So we can say now that two proteins must be related because they share a similar function in one domain and they have a whopping 15% homology!
I've done a little study of my own. I found that a yugo shares many of the same functions as a Honda Civic. They both have four wheels, a motor, a steering wheel, a gas pedal, a brake, headlights, etc. In fact, I'm sure that they share more than a 15% homology.
I have concluded that long ago, a steel mill blew up and over billions of years, yugos evolved. After another billion years, Honda Civics have evolved from yugos. If we carry this evolution even farther, we get a Hummer!
All organisms share some sort of homology. If one function is to be performed (like the cleaving of GTP), it would make sense that God used a very similar-looking molecule to accomplish the task.
The development of cellular machinery is not so much an account of complicated machinery appearing out of nowhere, but more of existing bits and pieces being fitted together to solve different problems.
While this article discusses protein similarities, the question still remains: what is the MECHANISM of the change? How long did it take? Is anyone in control of it? I believe that God has taken these bits and pieces and put them together to create distinct organisms. These organisms all share the same building blocks and need to perform some of the same functions, so of course some of the molecules will look similar. This is analagous to the car example. A Honda Civic shares a lot of the same parts with a Honda Accord. It does not mean one "evolved" from the other, it means they had the same DESIGNER!
Think about it. If God didn't design this world and its inhabitants so that they would be somewhat similar, it wouldn't function the way it does. Just because things have similarities does not mean that they were not designed that way on purpose. If God didn't use the same 20 amino acids to make up all the proteins in this world, we wouldn't be able to eat anything.
The design of this world is so intricate and ingenious that I am in awe. I can't reconcile the word "accident" with the things I see happening in the human body, let alone the interworkings of the world with its inhabitants and the inhabitants with each other.
We find pieces that bear a strong family resemblance.
I've done a little study of my own. I found that a yugo shares many of the same functions as a Honda Civic. They both have four wheels, a motor, a steering wheel, a gas pedal, a brake, headlights, etc. In fact, I'm sure that they share more than a 15% homology.
I have concluded that long ago, a steel mill blew up and over billions of years, yugos evolved. After another billion years, Honda Civics have evolved from yugos. If we carry this evolution even farther, we get a Hummer!
Actually, up to the "steel mill blowing up", you're not too far off track. Cars can be classed in families, where certain models borrow features from others. The difference between automotive design evolution and Darwinian evolution is that different features will be adopted across lines of descent.
That is, if Subaru comes up with an ultrasound obstacle locator, and it's well accepted (selected for), Nissan, Toyota, Chevy, Ford, and BMW will all produce cars that have the same or a similar feature.
In the case of biological organisms, we can follow the spread of innovations and modifications only along lines of descent. We don't see, for example, one sea creature developing a lung, and the same design of lung appearing in the next model year in unrelated other sea creatures.
The problem with the "exploding steel mill" analogy is that we've never observed a steel mill explosion forming machined parts. We have seen complex molecules, including amino acids and nucleotide bases, form as the result of simpler compounds bashing together in a mixture.
All organisms share some sort of homology. If one function is to be performed (like the cleaving of GTP), it would make sense that God used a very similar-looking molecule to accomplish the task.
Why not identical? Why the millions of slight differences, arranged in a way that's beautifully explained by assuming millions of years of descent with slight modifications? Why not any of an effectively infinite number of other arrangements?
Evolution has an answer. IDIOTs don't.
While this article discusses protein similarities, the question still remains: what is the MECHANISM of the change? How long did it take? Is anyone in control of it?
Those are actually valid questions. Especially the first one.
I believe that God has taken these bits and pieces and put them together to create distinct organisms.
OK, how? By what mechanism did God take these bits and pieces and put them together? We've seen factories. We've watched them work. We've watched them being built and re-tooled. The only mechanism we've EVER seen putting simple organic molecules together into proteins and amino acids is the blind combining and re-combining in accord with the laws of physics and chemistry.
If you choose to believe that these laws were designed by a Designer who expected intelligent life as the inevitable result, be my guest. But this does not rule out naturalistic evolution.
These organisms all share the same building blocks and need to perform some of the same functions, so of course some of the molecules will look similar. This is analagous to the car example. A Honda Civic shares a lot of the same parts with a Honda Accord. It does not mean one "evolved" from the other, it means they had the same DESIGNER!
This argument would have a lot more weight if a Honda Civic and a Honda Accord DID have the same designer. However, I'll just bet you that they had different designers. (Indeed, there's a small chance that the two design teams had no members in common, but I wouldn't bet on that.)
In addition, I can pretty much guarantee that the Honda Civic and the Toyota Tercel had different designers. Do we assume a different God for each "kind" (whatever one of those is)?
Think about it. If God didn't design this world and its inhabitants so that they would be somewhat similar, it wouldn't function the way it does. Just because things have similarities does not mean that they were not designed that way on purpose. If God didn't use the same 20 amino acids to make up all the proteins in this world, we wouldn't be able to eat anything.
If all life hadn't evolved from a single common ancestor, it would't function the way it does. Living things wouldn't have the similarities and the slight differences we see if they hadn't undergone eons of descent with modification.
And we have the ability to break down amino acids into their component parts, and use these parts to build others as needed. All that's required in a human diet is eight "essential" amino acids. Cats require at least one extra -- taurine. Why didn't the designer simply set up all life to use the same basic "kit" of amino acids?
The design of this world is so intricate and ingenious that I am in awe. I can't reconcile the word "accident" with the things I see happening in the human body, let alone the interworkings of the world with its inhabitants and the inhabitants with each other.
Your privilege. Again, real scientists doing real work in the field don't care what you can or cannot reconcile.