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To: mlc9852
Well, will this win a convert today?

There is more evidence than fossils to show that speciation has occurred, which I think is the main debated point in the political / religious community. In general, there are four ways to determine the time since a species split: Fossils, Active DNA, Viral DNA fragments, and Mitochondrial DNA.

Viral DNA, to me, is the most interesting and compelling. I just found a good article on it here.

The gist of this finding and the argument here for speciation is this: Our bodies have really great systems in place for stopping viruses from reaching our reproductive cells, which stops the majority of retroviruses (a virus that inserts its own DNA into your strand) from getting through. Every so often, though, a retrovirus makes its way into the gene-pool, and inserts an easily recognizable fragment of DNA into the strand. It is recognizable because not only does it fail to perform a function, but it sits right in the middle of a gene that used to do something. Its an addition, not a mutation, so it sticks out like a sore thumb.

Well, it turns out that humans and chimps share a few (I forget the exact number, I think its about 10-11). By share, I mean that these fragments are clearly the same fragment and IN THE SAME PLACE in the gene they reside in. The infection would have had to occur at the same time, in other words, in the same ancestor. Now, mutations in humans and primates occur at the same rate, and the differences in these mutations between the human and chimp varieties indicate a time that matches up with the fossil evidence discovered by archaeologists, as well as Active DNA and Mitochondrial DNA.

If God did indeed design each species individually, and speciation is false, He would have had to plant this evidence so precisely with the express intention of fooling scientists into believing that evolution and speciation exist.

You can believe in a Deceiver God if you want. I refuse to.
16 posted on 10/14/2005 5:22:58 AM PDT by EasyBOven
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To: EasyBOven

No one has asked you to believe in God. As a human being you make your own spiritual decisions. As a human being, I make mine.


18 posted on 10/14/2005 5:38:14 AM PDT by mlc9852
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To: EasyBOven

I was taught in high school and college that although viruses can replicate that there is really some debate as to whether they are really alive. They don't really fall into the living organism category, do they?


20 posted on 10/14/2005 5:58:42 AM PDT by metmom (Welfare was never meant to be a career choice.)
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To: Fasciitis

read the message this is in reply to and the whole post


33 posted on 10/14/2005 7:23:08 AM PDT by adam_az (It's the border, stupid!)
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