Atheists... if evolution takes millions of years, how are bacteria and viruses proof?

Answer 1

Bacteria and viruses have shorter life cycles than other organisms. It doesn't take as long to notice changes in subsequent generations.

7th grade Science

Answer 2

Because some bacteria and viruses have life spans measured in minutes or hours, the effect of random genetic mutation can be observed and studied. If one of those random genetic mutations benefits the organism, enabling it to better survive a hostile environment and the organism passes that change down to future generations and this change then becomes the norm, it gives evidence of the possibility that the same thing can happen in longer lived species.

Edit: Don't worry about how you worded your question. We all understood, and as far as appearing uneducated on the subject of evolution, what's wrong with that? That's why you asked the question. To learn something. I have often been judged on the fact that I didn't complete high school. Education means little if you don't have the intelligence to back it up.

Answer 3

let me break down this argument, beginning first with what evolution is: evolution is basically natural selection, and it says that ppl or animals, or even bacteria pass on their genes, but in order to do so, they must be alive (obviously), therefore those who live longer have higher chances of procreating and those in healthy environments and with access to resources like immunization shots or food and clean water are more likely to sustain themselves and their progeny than those without all of that... common sense right?

now, the difference between those who believe in evolution and those who claim not to (no offense if you fall into that category), is that those who do may believe that humans evolved from bacteria (that evolved into eukaryotes that evolved into animals and eventually humans) and those who do not dont believe that humans evolved from bacteria...

however, you cannot deny the fact that the only people or animals or bacteria/viruses that reproduce are the ones that can reproduce in the first place and then sustain those offspring... that is a fact and it does not violate religious beliefs: i mean consider this- arent you here because your parents and their parents and so on were able to live long enugh to have kids and ensure those chlildren's survival? yeah, so that is evolution- it does not have to be humans from cells, not at all...

and how are bacteria and viruses proof of evolution (that occurred over millions of yrs)- well, those bacteria and viruses may be very closely related to older bacteria found in hot springs or something (genetically speaking)...

another route to take is that some bacteria have survived in the form of mitochondria (that have different DNA, ribosomes, etc. than the cell it inhabits), for example- they found that they had better chances of surviving if they inhabited another "creature" (even though this was purely by accident)... and viruses are an example of evolution that took place over millions of years because they have changed over time to become stronger and increasingly immune to human immunizations that are used to kill bacteria... for more info, just google the question... i hope this helps you in some way...

oh, and im not an athiest- i do believe in a god and i do believe that evolution happened and is still happening today- and now i hope u can see how that doesnt conflict 4 me

Answer 4

Evolution does not have to take millions of years. Bacteria and viruses evolve/adapt much more quickly. The reason it's so fast is that they are evolving into other ( still simple ) bacteria and viruses that have individual characteristics such as survival in the face of antibiotics and vaccinations, respectively. Evolution takes longer when the relevant features are more complex.

In the Galapagos Islands that Darwin discussed, species of finches adapt over periods of twenty years ( see The Beak of the Finch ).

Answer 5

Any morphological change in a population over time is considered evolution, regardless of how long it takes. Bacteria evolve rapidly because they reproduce so frequently. A human has to grow for more than a decade before it can reproduce. This means that it would be a very long time before enough generations can pass before noticable changes have accumulated.

Bacteria, on the other hand, can reproduce every twenty MINUTES or so, which makes the changes to their genome accumulate very quickly compared to any vertebrate. This is why they provide excellent experimental examples of evolution - because you can actually see the changes happen within a human lifespan. Much to the chagrin of doctors, sick people and vaccine developers everywhere.

Answer 6

Evolution takes thousands of generations.

For humans that is tens of thousands of years.


For influenza that is 6 months.


Also what sort of evolution are we talking about?

New variety of species?
New species?
New family of genus?
. . .

The first takes hundreds of generations, longer for asexual reproduction to produce a noticeable change.

The next takes more generations, and so on.


So the easiest thing to see evolution in is something that has a really fast generation. The bacteria and viruses reproduce in hours. Influenza evolves into new strains, hence the need for an annual flu shot. Staph bacteria evolve to become resistant to some antibiotics. Those strains survive and evolve resistance to other antibiotics, then you get MRSA.

Answer 7

Bacteria and viruses adapt according to processes defined by the theory of evolution. They affirm the theory, but alone they do not constitute proof of anything—and no one claims that they do.

In any case, Atheism only means disbelief in God(s) and has nothing at all to do with evolution or anything else.

If you were really interested in learning about the evolutionary processes and characteristics of microscopic organisms, you would have placed your question in the Science and Mathematics category where it belongs.

Answer 8

It would not want tens of millions of years that a sparkling species seems. After some experiments it would want to take position for the duration of about 13 generations! a very conventional social gathering for the evolution of a sparkling species is Tragopogon mirus. That there are a range of of less transitional fossils is logical, because basically some everybody is fossilized. In some elements can fossils get up fairly than in others. Many species are migrating. so that you are able to not falsify evolution by technique of claiming that there are basically some transitional fossils. "there's no evidence of animals handing over to a unique variety of animal in any respect!" Whats with breeding? A dachshund is an different variety of canines, than a German shepherd! "the position as evolution theory has no evidence in any respect." Very incorrect. Creationism has no practice in any respect! @ Paulio: the position are you able to come across punctualism in a contemporary answer? are you able to outline "transitional fossil"? because it makes no sense in any respect to ask for X with out saying what you advise with X and than to declare, that noone can locate X.

Answer 9

I'm not an atheist.

You need to re-word your question... how are bacteria and viruses proof... of what?

Evolution doesn't always take millions of years.

If you are going to criticize evolution you need to read a lot more about it so that you don't look like an uneducated person talking about something they don't really know anything about.

Answer 10

Bacteria and viruses replicate and reproduce at a much faster rate than mammals like us. We can see bacteria and viruses adapt to its changing environment through their generations. Whereas we cannot readily do this with humans unless we wait a really long time.