Re: For Kim G. S. Øyhus


Seanpit wrote:
> Glenn wrote:
>
> > Sean, this may be of interest to you. Perhaps you have not seen it in
> > the news.
> >
> > http://ucsdnews.ucsd.edu/newsrel/science/mcirreversible.asp
> >
> > "UCSD Biologists Find New Evidence for One-Way Evolution"
> >
> > [...]
> > "This is the strongest evidence yet to support irreversibility," said
> > Joshua Kohn, an associate professor of biology at UCSD who headed the
> > study. "If we had not used the genetic data coding for this
> > reproductive mechanism and only inferred the pattern of evolution
> > based on the traits of living species, we would have come to the
> > opposite conclusion and with high statistical support - that the trait
> > evolved more than once."
> >
> > [...]
> >
> > "Irreversible loss of complex traits, which result from the combined
> > interaction of several genes, is an old and at times controversial
> > scientific question. While the late evolutionary biologist Stephen Jay
> > Gould popularized the hypothesis of irreversibility, known as Dollo's
> > Law, studies that use current methods to reconstruct the evolution of
> > complex traits often fail to support it. This is because it is often
> > difficult to reconstruct characteristics of extinct ancestors with any
> > certainty."
> >
> > "The study contradicts earlier studies of complex trait evolution,
> > which have tended to favor multiple reappearances of complex traits
> > after these organs were lost in ancestral species. The authors suggest
> > that traditional methods for reconstructing the history of trait
> > evolution may be inaccurate."
>
> Hey Glenn. There are lots of examples of this sort of non-reversible
> loss of function. This particular example, though interesting, is by
> no means the only one. There are lots and lots of them. There are even
> examples of a non-reversible loss of flagellar motility. Several types
> of bacteria have almost all the genes for a flagellar motility system
> and yet are immotile because of a loss of one or more key components.
> For example, some Shigella strains have more missing genes than other
> strains, but in certain strains, the only gene missing is the FliD
> gene. This FliD gene codes for the vital filament cap protein. Without
> the FliD cap protein at the tip of the flagellar filament, the
> flagellin monomers (FliC) that form the filament fall away. Not only
> that, but without FliD, the FliC parts simply do not assemble properly.
>
> So, you see, such non-reversible functional losses are very common.
> That is why those like Gould talked about them quite a bit. The
> problem, you see, is that evolutionists have this magical notion that
> time solves all problems. Given a few million years here and there,
> just about anything is possible. No need to demonstrate how such a loss
> of a complex function could evolve back because millions of years of
> random mutation and natural selection solves such problems that cannot
> be solved in real time - obviously. Very few actually stop to think
> that perhaps millions or even billions or even trillions of years would
> not even come close to solving such highly complex functional problems.

Loss of function of a modern system is about as useful in determining
the *mechanism* by which a system evolved as blowing up a house with
TNT is useful in telling us how the house was built.
>
>
> Sean Pitman
> www.DetectingDesign.com

.

Relevant Pages

  • =?iso-8859-1?q?Re:_For_Kim_G._S._=D8yhus?=
    ... > reproductive mechanism and only inferred the pattern of evolution ... > complex traits often fail to support it. ... loss of function. ... of bacteria have almost all the genes for a flagellar motility system ...
    (talk.origins)
  • Re: Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall . . .
    ... interaction as the evolution of a truly novel system of function. ... a loss of a pre-existing system or interaction. ... systematic process for distributing genes between daughter cells. ...
    (talk.origins)
  • Re: Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall . . .
    ... interaction as the evolution of a truly novel system of function. ... a loss of a pre-existing system or interaction. ... "Much progress in understanding the evolution of new genes has been ...
    (talk.origins)
  • Re: For Kim G. S. Øyhus
    ... studies that use current methods to reconstruct the evolution ... >> complex traits often fail to support it. ... Why do you think it's relevant to what Sean is ...
    (talk.origins)
  • News: Study questions cost of complexity in evolution
    ... Study questions 'cost of complexity' in evolution ... Higher organisms do not have a "cost of complexity" - or slowdown in the ... complex traits and the randomness of mutations in genes. ...
    (sci.bio.evolution)