On Fri, 15 May 1998 16:35:20 -0400, Brian D Harper wrote:
[...]
>>>SJ>Here are some summaries from the most recent SCIENCE Online...
>>>>which suggest big problems may be loooming for evolution:
>>BH>What are the big problems?
>>SJ>If you can't see any potential "big problems" for evolution in
>>the items I posted then probably for you there cannot be any
>>"big problems" for evolution, Brian!
BH>I did not say that there were no potential big problems
But you implied it.
BH>I merely asked you what they were since you provided no supporting
>arguments as to why the items you posted presented a problem
>for evolution.
They speak for themself. In any event: 1) I pointed out that I did not have access
to the full articles; and 2) all I said was that the summaries "suggest big
problems may be loooming for evolution."
BH happen to think that problems are what make science both
>interesting and challenging.
If that is the case, then why don't you post what "problems" you
find "interesting and challenging" about evolution?
>>SJ>After all, a theory that can accommodate anything and its opposite
>>(eg. Eukaryotes descending from Prokaryotes as well as Prokaryotes
>>descending from Eukaryotes), probably *can't* be troubled by anything!
>>But then neither is Astrology!
BH>It's hard to see how this has anything to do with the studies that
>you mentioned. For example, I did not see anyone suggeting that
>Prokaryotes descended from Eukaryotes. What I did see was some
>arguing about what happened during evolution. This type of arguing
>seems to me to be common place in science.
The summary clearly implied that Prokaryotes descended from Eukaryotes:
"EVOLUTION: Direct Descendants From an RNA World...
The newly sequenced microbial genomes are challenging the consensus
that eukaryotes, organisms ranging from yeast to human that have
nucleated cells, evolved from archaea--one kingdom of nonnucleated
prokaryotes--rather than from bacteria, the other prokaryote
kingdom. Now a team of microbial evolutionary biologists suggests
in the January Journal of Molecular Evolution that eukaryote-like
cells actually predated the prokaryotes"
(http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/summary/280/5364/673
At the very least it claimed that eukaryotes did not descend from
prokaryotes, which itself would be a problem for evoltution.
>>SJ>If you think this is a bit unfair, maybe you could let us know what
>>*would* be a "big problem" for evolution?
BH>Hmm..., well if Steve Jones were to become an evolutionist, now
>THAT would be a big problem for evolution. :-)
>
>Just kidding. I'm pretty sure I could do this for any theory of
>evolution you name. But let's not change the subject.
No. Let's not. So now "maybe you could let us know what *would* be a
"big problem" for evolution?
Maybe you could even *define* what you mean by "evolution"?
Steve
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Stephen E (Steve) Jones ,--_|\ sejones@ibm.net
3 Hawker Avenue / Oz \ Steve.Jones@health.wa.gov.au
Warwick 6024 ->*_,--\_/ Phone +61 8 9448 7439
Perth, West Australia v "Test everything." (1Thess 5:21)
--------------------------------------------------------------------