Posted on 10/30/2009 8:26:04 AM PDT by GodGunsGuts
Oct 28, 2009 — Two articles announced solutions to the evidential problem that most troubled Darwin – the sudden appearance of complex animals at the base of the Cambrian fossil record. Both of them involve chemical elements. The only difference is which element.
Science Daily announced a “Novel Evolutionary Theory For The Explosion Of Life.” The article acknowledged that “The Cambrian Explosion is widely regarded as one of the most relevant episodes in the history of life on Earth, when the vast majority of animal phyla first appear in the fossil record.” The article also acknowledged it to be a bit of a problem: “However, the causes of its origin have been the subject of debate for decades, and the question of what was the trigger for the single cell microorganisms to assemble and organize into multicellular organisms has remained unanswered until now.” Sitting on the edge of our seats after this build-up, we look into the article for the solution. An international team looked into the question. It’s calcium, they announced with chutzpah:
The researchers succeeded to show that the massive and sudden surge in the calcium concentration of the Cambrian seawater -- that is believed to be the result of volcanically active midocean ridges -- not only initiated the buildup of calcified shells, but was also mandatory for the aggregation and stabilisation of multicellular sponge structures. This allows, on the other hand, to formulate a novel theory where the geologically induced increase of marine calcium might be the key for understanding the Cambrian Explosion of Life.PhysOrg, on the other hand, had another element in mind to explain the “big growth spurts” in the evolutionary history of life. They had two in mind: the origin of eukaryotes, and the Cambrian explosion. “Scientists say the main driver of each growth step was a massive increase in the supply of oxygen, which is needed to convert food to the additional energy required for larger, more complex life forms.” But if you give food to an athlete, does it increase his complexity? How does that solve the problem? The article presented the views of David Johnston of Harvard. Sure enough, he thinks that size matters, and wrote a book called Why Size Matters. “It is the supreme and universal determinant of what any organism can be and can do.” Again, it is not clear why size alone creates complexity.This paper constitutes the first research work where single molecule force spectroscopy studies have provided meaningful answers to such a deep evolutionary biology question as the origin of multicellular animals, and might represent a milestone for both disciplines and an example of how multidisciplinarity and collaboration are essential components of excellent contemporary science.
So if the first eukaryotes started pumping oxygen into the atmosphere 2.35 billion years ago, why did it take so long for the Cambrian growth spurt? “Fueled by more oxygen, eukaryotes took another enormously significant stride: They started to combine into larger organisms containing multiple cells, organs and tissues.” This idea should be testable. People in oxygen tents should be examined to see if new cells, organs and tissues are emerging.
Johnston also omitted to address the origin of the genetic instructions to build new organs, tissues, and body plans. Could it be as simple as “just add oxygen”?
At first, these ancient animals were soft-bodied, like modern jellyfish. Around 542 million years ago, however, some animals developed shells and skeletons and grew larger.Our question about why with so much oxygen the animals waited almost 2 billion years to burst forth with 20 to 40 new complex body plans in a geological instant, without ancestors, is apparently not included in this edition of the story.This was the famous “Cambrian Explosion” of complex life forms, which led to today’s species, the biggest of them another million times larger than their single-celled ancestors.
Fish, reptiles, birds, amphibians, plants, mammals and human beings were finally on their way, and the Earth’s largest living thing, the sequoia tree, is 10 million billion times bigger than the first tiny microbe in the sea.
If they believe that solves the problem of the origin of genetic information for building new complex body plans, it’s novel, all right – as in science fiction. Have you ever in your life seen such empty fluff masquerading as an answer? If you have watched Darwin’s Dilemma, you understand the magnitude of the problem. At a memorable moment in the film, Richard Sternberg had just discussed the complexity of development of a body plan with its new genes, proteins, cell types, tissues and organs. “This is orders of magnitude more complex than anything we have been able to conceive,” he said, pointing back over his shoulder. “You”ve left the idea of ‘impossible by chance’ a long time ago.” But like a circus ringmaster doubling as a clown and magician, Johnston swept the elephant in the room away with pure magic. The eukaryote developed [miracle word] skeletons and body plans. This led to [miracle phrase] the complex Cambrian animals. Then human beings were finally on their way [miracle phrase]. While you weren’t thinking, his sleight-of-mind trick produced the zoo on stage. The crowd gasps in awe. His magic elixir was: oxygen!The other team boos from the stands. No, they shout. It was calcium! They come down to the ring and discuss this with the ringmaster. After some discussion, they come up with a compromise. They combine the calcium with the oxygen and get CaO2. Everyone is happy till they realize calcium peroxide is used to sterilize water.
Get your money back from this circus. Don’t be one of P.T. Barnum’s suckers, even if The Dawk hawks it as the Greatest Show on Earth.
Ping!
But new Phyla can arise virtually overnight. We're not talking about jumping a genus, an order, a family, or a class. We're talking about lots of new phyla just popping into existence. In the blink of an eye? Through genetic drift and natural selection?
I don't have that much faith.
Darwinism is a religion. To believe that life happened by accident takes far more faith than any conventional religion.
Like Global Warming/Climate Change/Environmental Debts, etc. are ideas that smart people devise to explain (now by computer programs {which they make up themselves}), and thus they build a model and create it to theoretically to prove whatever current point they are SELLING TO THE PUBLIC.
Cynical ... true; and also fact.
Do not buy the BS ... horse feathers!
Ineed, they are the science equivalent of snake-oil salesmen.
The article acknowledged that “The Cambrian Explosion is widely regarded as one of the most relevant episodes in the history of life on Earth, when the vast majority of animal phyla first appear in the fossil record.”I thought that that all phyla appeared during the Cambrian Explosion, that no new phyla have appeared since, and that some phyla have since become extinct.
It is the younger among us who are
idealistic and believe the scientific sources.
We learned the hard way ourselves, a few times, didn't we?
Some decent research and hypothesis in the primary sources, but every time the writer of these reviews opens his mouth, he show himself to be uneducated on the matter.
Rember the scare over acid rain, global cooling, not to mention the yearly scare campaigns re: the flu. Yes, I’d say we’ve learned the hard way. But you are right, we need to find a way to reach America’s youth. Unfortunately, they are all locked up in our leftist public school and university system.
Work and taxes are an immensely valued lesson for most people. Nothing gets through to a person like those facts when they occur.
My neighor was in Italy during our november election. They reported that many people there “protest daily”, and seem to be “always protesting” against something... as if it was their job.
They were ‘celebrating’ in the streets when Obama won the election.
Interesting.
Details to follow.
Nonsense! The world is only 6000 years old and every “fossilized” sea shell was put in its exact position by the express direction of God.
What do you think of the evo explanation that we all came from a spike oceanic calcium?
PS That’s 6-10,000 year old, and it would not be correct to say that God personally placed every sea shell in its exact position, but He did create the laws that determine the same, and He does indeed know their exact composition and location, just as He knows the exact number of hairs are on your head.
Matthew 10:29-31
You mean another asteroid die off theory! I say “another” asteroid die off theory, because the current theory is in big, big trouble.
But one paleopologist has already asked, without response, “So what happened to the insects when the dinos were being killed?”
I thought it a good question but alas, no takers.
I did a little research on this for a previous post.From the end of your previous post:
We now know that life extends back about 3 billion years before the CE. Multicellular life begins well over a billion years before the CE. And we now know that many animal phyla originate prior to the CE.I'm curious whether there's a period after which we can say that no new phyla have appeared?
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