Protozoans Against Intelligent Design

[n2doc]

Ronald Bailey | January 21, 2010

The Journal of Eukaryotic Microbiology has just published a very nice paper showing how the details of protist evolution "dispel the myths of intelligent design." Generally, protists are "unicellular eukaryotes that either exist as independent cells, or if they occur in colonies, do not show differentiation into tissues." Think amoebae or foraminifera.

Biologists Mark Farmer and Andrea Habura address various ID claims and show how the evolution of protists disprove them. The first such claim is that the Cambrian explosion 545 million years ago cannot be explained by Darwinian evolution - it was too fast. Farmer and Habura point out that protistan evolution had begun well before then and provided the genomic diversity from which multicellular organisms arose.

The second claim is that no one has ever seen the development of a new species -- that is, a new species that becomes genetically isolated from its parent species. Again turning to protists, Farmer and Habura cite the example of just such a speciation event in which amoebae became symbiotically dependent upon infecting bacteria. If the symbotically dependent amoebae subsequently tried to interbreed with the parent stock, the parent stock died of the bacterial infection. Thus the two became genetically isolated.

Thirdly, IDers also argue that the fossil record does not show transitional species, therefore there is no evidence of one species evolving into another. Farmer and Habura explain that the exquisitely detailed fossil record of protists does exhibit just such intermediate forms.

more

http://reason.com/blog/2010/01/21/protozoans-against-intelligent

[Jackpine Radical]

1. The evidence is against creationism

and says nothing whatsoever about intelligent design theory.

[MineralMan]

2. Creationism has no evidence...just "faith."

[Jackpine Radical]

4. Yes.

Faith is either a belief that is stronger than is justified its supporting evidence, or a belief that is at variance with, and persists in spite of, the available evidence.

[AlecBGreen]

6. Hebrews 11:1

"Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see."

:hi:

[stray cat]

3. It just proves organisms can speciate and de-speciate which is known for years

J. Euk. Biol. is ok but certainly not where revolutionary findings prove or disprove evolution in most cases.

[Fumesucker]

5. The whole idea of intelligent design only pushes the basic problem down one more layer..

If intelligent organisms must have been designed by an intelligence then where did that intelligence come from?

You end up with an endless cascade of ever more powerful and intelligent designers.

Occam's Razor slices that infinite Gordian knot, the simplest answer is that there is no intelligent designer hence no need for that designer to have a designer and so on and so on and so on...

[struggle4progress]

7. The "no-intermediates in the fossil record" discussion goes something like this:

Creationist: If your theory were right, there should be something there between 1 and 10. But there's nothing there. So your theory is wrong.
Paleontologist: Wait! <pokes around> How about this? It sorta looks like 6 to me
Creationist: Hmmph! If your theory were right, there should be something there between 1 and 6. But there's nothing there. So your theory is wrong.
Paleontologist: Wait! <pokes around> How about this? It kinda looks like 3 to me
Creationist: Hmmph! If your theory were right, there should be something there between 3 and 6. But there's nothing there. So your theory is wrong.
Paleontologist: Wait! <pokes around> How about this? I think it resembles 5
Creationist: Hmmph! If your theory were right, there should be something there between 3 and 5. But there's nothing there. So your theory is wrong.
Paleontologist: Wait! <pokes around> Well, I haven't found anything between 3 and 5 yet. But I did find this things that looks like a 2 and this other other thing that looks like a 7.
Creationist: Hmmph! Your theory is wrong!

[Odin2005]

8. I have been fascinated by Protists ever since I was a kid.

Come on, who doesn't think Paramecium is ADORABLE!?!

[TZ]

10. +1!

Fuzzy wuzzy little Paramecium and their hair like flagella!! I've always loved amoebas too for their alienish appearance!!:)

[Duppers]

9. Primordial soup/ Abiogenesis

Recipe: Abiogenesis
Ingredients: Primordial soup
Cooking time: 4.5 Billion years