Archive for the ‘Zoology’ Category

This article by the Daily Mail online talks about a new fossil discovery that could help scientists solve a current “mystery” in the field of evolutionary biology. The discovery of fossils of turtle ancestors with partially developed shells is helping shed light on the contentious issue of how turtles first developed their shells:

This fossil supports existing theories of the development of the shells being the result of an extension of the backbone and ribs, as opposed to a hardening of the outer layers of the turtle’s skin. Interestingly, this historical evolutionary development seems to match the individual development that we observe happening in turtle embryos and hatchlings. The fossil’s fully developed lower shell also suggests that turtle ancestors developed in an environment where they had to fend off predators from below, thus reinforcing the notion that they developed as aquatic animals.

Of course, fossil evidence of turtles with imperfectly formed shells is also proof against the notion of Intelligent Design… but that’s neither here nor there.

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• dailymail.co.uk: Scientists solve evolutionary puzzle on how the turtle got its shell

I would highly recommend coming out to this event if you’re in the area. It only costs $5 for students if you pre-order or your tickets. More information can be found below:

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Found on this website, “Ten Questions to Ask Your Biology Teacher About Evolution” is meant to be a handy guide for students skeptical of evolution. According to this article at The New York Times, science teachers in the US are increasingly having to deal with similar anti-evolution ploys. Reading through the list gave me a few chuckles, so I thought — with only my knowledge from high school biology — I would go through the list and do my best to respond to the various challenges.

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1. ORIGIN OF LIFE. Why do textbooks claim that the 1953 Miller-Urey experiment shows how life’s building blocks may have formed on the early Earth — when conditions on the early Earth were probably nothing like those used in the experiment, and the origin of life remains a mystery?

It appears to be a favorite tactic of anti-evolutionists to try to tie evolutionary biology with the question of the origins of life. The truth is, biological evolution, natural selection, and common ancestry don’t say anything about how life began. Life could have started any number of ways; evolution is merely the proposed mechanism to explain the diversity and robustness of modern life.

That being said, we aren’t completely in the dark as to how life on Earth began. Unfortunately, we may never be able to prove how life on Earth began, but rather only likely ways that it could have began. While there is some controversy as to whether the Miller-Urey experiment replicated the atmospheric conditions of early Earth¹, it did show us the possibility of creating the building blocks of organic life from non-living materials. In that respect, it is still an important experiment, with implications for our search for the origin of life.

Regardless, this is not a criticism of evolution — it’s a criticism of the Miller-Urey experiment.
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This is truly beautiful. A little more than thirty years after introducing a mere 10 Italian Wall Lizards to an isolated island off the coast of Croatia, scientists discover a new generation populated by roughly 5000 lizards. Even more astounding, the species has evolved considerably, a feat usually requiring millions of years to accomplish:

In just a few decades the 5-inch-long (13-centimeter-long) lizards have developed a completely new gut structure, larger heads, and a harder bite, researchers say.

In 1971, scientists transplanted five adult pairs of the reptiles from their original island home in Pod Kopiste to the tiny neighboring island of Pod Mrcaru, both in the south Adriatic Sea.

Genetic testing on the Pod Mrcaru lizards confirmed that the modern population of more than 5,000 Italian wall lizards are all descendants of the original ten lizards left behind in the 1970s.

Yes, ladies and gentlemen… As if it were ever necessary, we now have a recent, formal scientific experiment supporting Evolution and refuting Creationism.

Perhaps lizards just hate Ben Stein.

Link.