New Insight into How Eyes Form in Embryos

livescience ^ | 30 August 2006 | By Andrea Thompson

[js1138]

Most things that appear immensely complicated assemble via rather simple algorithms. Things like termite mounds and beehives.

[Mamzelle]

Scientists previously thought... bump

[jennyp]

Cool - it's kinda like swarming behavior.

Doesn't the cerebral cortex develop in a similar fashion, with juvenile neuron cells (or neuron stem cells, I forget) migrating up to the surface from some structure in the interior?

[MooseMan]

Among all the senses that organisms possess, vision is perhaps the most varied in all the animal kingdom. Millions of years of evolution have produced more than ten different animal vision systems, each perfectly tailored to suit the needs of its owner.

Sounds almost like it was designed or something.

[flevit]

mmm even termites mounds and beehives where intelligently designed, but feel free to duplicate this so-called "rather simple" algorith that forms the eye, or the one that is able to self replicate and build hexagonal wax structures.

[jennyp]

...or the way creos & evos swarm to these threads? :-)

[generally]

Makes sense.

Some scientists believe that the eyes are just an extension of the brain. Others believe that the brain is just an extension of the eyes!

[flevit]

algorithms even

[SoldierDad]

Almost? I'd say intelligent design is definetly at work.

[cripplecreek]

Interesting when you think of fish like flounder that begin life with eyes on both sides of their heads.

[js1138]

Algore ithms even.

[jennyp]

mmm even termites mounds and beehives where intelligently designed, but feel free to duplicate this so-called "rather simple" algorith that forms the eye, or the one that is able to self replicate and build hexagonal wax structures.

They're all over, if you will but search for them.

[SoldierDad]

And some people believe that both are important organs in the ability to form cohesive thought.

[Paloma_55]

A termite mound is not capable of distinguishing light from dark, red from blue, and communicating it in a pattern that is recognizeable by a brain....lets not even talk about the complexity of a brain.

God is one SMAAAAARRRT and wonderful being!

[flevit]

"lock box" ????

[js1138]

I didn't say the eye is not complex. I said it appears to assemble from a small set of rules.

[Elpasser]

It's just the product of random mutation. See, once upon a time, when fish had no eyes, one of the fish had a cell that genetically mutated so that it migrated to this particular spot and allowed vision. And then there were a few thousand other helpful mutations as well.

Couldn't possibly be evidence of intelligent design!

[Paloma_55]

I realize that.

As an engineer, I find some of the most brilliant designs come from a small, but well developed set of rules.

[flevit]

I didn't see anything that was comparable to the eye, or self-replicating hexagonal wax-structure building things caused by algorithms, or are you suggesting that it took NO-intelligence to develop the "boids" computer models