Posted on 01/23/2006 4:31:58 PM PST by PatrickHenry
Scientists at the Georgia Institute of Technology have found genetic evidence that seems to support a controversial hypothesis that humans and chimpanzees may be more closely related to each other than chimps are to the other two species of great apes – gorillas and orangutans. They also found that humans evolved at a slower rate than apes.
Appearing in the January 23, 2006 issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, biologist Soojin Yi reports that the rate of human and chimp molecular evolution – changes that occur over time at the genetic level – is much slower than that of gorillas and orangutans, with the evolution of humans being the slowest of all.
As species branch off along evolutionary lines, important genetic traits, like the rate of molecular evolution also begin to diverge. They found that the speed of this molecular clock in humans and chimps is so similar, it suggests that certain human-specific traits, like generation time, began to evolve one million years ago - very recently in terms of evolution. The amount of time between parents and offspring is longer in humans than apes. Since a long generation time is closely correlated with the evolution of a big brain, it also suggests that developmental changes specific to humans may also have evolved very recently.
In a large-scale genetic analysis of approximately 63 million base pairs of DNA, the scientists studied the rate at which the base pairs that define the differences between species were incorrectly paired due to errors in the genetic encoding process, an occurrence known as substitution.
"For the first time, we've shown that the difference in the rate of molecular evolution between humans and chimpanzees is very small, but significant, suggesting that the evolution of human-specific life history traits is very recent," said Yi.
Most biologists believe that humans and chimpanzees had a common ancestor before the evolutionary lines diverged about 5-7 million years ago. According to the analysis, one million years ago the molecular clock in the line that became modern humans began to slow down. Today, the human molecular clock is only 3 percent slower than the molecular clock of the chimp, while it has slowed down 11 percent from the gorilla's molecular clock.
This slow down in the molecular clock correlates with a longer generation time because substitutions need to be passed to the next generation in order to have any lasting effect on the species,
"A long generation time is an important trait that separates humans from their evolutionary relatives," said Navin Elango, graduate student in the School of Biology and first author of the research paper. "We used to think that apes shared one generation time, but that's not true. There's a lot more variation. In our study, we found that the chimpanzee's generation time is a lot closer to that of humans than it is to other apes."
The results also confirm that there is very little difference in the alignable regions of the human and chimp genomes. Taken together, the study's findings suggest that humans and chimps are more closely related to each other than the chimps are to the other great apes.
"I think we can say that this study provides further support for the hypothesis that humans and chimpanzees should be in one genus, rather than two different genus' because we not only share extremely similar genomes, we share similar generation time," said Yi.
Even though the 63 million base pairs they studied is a large sample, it's still a small part of the genome, Yi said. "If we look at the whole genome, maybe it's a different story, but there is evidence in the fossil record that this change in generation time occurred very recently, so the genetic evidence and the fossil data seem to fit together quite well so far."
Could you please document this claim?
Tut-tut, VA. We haven't met wcb's family. He or she could be telling the truth. I mean, look at the Clintons... ;)
Every time I see your screen name I forget what the thread's about.
Reciprocity is your friend.
Good idea. Definitely worth a paragraph.
Coyoteman, it looks like your skulls have competition for evidence of evolution. LOL
Evidence of Evolutionary Transitions by Michael Benton.
From PatrickHenry's List-O-Links. But you said you don't want to go to that site.
But wait! There's more!
Post 661: Ichneumon's stunning post on transitionals. Also from PatrickHenry's List-O-Links.
Well, 'nature' did put rocks in your head.
Strawman. No such comparison exists. If they compared my picture to a motorcycle would that mean that you are a bicycle?
Chimps, orangutans, gorillas and gibbons all have an evolutionary history just like we do, but the Lucies, Australopithecus, Homo habilis, Homo erectus, Cro-Magnon man and the Neanderthals of their history aren't interesting in the popular press so the liberals leave them out and draw the line direct from chimps to hominoids. Besides, the explanation would be messy and convoluted if they put them in.
Science, unlike politics and religion, leads where it leads. If it wanted to avoid "messy and convoluted" it would just say "poof" like CRIDers do. Who needs messy and complicated thermodynamics? Angels hold planes aloft. It is a lot easier than actually applying the scientific method.
And when you get right down to it, the liberals are going to say we're more closely related to those pygmy bonabo chimps. You know why that is don't you? It's because the bonabos **** like bunnies. Liberals worship at the alter of promiscuity you know.
This is just meaningless gibberish.
Global warming, second hand smoke, chimp/human evolution, bad politically motivated science is the hallmark of liberalism.
Why don't you throw in halitosis and painful rectal itch? Using feelings instead of reasoning is the neon sign of liberalism. CRIDers are closer to liberals than conservatives in this regard.
You present not a single argument of any kind, just ad homimem rants.
But thank you for displaying standard CRIDer "reasoning."
Yup!
Troll - From the fishing term. As a noun, synonymous with flamebait. As a verb, to post controversial or provocative messages in a deliberate attempt to provoke flames.You know I had forgotten about my profile page. Just thoughts that occurred to me on the spur of the moment.
Yes, I'm a Catholic and hate all this bickering amongst the different denominations. It would be nice to be able to put our differences aside and be united as a collective against the Islamic threat. I do not mean to advocate an outright crusade against Islam, but to be more vocal about our interests and, at times, when necessary more militant.
Standard CRIDer Non Sequitur. The argument goes thusly:
"I believe that God created Man via {poof}"
"You don't agree with me."
"Therefore you don't believe in God."
I always try to remind you CRIDers that using this sort of false statement is a form of lying, which is forbidden by the 10 Commandments. But then you get angry and suggest that somehow or another pointing out this hypocrisy is breaking some kind of rule.
PS: I am a feverent Christian. Anyone who onserves the wonder and elegance and complexity of God's wonders, including the incredible tapestry of evolution, MUST at least believe in a wonderful, loving God.
So it's not my staggering intellect that impresses you? ;-P
No name calling- if anything, we are more maligned than evolutionists.
But Jesus put it this way- "My sheep know my voice."
We just see Him in everything. He's called the "Author of Life"- He actually wrote our genome. With a wave of His hand (if it would take that much effort on His part), he could call up a 4d hologram of your genome, and rattle off your base pairs from memory. Jesus tried to express this to people by saying- "The very hairs on your heads are numbered." -Something that boggled their minds back then. Today, we could say that God knows the momentum and position of every particle in the universe.
Just different laws at that level. Only chaotic if you live within it.God exists outside of the universe.
If the Pharmacist ain't impressed, the cat is! My absolutely favourite book -- read it 6 times. at least, I'm serious, during my misspent youth!
>Are you still repeating the well-debunked lie that Darwin repented on his deathbed?
Not on this thread yet, until someone mentions the fact that Darwin recanted and asked God for forgiveness in his last hours. Until then, my lips are sealed on this historical fact.
No, you missed my point about the watch or computer. My point being that we are technology. And we humans can equate primitive (human) technology with intelligence, but God's more (terrible) advanced technology, we equate with time, chance, and odds that are not rational to accept.
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