Posted on 04/21/2007 9:40:59 AM PDT by NormsRevenge
The origin of the human brain has been traced back to primitive central nervous systems in worms and bugs, researchers now say.
Humans and other vertebrates evolved from an ancient common ancestor that also gave rise to insects and worms, scientists have long known. But they're of course quite different today.
Vertebrates have a spinal cord running along their backs, but insects and annelid worms such as earthworms, which have simple organs that barely resemble a brain, have clusters of nerves organized in a chain along their bellies. So biologists have long assumed these systemskey to ultimately putting a brain to usearose independently, only after the split.
In the new study, researchers at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory [EMBL] in Heidelberg examined they embryos of a marine annelid worm called Platynereis dumerilii, which has a nervous system unchanged for eons. They documented the molecular fingerprints of the developing nerve cells.
"Our findings were overwhelming," says study team member Alexandru Denes. "The molecular anatomy of the developing CNS [central nervous system ] turned out to be virtually the same in vertebrates and Platynereis. Corresponding regions give rise to neuron types with similar molecular fingerprints and these neurons also go on to form the same neural structures in annelid worm and vertebrates."
"Such a complex arrangement could not have been invented twice throughout evolution , it must be the same system," said Gáspár Jékely, another team member. "It looks like Platynereis and vertebrates have inherited the organization of their CNS from their remote common ancestors."
The results, published this month in the journal Cell, leave a nagging question: How did the central nervous systems get flipped from belly to backside or vice-versa?
"How the inversion occurred and how other invertebrates have modified the ancestral CNS throughout evolution are the next exciting questions for evolutionary biologists," said study leader Detlev Arendt.
Hence the derivative of phrases like..
You’re not gonna worm your way out of this one, Mister.
or
He is such a wormy little creep sometimes.
or
He wormed his way into the cockles of their hearts.
It follows that the brains of SF Chronicle employees come from the leavings of said worms.
These scientists are about 50 years late for the Nobel prize.
Once upon a time...
This make anyone else think of the Goa’uld?
...in a land far, far away...
Are they trying to tell us we’re no longer related to monkeys but to worms? Gee, I bet the monkeys feel insulted by this. /s
So let's concoct some idiotic theory to shoehorn it so it fits...
Hahahahahahahahaha. Evolutionists can be so silly.
And the worms ate into his brain...
I love the language of evolutionists. Apparently evolution "invented" this complex arrangement. Yet they have a hissy fit when someone substitutes the word "God" for "evolution".
"Sure. It's the monkey's feelings you care about.
How typical of you homo sapiens."
“Such a complex arrangement could not have been invented twice throughout evolution , it must be the same system,” said Gáspár Jékely, another team member. “It looks like Platynereis and vertebrates have inherited the organization of their CNS from their remote common ancestors.”
This is just really, really faulty logic. No Nobel Prize for these jokers!
Sometimes there is only one good way to do something and evolution follows that same path in separate branches. For example, the eyes of flys and humans are different optically and yet similar in terms of light transduction. The similarities are not inherited, that is simply the best way to convert light to usable information.
But I'm not buying that my brain had its origin in that book. I mean it may have helped things along a bit. But come on.
Winston Churchill
Okay, so just when did the monkey mate with the lowly worm in order to pass these genes on?
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