Re: differences between chimps and humans

"John Harshman" <jharshman.diespamdie@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message news:jNQFl.14731$%54.4494@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
rnorman@xxxxxxxxx wrote:
On Apr 16, 5:42 pm, wf3h <w...@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
interesting article in the latest "Sci Am" on the evolution of chimps
compared to humans.

-humans share 99% of our DNA with chimps
-of 3B base pairs, about 15M differ between humans and chimps in 6M
years of divergent evolution
-one of the greatest differences occurred in the "HAR1" sequence
-this sequence of base pairs shows 118 differences between chimps and
humans
-chimps and chickens show only 2 base pair differences in 300M years
since a split between their common ancester
-the HAR1 sequence codes for the folding of the neocortex, thus
confirming that a VERY small difference in genome can have a HUGE
effect on species differences
-evolution predicts that sequences having the greatest effect on
species differences should show the fastest evolution
-this prediction was confirmed by sequencing the genome

creationism of course, has no way to account for HOW this happened.
evolution does. that's why evolution is a science and creationism
isn't.

I don't have my copy of that issue yet, so I can't see what the
original says. However I don't understand your logic.

You say "sequences having the greatest effect on species difference
should show the fastest evolution." You also report that HAR1 differs
greatly between chimps and humans but hardly at all between chimps and
chickens. So is HAR1 a sequence that has a great effect on species
difference? If so, why did it evolve rapidly between chimps and
humans but hardly at all between chimps and chickens? Either it has a
great effect on species difference or it doesn't. Or else something
else is at work.

Exactly what is the prediction of evolution that you want to show is
being demonstrated here?

I don't have the paper either, nor does the press release clarify. But
perhaps he means that the genes influencing morphology that changes
between species should show greater differences between those species
than genes influencing morphology that doesn't change.

Richard can correct me on this, since I don't know much neurobiology,
but I would guess that there is a greater difference between the neocortex
of a chimp vs chicken than there is between chimp vs human. So I don't
see what wf3h is getting at either.

Though that
hardly seems like a prediction of evolution, per se, but of genetic
control over development.

However, I do see what wf3h is getting at when he wrote:
"creationism of course, has no way to account for HOW this happened."

And he makes no sense at all. Both the creation theory and the evolution
theory are compatible with the notion that if man and chimp differ in the
neocortex, then they probably also differ in the genes controlling the
neocortex. But evolution has no explanation why one of the apes would
have a dramatically different way of folding the neocortex than all the
others. The ToE doesn't even try to explain that. Whereas creationism
does have an explanation for why one of the apes is so different. In
fact, that is just about the only thing that creationism tries to explain!

To my mind, wf3h was making more sense when he was discussing
creationist sanitation.

.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Genetic Similarity
    ... genes and it is no surprise that genes vary in how similar they are in ... the sequence to tell anything about ancient metazoan lineages because ... For species as closely related as chimps and humans we can still use ...
    (talk.origins)
  • Re: differences between chimps and humans
    ... compared to humans. ... -one of the greatest differences occurred in the "HAR1" sequence ... species differences should show the fastest evolution ... greatly between chimps and humans but hardly at all between chimps and ...
    (talk.origins)
  • Re: Chimpanzee-Human DNA comparisons
    ... researchers reported "only" a 95% similarity between chimps and humans, ... each unmatched sequence. ... Deletion and insertions are usually not ...
    (talk.origins)
  • Re: differences between chimps and humans
    ... compared to humans. ... -one of the greatest differences occurred in the "HAR1" sequence ... species differences should show the fastest evolution ... greatly between chimps and humans but hardly at all between chimps and ...
    (talk.origins)
  • Re: Chimpanzee-Human DNA comparisons
    ... researchers reported "only" a 95% similarity between chimps and humans, ... sequence stretches are often involved in deletions and insertions. ... Deletion and insertions are usually not ...
    (talk.origins)
Loading