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man4allcats

(4,026 posts) Sun Jun 22, 2014, 09:38 PM Jun 2014

Complex, multicellular life from over two billion years ago discovered [View all]

This is big stuff scientifically. We used to think complex life forms evolved on this planet around 600 million years ago. It now appears it was much earlier - possibly over 2 billion years ago. Why does it matter? Because it means that nature has had much more time than we thought to perfect its game plan. We know that many useful features have been conserved in life forms that live on this planet. We used to think that was because nature had over 600 million years to weed out things that didn't work, but in fact, it now looks like its had more than 2 billion years to do that. No wonder it works as well as it does.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/06/100630171711.htm

42 replies

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Complex, multicellular life from over two billion years ago discovered [View all] man4allcats Jun 2014 OP

And yet, creationists continue to erode science education... hlthe2b Jun 2014 #1

But of course we know, man4allcats Jun 2014 #2

And they have been reduced to idiot minorities in Europe, yet here... hlthe2b Jun 2014 #3

Sometimes I wonder how we managed to beat the British. man4allcats Jun 2014 #8

Indeed... n/t hlthe2b Jun 2014 #9

We conned the French into helping us, that's how.... Moonwalk Jun 2014 #25

I agree. man4allcats Jun 2014 #33

yes but Phlem Jun 2014 #4

Unfortunately ... n/t man4allcats Jun 2014 #5

Strangly enough, many of the earliest biologists were creationists. Gravitycollapse Jun 2014 #7

Even Newton believed in the divine. man4allcats Jun 2014 #10

Science itself was fundamental to the teleological argument. I'm not sure that's a bias. Gravitycollapse Jun 2014 #14

I don't think science has any desire to make religious faith obsolete. man4allcats Jun 2014 #15

That's simply historical revisionism. Gravitycollapse Jun 2014 #17

Science certainly WAS deeply interwoven into religious experience, man4allcats Jun 2014 #18

Some scientists are trying to read the truth written by God's own hand in the rocks, the stars, tclambert Jun 2014 #23

Re: "Some think God created a multiverse containing an uncountable number of universes." man4allcats Jun 2014 #27

I was expecting another john McCain photo. lindysalsagal Jun 2014 #6

McCain? Well, he might be around 2 billion years old, man4allcats Jun 2014 #12

Kicked and recommended. Uncle Joe Jun 2014 #11

:-) n/t man4allcats Jun 2014 #13

That's so cool! NealK Jun 2014 #16

It IS cool, isn't it? man4allcats Jun 2014 #39

I don't think it took 2 billion years, It's more likely fits and starts. Blue State Bandit Jun 2014 #19

I like the "fits and starts" idea. man4allcats Jun 2014 #21

DNA might not even be from earth, originally nikto Jun 2014 #20

I once knew a postdoc who thought that man4allcats Jun 2014 #22

And then there's LUCA defacto7 Jun 2014 #24

Thanks for the post. man4allcats Jun 2014 #30

Informative wiki. defacto7 Jun 2014 #42

I thought this was going to be a Cheney thread mindwalker_i Jun 2014 #26

LOL! :-) n/t man4allcats Jun 2014 #40

That's hard to believe ECHOFIELDS Jun 2014 #28

Me too. ;-) n/t man4allcats Jun 2014 #31

Huge News. Phlem Jun 2014 #29

Thanks! man4allcats Jun 2014 #41

Thanks, but the story is a tad four years old nadinbrzezinski Jun 2014 #32

Sorry. Didn't mean to bore you. man4allcats Jun 2014 #34

I did not say it is not relevant nadinbrzezinski Jun 2014 #35

Re: "Please do not misconstrue what I said. " man4allcats Jun 2014 #36

Tell you what, so we do not have these conflicts in the future nadinbrzezinski Jun 2014 #37

Thank you. n/t man4allcats Jun 2014 #38