Evolution - what is the most recent evidence?

Question

What have recent fossil discoveries and studies of DNA added to the theory of evolution? Are there any other recent developments?

Here is where Yahoo Answers excels. Yes, I could look it up, but people wanting to advocate their point of view are often more motivated to "make the best case."

My views are not at issue. What info do YOU have? I have only heard dribs and drabs. Links would be great. Thanks.

Answer 1

There've been a couple of recent discovers about the PitX1 gene and its influence on evolution.

"Manatee Bones Lead To New Insight On Evolution"
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/08/060830213820.htm

"Same Mutation Aided Evolution in Many Fish Species, Stanford Study Finds"
http://mednews.stanford.edu/releases/2005/march/stickleback.html

The oldest modern human skull we've found has been dated at about 195K years old, which matches genetic studies that suggest our species in about 200K years old.

"The oldest Homo sapiens"
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2005-02/uou-toh021105.php

And there's daily confirmation from the world of genetics:

"At the current rate, which is increasing exponentially, over 20,000 new sequences are deposited at GenBank every day, amounting to over 34 million new bases sequenced every day. Each and every one is a test of the theory of common descent."
http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/comdesc/section1.html

JMB

Answer 2

Isn’t evolution defined as “the idea that generations of organisms change slowly over time to be better able to live in their environment”? If this were true, then wouldn’t the original state or morph be extinct? Meaning that since the evolutionist believes humans evolved from monkeys, then there ought to be no more monkeys, seeing humans did not only evolved into the state of adaptation but can also breed. Or is the evolutionist also alleging the monkeys are still around because humans are yet to adapt?

And Paulcvlln, why camouflage? Wouldn't a particular or definite state suffice?

Answer 3

Antibiotic-resistant bacteria are a solid golden example of organisms changing in response to environmental pressure. If that ain't evolution, what is?

Fifty years ago there were no antibiotic resistant bacteria, because antibiotics had not become commonplace. But the following half-century has seen a spectacular volume of antibiotics dumped into our environment, especially ones given to farm animals to promote weight gain. Subsequently, chance mutations in bacteria have conferred immunity to certain ones that suddenly have a survival advantage as these chemicals become more and more common. It hasn't taken very long at all to find ourselves facing nasty, nasty bugs like MRSA (methicyllin resistant staphylococcus aureus).

And if you think bacteria evolve quickly, take a look at retroviruses. HIV evolves so frantically and quickly that EVERY TIME it infects someone it is a different strain, and every patient has a unique proile to their infection's genetics. This is due to the horrendously sloppy job that reverse transcriptase does copying the viral RNA into DNA to infect the host cell. It gets about 1 base pair in 2000 wrong! That's an unbelievably high error rate, and many HIV viruses simply don't work at all. But it makes it impossible to train the immune system to identify HIV.

How's THAT for evolution?

Answer 4

attempt status next on your parents, or grandparents. Do you spot you're taller than them? Then, bypass to Mt. Vernon and stroll for the time of the doorway. this is totally short. the conventional human top has extra suitable dramatically on condition that then. this is evolution. Evolution isn't based on advancing the species. this is predicated on being waiting to bypass alongside your DNA- and in user-friendly terms the main helpful can survive to try this. have not you ever heard of the pepper moths? till now the business revolution, they have been discovered specifically to be very mild in shade. notwithstanding, after the business revolution have been given relatively vast, specifically dark moths have been discovered. do you understand why? The timber replaced shade. The pollutants from the factories darkened the timber. in user-friendly terms the dark moths ought to survive to bypass on their genes, because of the fact they coucld camoflauge extra effective. That grew to become into in user-friendly terms a 75 3 hundred and sixty 5 days span. Are the 1700's no longer present day adequate for you? 3 hundred years in comparison to the age of the earth (4.5 billion years, in authentic existence, no longer likely with the help of the Genesis fantasy) is so indescribably short. And what approximately Darwin's observations? The finches of the Galapagos Islands are distinctive species. They differentiated and adjusted because of the fact of their distinctive environments. i do no longer particularly understand advice on the thank you to so blatantly forget approximately on the subject of the worldwide around you. this is in all possibility pointless to even provide you any info, given which you will no longer study it or have self assurance it besides. nicely, i in my view have self assurance what has been shown carefully and scientifically, no longer a narrative that grew to become into made up some thousand years in the past. heavily nonetheless, i could very much relish if somebody ought to describe to me why they ask this variety of question on the medical internet site, whilst they actually do no longer choose a medical answer? in case you may answer that for me, i could relish it.

Answer 5

The link below is about a recent finding of an intermediate between fish an amphibia.

Anyway, the topic is not really interesting, since it's hard to imagine any alternative to evolution: Has Homo Sapiens been around since big bang? Or did the first humans just pop into existence out of thin air? Or did we arrive from outer space? Or were we synthesized in a test tube by some ancient civilized?)

Answer 6

Who said you need any recent evidence to believe in evolution?
Just observe birds and mammals swimming in the sea. Birds that can't fly anymore, mammals that fly. Moths that changed their camouflage to adapt living in our cities... and so on. Just observe around you.
I don't understand the creationists. Who has the authority to tell me which method God has chosen for its creation? For sure He has created the rules for the evolution to take place. So the living creatures must adapt to the environment and be stronger faster or smarter than their enemies or prey, or perish!

Answer 7

Check out http://www.talkorigins.org/

You can find almost anything related to evolution there except the willful ignorance of creationism.

Answer 8

the lise