite, which is more commonly known as borax.
Benner and his team are the first researchers to succeed in making significant amounts of ribose under these early conditions.
Joseph Piccirilli, a biological chemist at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and the University of Chicago, said Benner's work "has simplicity and brilliance."
"Organic chemists have long known that borate complexes with compounds like ribose," Piccirilli said, "and prebiotic scientists have long believed that minerals on the early Earth played an important role in the origin of life." Until now, "no one has put the two ideas together," he said.
"We are not claiming that this is how life started," Benner stressed. "We are saying that we have demonstrated a recipe to make a key part of life without any biochemical machinery. The more recipes of this type that can be found, the more clues we have about how life could have actually gotten started on the primitive Earth."
While best classified as basic science, the work has practical biological and medical value. "Curiously, thinking about how life originated and what form it might take on other planets helps us design new tools for disease diagnostics and therapy," Benner said. Diagnostic tools enabled by Benner's work seeking alternative life forms are used today in the clinic to monitor the load of the viruses that cause AIDS and hepatitis C.
The work also complements other research Benner is conducting that focuses on ancient forms of life on Earth. In a September report in Nature, Benner and his collaborators deduced the structure of a protein found in a bacterium that lived several billion years ago and resurrected the ancient protein. By studying it in the laboratory, the group inferred the ancient bacteria lived in a hot spring at about 150 degrees Fahrenheit.
With the prebiotic experiments, Benner said, "we are working forward in time, from the origin of the planet to the first life. With experiments with ancient proteins, we work backwards in time, from the modern world to the most primitive of bacteria." The group's goal, he said, is to have the two meet in the middle.
When the odds are stacked against you, it's time to get creative.
He knew the Faith of our Fathers! He was practically one of 'em!!!
Yes, they are a "variation" within the species.
The point is, that there are more of them that "us white people", so according to the definitions of fitness posted on this thread, the Chinese must be the "most fit" for our environment.
There is not a problem with the evidence. I just believe it shows that evolution is not likely the origin of the diversity of life on this planet.
But apparently evolutionists prefer to label anything that competes with their precious theory as "incredulity fallacy". In other words, if it's not evolution you think it's incredulous and therefore a fallacy. If that's not a biased position I don't know what is.
What is incredulous about Intelligent Design? Man is now designing plants and animals. We don't have the technical know how to create life from scratch but we can certainly design new life forms from the existing ones. To say that we ourselves could not have been the product of intelligent design, strikes me as very arrogant.
According to the following excerpted information on Human Genetic Diseases there are at least 400-500 genetic diseases that can be diagnosed prenatally. I don't know how many more human genetic diseases have been diagnosed postnatally.
Now compare that to the number of positive Human Genetic Mutations known to exist. The only ones I can think of that could be considered to be positive would be 1) having 6 digits compared to 5, and 2) Gigantism - but that is associated with an early death as the heart tends to give out.
HUMAN GENETIC DISEASES
http://gened.emc.maricopa.edu/bio/bio181/BIOBK/BioBookhumgen.html
One in every 200 newborns has a recognizable chromosomal abnormality. It is estimated that as many as 70% of fertilized eggs are abnormal, and most are spontaneously aborted. Most genetic disorders are traced to an allele for a recessive trait that codes for an ineffective or nonfunctional protein product. Humans possess 50-100,000 human genes.
DOWN SYNDROME: nondisjunction of the 21st chromosome (Trisomy 21). 1 out of 600 births, 1 in 1500 for women under 30, 1 out of 80 for women 40-45 years old.
CYSTIC FIBROSIS: caused by a recessive autosomal gene (#7). Affects the exocrine glands: mucus, sweat, tears, saliva. Mucous is abnormally thick and gluey. Instead of keeping the breathing tubes free of dust and dirt, it makes breathing more difficult, clogging the air passages. Trapped germs lead to respiratory infections. Sweat is extremely salty. 1 in 20 people carry at least one gene for CF. Mainly affects Caucasians, and is the most common genetic disease in this population.
SICKLE CELL ANEMIA: a recessive autosomal gene (#11) that provides protection against malaria. In some parts of Africa the gene is in 40% of the population. Is also found in Middle Eastern and Mediterranean countries. In the USA the trait can be found in 10% of blacks. About 1 in 625 newborn blacks have sickle cell anemia. One in 10 American Blacks carry the gene for the trait.
PHENYLKETONURIA (PKU): caused by a recessive autosomal gene (#12). Affected individuals excrete phenylpyruvic acid in their urine. A sister of JFK had this condition and was mentally retarded.
HUNTINGTON'S DISEASE: caused by a dominant autosomal gene (#4) which does not manifest itself until adulthood. Results in irritability, indifference, poor judgement, forgetfulness and carelessness. Each offspring has a 50% chance of getting the disease.
TAY-SACHS DISEASE: a recessive autosomal mutant gene (#15) with 85% of the cases found in Eastern European Jews. Results in death by age 4-5. 1 out of every 25 Jews of Eastern European origin carries the gene. 82% of the babies born with Tay-Sachs disease are born into family with no prior history of the illness.
DUCHENNE MUSCULAR DYSTROPHY: deletion on the X chromosome causing a frame shift recessive mutation. The muscles are replaced by fatty tissue.
MYOTONIC DYSTROPHY: caused by a dominant mutant gene on chromosome #19. Fingers can't relax.
GLUCOSE-6-PHOSPHATE DEHYDROGENASE (G6PD) DEFICIENCY: the most common human enzyme deficiency in the world affecting an estimated 400 million people. It is caused by an X-linked recessive gene and causes hemolytic anemia. G6PD deficient individuals are resistant to the malaria causing parasite. The anemia iscaused by certain oxidative drugs because G6PD deficiency keeps affected red blood cells from being able to regenerate reduced NADPH. There are over 400 variant alleles, or different forms of the same gene. Most affected individuals reside in Africa, the Middle East and Southeast Asis. It can be found in as many as one in four among certain populations
HEMOPHILIA: caused by a recessive X-linked gene. Bruises and other internal bleeding cause the biggest problem; especially in the joints. Severe pain often occurs. Only 60 known cases of female hemophiliacs exist. 40% of women carriers result from spontaneous mutations with no family history of the disease.
MULTIFACTORIAL DISORDERS: arise from at least several genes interacting with the environment. 1. Heart Disease 2. High Cholesterol 3. Cleft Lip 4. Cleft Palate
DIAGNOSIS OF GENETIC DISEASES: a variety of techniques are used on fetuses and approximately 400-500 genetic disorders can currently be diagnosed prenatally.
The same thing that is incredulous with the statement that this post, which you are now reading, is the work of a team of aliens, the advance guard of a hideous, extra-terrestrial species which is conspiring to take control of Earth.
Me neither and when I saw the title, I thought the same thing.
Twenty Mule Team Boraxo BUMP!!!
Ok, I'll play devil's advocate. Let's assume evolution is true. Just how likely are we the only life form to evolve? And if we aren't the only one's to evolve, is it possible that there are other life forms perhaps much older who have managed a more advanced knowledge of physics than we have and who are capable of interstellar flight? If I accept evolution, that scenario is certainly plausible.
If I reject evolution, but embrace the explanation offered from God in the Bible, then your scenario is a certainty. The hideous extraterrestrial beings are the fallen angels who are indeed bent on corrupting man and controlling the Earth. The advanced guard are humans who knowingly or unknowlingly promote the fallen angels evolution agenda, much like the anti-war protestors were so certain the facts were in favor of Saddam.
Yeah, I believe you are an advanced guard. But not the purple seven fingered kind. More like the kind thats a pawn in other people's game and eventually gets squished under the bulldozer.
Knowlegable people accept evolution because that's what the evidence indicates. (Not to you, but you're not knowlegable.) So there's solid reasoning for acceptance of evolution. The rest -- alien creators of species who travel FTL -- is pie in the sky. You can't expect to have both ideas treated as equally probable. You're not very good at this stuff.
Funny how that never seems to matter to them.
OK, so we have abiogenesis creating the 20 Mule Team.
I've remarked before that there is a nearly-universal conceit among men. Each imagines that he is entirely competent to compete with experts in: (1) theology; (2) philosophy; (3) cosmology; (4) military strategy; (5) political tactics; and (6) love-making.
No, knowledgeable people accept the existence of a Designer, because there is One who stands out and provides evidence of Himself for those who will see it. And that's what the evidence indicates.
It's only the fool who has said in his heart that there is no God. It's only the unwise man who does exactly what Peter said men would eventually do in the last days.
2Pet 3 Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, 4 And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation. 5 For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water: 6 Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished: 7 But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.
You can say there is no God, and evolution is a lock. But two thousand years ago, the God you think doesn't exist had your number.
I don't say that. You have no clue what I think. Your preaching is not only irrelevant to the theory of evolution, it is also somewhat juvenile. We have people in these threads who are far better at it than you.
And which of those are you expert in?
I would probably agree with much of that statement. The fact is Theology is the most important issue. There is nothing more important than the questions of where did we come from, were we created, what does our creator want from us, what is our purpose. The man who fails to struggle with these questions is adrift without a purpose.
And you can probably wrap philosphy and cosmology under the theology unbrella.
Politics and military strategy are probably the 2nd most important issues after theology. How should we govern ourselves? There are many that will defer to experts. But certainly in our society where we have invested ourselves with a vote, it is immensely important. I have an MBA with a lot of economics and have thought through many of the political issues, so I'm think I'm entitled to a pretty healthy opinion.
I despise the get out the vote campaigns, because they encourage people to vote whether they have studied the issues and the candidate's character.
Which leaves love-making. Well I may not be an expert, but I'm good enough. My favorite quote from my woman was "It scares me to come that hard!"
Wrong, my novice friend. Both are subdivisions of philosophy. Science was once called natural philosophy, to distingush it from theology.
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