PS There are many differences between me and Chicken Little, not least of which is the fact that poor Chicken Little had no knowledge of the New Heaven and the New Earth.
Revelation 21:1
Posted on 05/01/2009 4:20:14 PM PDT by GodGunsGuts
Conclusion:
So the next time someone tells you that it “strains credulity” to think that more than a few pieces of “junk DNA” could be functional in the cell — that the data only point to the lack of design and suboptimality — remind them of the rod cell nuclei of the humble mouse...
(Excerpt) Read more at evolutionnews.org ...
Ping!
Fools.
Ping!
I can see your point, but your really shouldn’t be so hard on yourself, Glenn.
I admire your tenacity. It reminds me of Chicken Little’s determination to spread the word about the falling sky. don’t let naysayers like me dampen your enthusiasm.
PS There are many differences between me and Chicken Little, not least of which is the fact that poor Chicken Little had no knowledge of the New Heaven and the New Earth.
Revelation 21:1
Did He say, "Let there be Man" or did he say, "Let there be man made of 75% water, with 23 chromosomes chained together, a mass of tissue that I'll call the brain, a complicated digestive system that will break down food and use all sorts of 'ases to help his body absorb it, with skin that hold all of the stuff I put inside together, an appendix that doesn't do anything (I wonder if they'll ever get the joke), a sort of fun way to procreate that results in the woman having to push out a watermelon sized baby through a hole the size of dime (That one was for you Adam), whose hair may or may not fall out for no reason, who will have ten fingers and toes, etc."
I wonder how long it took Him to think of all the little details???????????????
Interesting article.
The other 98.5% of DNA is not junk.
What it is for, seems rather obvious, does it not?
The appendix completes most of its functions at the early end of the spectrum of life. The vital aspects of these are probably complete at least by early infancy. While it is freely admitted that the precise functions of the human vermiform appendix are still unclear, so much more is now known that clarification is at hand. It is my intention to discuss this further under the following headings:
During the fifth foetal week it is the appendix which develops from a bud at the junction of the small and large bowel and undergoes rapid growth into a pouch. In the sixth week there is a transient nubbin surmounting the pouch indicative of being involved in the rapid development of the pouch which is very strategically placed near the apex of the highly significant mid-gut loop. It is only after the fifth foetal month that the proximal end of this pouch, which has appeared to be a very insignificant structure up until this stage, starts growing differentially to give rise to the true caecum which continues to develop into infancy.
The embryonic appendix has finger-like projections (villi) on its inside surface and it is only around birth that the long ribbons (taeniae) causing the sacculation of the large bowel start to develop. These ribbons, of course, converge on the base of the appendix.
The goblet cells lining the appendix and adjacent caecum and colon secrete a special type of mucus which can be regarded as an antibacterial paint controlling the organisms which develop in the bowel in the region. The paint contains a high concentration of IgA type immunoglobulins, secretory antibodies produced for mucosal or surface immunity and part of the bowel-blood barrier .
Through the cells within and overlying the lymphoid follicles and their production of secretory and humoral antibodies the appendix would be involved in the control of which essential bacteria come to reside in the caecum and colon in neonatal life. As well it would be involved in the development of systemic tolerance to certain antigenic agents within the alimentary tract whether they are derived from bacteria, foodstuffs or even the body’s own proteolytic enzymes.
One in three hundred or so appendectomy specimens contains a carcinoid tumour composed of a highly specialised type of cell rich in vaso-active peptides such as serotonin. The exact function of such agents in the entire bowel is still being elucidated, but the fact that the majority4 of such tumours occur within the appendix is indicative that the appendix could well be involved in some way with such substances.
This is the area where the appendix would seem to have its predominant functions due to its content of lymphoid follicles, which are highly specialised structures. Although it was thought the appendix itself could be the site for B-lymphocyte induction (a Bursa of Fabricius equivalent)[26] the latest opinions favour this programming being more centralised in the bone marrow. The appendix may still have a role in this highly significant function, but not alone, and its lymphoid tissue is known for certain to be involved in antibody production (the function of B- type lymphocytes). These antibodies are of two types:
The above type functions have proven the appendix to be part of the G.A.L.T. [2,4,23,25] (Gut Associated Lymphoid Tissue), but it has also been shown that the appendix after the neonatal period is dispensable, meaning that normal G.A.L.T. functions remain after appendectomy. This result is not unexpected as similar lymphoid tissue is distributed up and down the alimentary tract, there being a considerable reserve potential. Experiments in rabbits have shown that the appendix alone can provide normal humoral antibody levels if necessary[27] and also replenish depleted lymphocyte populations secondary to neonatal thymectomy.[28]
These results have been in rabbits, and the rabbit appendix is not exactly the same as the human. Studies of the functions of the human appendix, however, have tended to concentrate on extrapolating across from animal models where it is difficult to escape evolutionary overtones and possibly repeating the errors Darwin made when using homology.
Other studies on the human appendix have tended to concentrate on tissue from young adults when the appendix has probably completed its major role. Recently the topography[14] of immune cells and their products in the appendix have been described both in the presence and absence of acute inflammation, as well as it becoming evident that lymphocytes individually move into the appendix between the tenth and twentieth foetal week.[14] Such studies have also highlighted the mode of immune cell reactions both with each other and other cells in the area in a detail not known before and quite significant advances have been made. Of course, lymphoid follicles do not actually appear as such in the appendix until two weeks after birth[4] at the same time that colonisation of the large bowel with bacteria which are safe to their host begins. The follicles increase steadily in number to a maximum of two hundred at about fifteen to twenty years of age and decline back to about one hundred by thirty years of age and decline further, even to disappearance, throughout the rest of life. The peak incidence of acute appendicitis coincides very well with the peak number of lymphoid follicles and their enlargement with infection, whether it be initially viral or bacterial, probably contributes significantly to the luminal obstruction[29] so important in the initiation of acute appendicitis.
In the past decade we have increased our knowledge considerably of the cells lining the gastrointestinal tract, especially in the small bowel and ileocaecal region, where new hormones and their functions have been discovered and so have received a lot of attention in appropriate journals. Clarification of B-lymphocyte induction [9,13,26] and topography of the cells in foetal and neonatal appendiceal tissues is awaited with interest.
In summary therefore, the human vermiform appendix appears to be a complex and organised structure both in its development and maturation, and almost certainly has corresponding complexity in its functions which, like most gastrointestinal functions, are still awaiting further clarification. It would appear that the functions of the appendix would be most important when the organ itself has most prominence, and this is in the developing foetus and early existence after birth. The inside of the bowel is outside the body and the area where substances foreign to it have their greatest chance of attack. The appendix appears to be strategically placed and structurally composed of tissues which are vital in establishing and maintaining the various types of body defences or immunity necessary in recognition of such assaults and having a part to play in their repulsion. The appendix is thus one of the guardians of the internal environment of the body from the hostile external environment.
Wow!
The human eye conveys a picture to the brain that is upside down.
So?
“Fools.”
Sorry... I just wanted to quote Glenn. That was an incredibly insightful comment and, I think, moves the conversation along quite nicely.
Quite the intellect there, Glenn. You must be a professor at an Ivy League college er sumpin’.
“Wow! The human eye conveys a picture to the brain that is upside down.”
“So?”
Yeah! So???
Yet another insightful comment by the opposition party. You’se guys is so smart!!!
Surely, you have a dizzying intellect.
You have a rather partisan approach to a legitimate question. The image is "upside down?" My question is: so what? That's just a simple matter of optics. The brain processes the information so it's "right side up." A video camera does the same thing.
The "So?" is a question as to why, precisely, that optical property matters as an argument against design -- or for it, for that matter.
Do you have something other than bluster to add to the conversation?
“Do you have something other than bluster to add to the conversation?”
Not really... do you guys have anything other than “Fools.” and “So?” to the conversation.
The problem is fundamental (emphasis on mental) and yes, I am partisan. “So?” was not a legitimate question and I will make the supreme judgement it wasn’t meant to be one. It was meant to be antagonistic.
Evolution is much more faith than fact. My contention is that we are at least willing to admit we believe in God not only because of what we see and touch, but out of faith as well. So is Evolution, but this is a point you and your Darwinist buddies are not willing to concede. So legitimate conversation is near impossible because you immediately label any argument that doesn’t meet your pre-determined notions as foolish. It’s all about point of view. There are no facts on your side, only theory based on highly questionable assumptions. Therefore to bring any argument to the table for discussion is only an exercise in mascohism. I just like stepping in every once in a while to see what all youse guys are up to (and I secretly am a glutton for punishment).
Meanwhile, the clitoris seems to be only to give pleasure.
God sure seems to have gotten that right.
Brilliant.
And obviously the brain in some folks is made only for taking up space in an otherwise empty cavity.
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