Posted on 01/23/2006 4:31:58 PM PST by PatrickHenry
Scientists at the Georgia Institute of Technology have found genetic evidence that seems to support a controversial hypothesis that humans and chimpanzees may be more closely related to each other than chimps are to the other two species of great apes – gorillas and orangutans. They also found that humans evolved at a slower rate than apes.
Appearing in the January 23, 2006 issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, biologist Soojin Yi reports that the rate of human and chimp molecular evolution – changes that occur over time at the genetic level – is much slower than that of gorillas and orangutans, with the evolution of humans being the slowest of all.
As species branch off along evolutionary lines, important genetic traits, like the rate of molecular evolution also begin to diverge. They found that the speed of this molecular clock in humans and chimps is so similar, it suggests that certain human-specific traits, like generation time, began to evolve one million years ago - very recently in terms of evolution. The amount of time between parents and offspring is longer in humans than apes. Since a long generation time is closely correlated with the evolution of a big brain, it also suggests that developmental changes specific to humans may also have evolved very recently.
In a large-scale genetic analysis of approximately 63 million base pairs of DNA, the scientists studied the rate at which the base pairs that define the differences between species were incorrectly paired due to errors in the genetic encoding process, an occurrence known as substitution.
"For the first time, we've shown that the difference in the rate of molecular evolution between humans and chimpanzees is very small, but significant, suggesting that the evolution of human-specific life history traits is very recent," said Yi.
Most biologists believe that humans and chimpanzees had a common ancestor before the evolutionary lines diverged about 5-7 million years ago. According to the analysis, one million years ago the molecular clock in the line that became modern humans began to slow down. Today, the human molecular clock is only 3 percent slower than the molecular clock of the chimp, while it has slowed down 11 percent from the gorilla's molecular clock.
This slow down in the molecular clock correlates with a longer generation time because substitutions need to be passed to the next generation in order to have any lasting effect on the species,
"A long generation time is an important trait that separates humans from their evolutionary relatives," said Navin Elango, graduate student in the School of Biology and first author of the research paper. "We used to think that apes shared one generation time, but that's not true. There's a lot more variation. In our study, we found that the chimpanzee's generation time is a lot closer to that of humans than it is to other apes."
The results also confirm that there is very little difference in the alignable regions of the human and chimp genomes. Taken together, the study's findings suggest that humans and chimps are more closely related to each other than the chimps are to the other great apes.
"I think we can say that this study provides further support for the hypothesis that humans and chimpanzees should be in one genus, rather than two different genus' because we not only share extremely similar genomes, we share similar generation time," said Yi.
Even though the 63 million base pairs they studied is a large sample, it's still a small part of the genome, Yi said. "If we look at the whole genome, maybe it's a different story, but there is evidence in the fossil record that this change in generation time occurred very recently, so the genetic evidence and the fossil data seem to fit together quite well so far."
O.K.
So will you accept basic scientific processes, or is it that observing and looking for explanations is always a Satanistic attempt to destroy God?
Feel free to ping me if someone from my "camp" insults one of you guys. I still say that most of us on here do believe in God. I myself have never had a problem reconciling my belief in God with my scientific beliefs. Just because I disagree on this doesn't mean we're all that different.
I like what you wrote here. Very well said and I absolutely agree with it. You are right too about creationists being maligned more, in the real world of course, evolutionists usually get it pretty good on FR. It may interest you to know that I actually agree with ID or even creationism being taught alongside evolution in school. There are no morals being taught in school today, just socialism, so a little Christian thought can only help in my opinion to turn out better human beings. I'm pretty sure this view is not widespread among evolutionists however. Oh well.
Alright, what you wrote is interesting, but I think you're really reading too much into this. I for one, and I think most of us on here who are evolutionists, are open minded and don't buy everything our teachers tell us. Just the fact that we're not Dimocrats shows we don't buy a bunch of BS. I really gotta wonder how you think I'm calling God a lier too??? I believe the Book of Genesis is correct, I believe some of the words may symbolise something else; either purposefully or because of translation. Remember, the Bible you now hold was not written in English, nor Greek, nor the other languages it was in first. It was written by different human beings in Hewbrew dialects. I believe God did inspire and tell it to who wrote it. I have a theory of God and many world religions and how things were written and why, but this is probably not the best place to tell it. What you need to know is that guys like me have come to our understanding of things from the same thoughtful processes that you have come to yours. We have not been taken in as it were by anybody.
"Actually, no you are not. Conservatism is anchored in rationality. Liberals reject reality in spite of the facts. ID'ers have MUCH more in common with liberals than conservatives - because they hold their conservative beliefs not due to a rational thought-out philosophy - but because of a fear of betraying their belief system.
ID'ers are just liberals with a different bent
Dude, I'm not an IDer."
I think you got me mixed up with somebody else. I agree with what you said above.
>You post. I decide?
>Evolution is for the morally challenged and mentally shallow.
And ittttt issssss!
LOL! Great photo!
Oh, good. You're back!
How did your "research" go?
Have you found any evidence to defend the lies you were repeating, or are you willing to admit that you were wrong about the facts?
Yeah!
And it's not like they've been caught in a pattern of lying about their true inten....
Never mind.
Didn't you see? He quoted an AiG article out of context, ignored the conclusion of the article, and claimed that the article from AiG was a "pro evolution story".
Yeah, but he said he was going to do "research".
Then he snuck back.
I'm only wondering if he actually intends to support the lies he has been repeating, or if his claims of research were just yet another "misstatement."
"Oh, good. You're back!"
I thought I was in a new thread, hence my posts to earlier posts. I then realized It was not a new thread, but the old one in which we've been sharing reasoned and intelligent ideas and opinions the last 24-hr on this critical and insidious theory known as evolution.
How are you? Did I miss anything since last?
Nope.
We're still waiting for you to either provide evidence to support the lies you have been spreading or admit that you were wrong.
Should be very simple, if they are indeed "historical facts." Strange that you have been unable to substantiate them....
Do you mean in the same sense as when one of the defendants in the Dover case claimed under oath that he didn't know where the money for the ID text books came from, when in fact he had collected the money from his fellow church members and gave the check to his father, who then purchased the books?
;-)
Or, as the judge characterized their testimony in the case:
"Finally, although Buckingham, Bonsell, and other defense witnesses denied the reports in the news media and contradicted the great weight of the evidence about what transpired at the June 2004 Board meetings, the record reflects that these witnesses either testified inconsistently, or lied outright under oath on several occasions, and are accordingly not credible on these points." P. 105[emphasis added]
Yep, that's *exactly* the "misstatement" that I was talking about.
Seems to be a pretty standard tactic for creationists.
Didn't have much time to research be honest with you.
Had to take my car to the mechanic for inspection this morning and failed the fuel emission tests. Got held at the service station for 2 1/2 hours. Came home, had lunch and the guy never called me. So I walked back to the station and gave me the bad news. Came back home at around 5pm, cooked, did some chores and had a nap. I love naps, btw.
Thank you for your welcome. But I must warn you tho, I'm not on your side; I'm on God's and truth's side, which is the same side anyway, since GOD is TRUTH!. Sorry to disappoint you.
Almost forgot. Today I received from Amazon two books which I had ordered a few days ago. Aquinas Shorter Summa and St. Augustine City of God (I think that's the title; I haven't got it front of me). Within those pages lie the proof to the existence of God. Started reading on I)Faith; 1.The Divine Trinity; a.God.
I'll search the opposing viewpoint if I have time while reading these books of God.
Hey, I'm content of my assertions.
If you do not believe them you can always Google them and find out on your own. It should not take much. I just can't continue to provide links confirming my assertions to satisfy your needs. Needs, I may add, that ultimately may not be satisfied because you're set in your ways. I'm damn*d if I do, and am damn*d if I don't - provide all your requests for links, that is.
"Darwin recanted on his deathbed"
I'll try it tomorrow, if I do not forget. Promise. Been busy lately.
Good night.
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