Evolution is a Fact - Index for Numbers 1 - 30

by cofty 11 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

  • cofty
    cofty

    #1 Protein Functional Redundancy
    Comparing the sequences of amino acids in ubiquitous proteins confirms the relationship between all living things.

    #2 DNA Functional Redundancy
    Comparison of the DNA that codes for the amino acids of ubiquitous proteins predicts the tree of life with an astonishing degree of accuracy.

    #3 ERVs
    Endogenous retroviruses that infected our ancestors are found in the same place of the genome of our closest primate cousins.

    #4 Smelly Genes
    Hundreds of broken genes that used to code for olfactory receptors in our ancestors are still found in our genome.

    #5 Vitamin C
    Why humans can no longer make their own vitamin C and what that tells us about our species' history.

    #6 Human Chromosome 2
    Our second biggest chromosome is made up of two of our ancestors' chromosomes stuck end-to-end.

    #7 Human Egg Yolk Gene
    Humans and our primate cousins have the genes for making vitellogenin and they are all broken in the same way.

    #8 Jumping Genes
    Bits of parasitic code called ALU elements prove our common ancestry with primates.

    #9 Less Chewing More Thinking
    A broken gene for a type of muscle fibre we no longer have tells a story about our evolutionary past.

    #10 Non-Coding DNA
    In common with many other species huge amounts of our genome originated as copying errors.

    #11 Tiktaalik
    An amazing fossil discovery illustrates the transition of life from sea to land.

    #12 Lenski's E.coli Experiment
    An experiment with E.Coli, now in it's third decade, demonstrates the power of natural selection.

    #13 Morris Minor Bonnets
    Evolution has to make do with building on existing designs as illustrated by the recurrent laryngeal nerve.

    #14 Joey Goes to Oz
    Fossil evidence for the origins of marsupials found in Antarctica exactly as predicted.

    #15 Robinson Crusoe
    The biogeography of oceanic islands presents an impossible dilemma for creationism.

    #16 Aquatic Mammals
    An excellent sequence of fossils illustrates the evolutionary journey of whales from land to sea.

    #17 Belyaev's Silver Foxes
    A 50 year breeding programme demonstrates the amazing power of selection and the interconnected nature of genes.

    #18 Fish Fingers
    The evolution of limbs is mapped out in an amazing sequence of ancient fish fossils.

    #19 Goosebumps
    A vestigial reflex bequeathed by our hairier ancestors.

    #20 Lucy in the Sky...
    An exceptional fossil of a 3 million year old hominid.

    #21 Footprints in the Sand...
    Footprints at Laetoli show our Australopithecus afarensis ancestors were bipedal 3.6 million years ago.

    #22 The Hillocks of Hiss...
    A vestigial feature if the human ear shared by 10% of the population demonstrates our evolutionary history.

    #23 Faunal Succession...
    The consistent sequence of fossils found in the rocks can only be explained by evolution.

    #24 The Origin of Your Inner Ear...
    How the bones that reptiles eat with became the bones that we hear with.

    #25 Deep Time...
    Scottish geologist Andrew Hutton discovered the proof of earth's great antiquity.

    #26 Colour Vision...
    How gene duplication - new "information" -and mutation equipped us with trichromatic vision.

    #27 Monkeys, Typewriters, Shakespeare, 747s etc...
    Evolution is a combination of random mutations and non-random selection.

    #28 Something Darwin Didn't Say...
    A long term study of pigeons demonstrates how natural selection acts on a local population.

    #29 Use it or Lose it...
    Fossil genes reveal the history of modern species.

    #30 Your Third Eyelid...
    The remnants of a nictitating membrane reveals our evolutionary history.

  • Coded Logic
    Coded Logic
    Fantastic resource. Thanks for putting this together Crofty!
  • cofty
    cofty

    Thanks Coded Logic

    I said a while ago that I was planning 50 in the series. I only said that to annoy Fisherman, Clambake, James Brown, FuckItAll, Godzoo etc etc etc.

    I now actually think there probably will be at least 50. There is just so much interesting stuff to describe.

  • Simon
    Simon

    Great work and great reads!

    :thumbsup:

  • scary21
    scary21

    Thank you for all your time putting this together for our benefit.

  • StarTrekAngel
    StarTrekAngel
    I remember a long time ago, while I was still hypnotized, reading in WT literature, where they claimed that DNA and proteins where like the chicken and the egg. The WT claims there can not make protein without DNA and you can not make DNA without proteins. They used this argument to show or explain that such paradox can only be explained by means of a creator. Off course, the statement itself could be totally false or constructed but... do you have any ideas as to what they could have been talking about?
  • Bonsai
    Bonsai
    Cofty, no one on this site has spent more time and energy than you have in helping to educate people about modern human discovery. You have helped many of us to shed our superstitious fears and break any lingering chains that we have attached to the cult. I really appreciate your hard work especially considering you are doing all of this on a volunteer basis.
  • cofty
    cofty

    Thank you Bonsai I appreciate your kind words.

    STA - The protein/DNA question is part of the challenge for scientists studying the origin of life rather than biological evolution. I think the most promising answer to the question is RNA which can act as a catalyst, a replicator and can fold up like simple proteins.

    The book "Life Ascending" by Nick Lane has some fascinating information on these sort of topics.

  • Vidiot
    Vidiot
    Ironic that the field of science most vocally rejected by fundamentalists is, arguably, the most fascinating.
  • Zana
    Zana

    cofty, I haven't even read a third of your list, but I already do appreciate your compilation very much. Not that I needed convincing about evolution, this is just really interesting stuff.


    The title story of last weeks "Economist" http://www.economist.com/news/leaders/21699116-how-combat-dangerous-rise-antibiotic-resistance-when-drugs-dont-work is about the rise of antibiotic resistance. Maybe a worthy addition to your list? This is how the article starts:

    SOME people describe Darwinian evolution as “only a theory”. Try explaining that to the friends and relatives of the 700,000 people killed each year by drug-resistant infections. Resistance to antimicrobial medicines, such as antibiotics and antimalarials, is caused by the survival of the fittest. Unfortunately, fit microbes mean unfit human beings. Drug-resistance is not only one of the clearest examples of evolution in action, it is also the one with the biggest immediate human cost.

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