Creationists sometimes try to argue that what we consider straightforward, well-demonstrated cytological and genetic events don't and can't occur: that you can't get chromosome rearrangements, or that variations in chromosome number and organization are obstacles to evolution, making discussions of synteny, or the rearrangement of chromosomal material in evolution, an impossibility. These are absurd conclusions, of course—we see evidence of chromosomal variation in people all the time.
For example, A friend sent along (yes, Virginia, there is a secret network of evilutionists busily sharing information with one another) a remarkable case study of a radical chromosome arrangement in a mother and daughter. When you see how these chromosomes are scrambled, you'll wonder how they ever managed to sort themselves out meiotically to produce viable offspring…but life will find a way.
Continue reading Life will find a way" (on Pharyngula)
9 Comments
Dave Thomas · 28 February 2006
While not directly on topic, I did a little graphic last week on the theme "Life will find a way."
Cheers, Dave
Corkscrew · 28 February 2006
So what are the boundaries of the ability for life to find a way? If there are no such boundaries, how can one predict, for example, that the fact that humans have one less chromosome than chimps implies that one of our chromosomes must be two chimp ones stuck together?
I bring this up because the fused chromosome thing is a classic example of evolutionary biology making a prediction, so it'd be good to know under precisely what circumstances the prediction of not losing a chromosome would be valid.
Cheers :)
Henry J · 28 February 2006
"Life will find a way"
That's what that scientist (the annoying one) said in Jurassic Park.
Henry
Henry J · 28 February 2006
Next time, somebody remind me to use the angular brackets < and > and not the square brackets [ and ] ...
Henry J · 28 February 2006
Huh - an opening angular bracket that's by itself just disappears from the post. Interesting.
Engineer-Poet, FCD, ΔΠΓ · 28 February 2006
(psst! Try > and < to escape brackets! HTML errors are so passé... and that's done with "é".)
Steviepinhead · 28 February 2006
If only that same trick would work to disappear ol' angular Andy H/Larry F...
Popper's Ghost · 1 March 2006
I would stay away from anything by George Bush's expert on global warming denial, Michael Crichton.
Faidon · 3 March 2006