Posted on 05/05/2014 10:46:06 AM PDT by fishtank
Neandertal: The Answer Is Epigenetics Not Evolution
by Jeffrey Tomkins, Ph.D. *
Recent genome reports show that the Neandertals are essentially fully human, causing scientists to reclassify them as "archaic humans."1,2 But what about the apparent subtle differences in anatomy that first caused scientists to claim that Neandertals were a completely different species? It turns out that the answer can be found in epigenetics, according to newly published research.3
Epigenetics, in the more modern sense, refers to the heritable chemical changes performed by cellular machines to DNA that alter gene function without actually changing the DNA nucleotide code. In the field of genomics, it is more accurately referred to as chromatin modification. Chromatin is the stuff chromosomes are made of which consists of the DNA molecule packaged around proteins called histones. Both the DNA and the histone proteins can be chemically modified to control how genes function and are regulated along the chromosome.
...more at link.
(Excerpt) Read more at icr.org ...
ICR article image.
“Recent genome reports show that the Neandertals are essentially fully human, causing scientists to reclassify them as “archaic humans.”
When did this reclassification take place? I’ve read articles that classify them as such for years or is ICR taking liberties again?
OK.
What ever the hell he said.
Were they Democrats or Republicans?
I would like to know how genes control body plan. Such as shape and size. I think this is a big problem for conventional evolutionary theory.
Hard science leads where few want to tread. The evidence that Neanderthal and Homo Sapien are genetically identical is remarkable research. Stick that in your evolution pipe.
I'm thinking reading up on this and speculating might be fun.
Democrat Politics + Epigenetics = Graft, Corruption, and Incompetence on a global scale
ping
Hmmm, fits into my hypothesis that evolution is biologically directed, not random mutation.
They were almost entirely Republicans. Democrats died off quickly back then because welfare, foodstamps, and cushy government gigs hadn't been invented yet.
Me too?
I don't know of any changes and I do notice these things.
The question: How can we drive more knowledgeable people away from religion with our clever misinterpretations and ignorance?
All the physical features used to define Neanderthals can be found today in modern humans. For example, the Australian Aborigines have higher, more defined eye brows than did Neanderthals.
You might be talking about convergent evolution, as opposed to divergent evolution.
Different species will converge on a shape.
One species of Lemurs, one species of marsupials, and cats have converged on the cat shape.
Birds(Penguins), mammals(seals, etc), and fish have converged on a fish shape
Sharks and dolphins have converged on a shape
Epigenetics is the latest DNA buzzword and since current science seems driven by trendiness beware of new “results” incorporating it. Also be suspicious of new results that seem politically correct such as there are no differences between Neanderthals and modern humans, interbreeding, etc. IMO the results reported by younger scientists are more likely to verify their preconceptions rather than be driven by objectivity. This is based on my 35 years as a research geneticist.
I understand your words of caution about current research, but do you believe that epigenetics isn’t legitimate, at least in the sense that it appears that genetic expression depends in some measure on environmental factors?
Fill the pipe with empty space? I don’t believe anyone ever said that modern humans evolved from neanderthals. Neanderthals have always been seen as existing along side of modern man, but as a dead end genetic variant in the tree. They were a physical variant of modern man that before modern genetic research were thought to be a genetically different line of modern humans. They are not and never have been; more along the lines of a racial variation of modern man.
The ability to talk about archaic humans and suggesting that we are one species, means that you are making progress. A lot of scientists are wondering if Homo Erectus, with their smaller brain, Neanderthals and us are different versions of each other. At least talking about archaic humans takes you back 400,000 + years. Now, we share 99.7 % of our genes to begin with s there is less to define another species.
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