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Author Topic:   Powerful evidence for evolution.
bkelly
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Message 1 of 2 (270994)
12-20-2005 1:42 AM


This is information I want to disseminate. I am not after a debate. If anyone does want to debate all or part of this, we can take it to PNT and a new thread. But I do want the widest possible reading. Further, I expect to have little time to post in the next few days. For these reasons, I am posting in Coffee House. I hope this does not appear to be an attempt to circumvent the PNT thread.
This information is found in the book “The Ancestor’s Tale” by Richard Dawkins, from the chapter “Canterbury,” about six pages from the end of that chapter. In this section Dawkins references research and experiments by Sol Spiegelman. A google search will turn up essays on him and further leads about his work. As awesome as this work is, I am simply amazed that he and his work are not reference more often.
Here is my summary of this section.
There is a bacterium of the gut called Escherichia coli, usually abbreviated as e-coli. This bacterium has a parasite called Qb. (The B should be the greek letter so please assume that). Qb is an RNA virus that preys on e-coli.
Before continuing, I must slaughter an old short poem to the briefest possible:
Big fleas have littler fleas to bite-em
And so on infinitum
Back to the story:
Qb infects e-coli and forces e-coli to produce four proteins,
A glue protein so it can stick to e-coli
A coat protein to protect it
A replicase (replication) factor that causes e-coli to make more copies of Qb
A bomb to explode e-coli and release all the new copies of Qb.
Spiegelman was able to isolate the replicase and the Qb RNA. He then put this stuff into water containing the raw materials needed to make RNA and let the experiment run. In this protected environment, the RNA ran amuck making copies of itself.
The copies were all quite similar. This is heredity. It is heredity in a non living entity. Viruses do not exhibit metabolism and are not considered to be alive. Now we have a non-living replicating molecule. (although I may be using molecule rather loosely)
Next he took a drop of this new soup of Qb RNA and replicase and seeded a new tube of raw materials. After letting that fester a while, he took a drop of the new soup and infected a new tube of food (raw building blocks needed to make the RNA and replicase).
At the start, the “RNA had been a necklace of about 3600 ”beads’ long.” After 74 generations it had been paired down to 550. In this protected environment with no need to build the glue or the bomb, the required abilities of this RNA were not nearly as stringent as the original Qb. As a result, the complexity that Qb needed to survive was not required, the RNA could replicate without out it, gradual loss did not affect its survivability, it became simpler. It evolved.
It continued to retain the fundamental characteristic of being able to replicate. It can no longer infect e-coli, but in this controlled environment, that is not necessary.
Now here is an extremely important bit of information. This experiment has been repeated. It can be repeated at will. If you take the time to lean enough about biology and chemistry to do this, you too can create your own strain and you too will create a simplified Qb RNA.
This experiment is important for many reasons. Among them, to a layman such as myself: It is predictable. It is testable. It is verifiable. It demonstrates the theory of evolution.
The theory of evolution is more than just a theory, it is indeed a proven fact.
Dawkins presents much more evidence and many more conclusions that I could possibly show here without copying his work. If you have any interest in evolution, read some of his books. From the font of this book the list is: the Selfish Gene, The Extended Phenotype, The Blind Watchmaker, River Out of Eden, Climbing Mount Improbable, Unweaving the Rainbow, A Devil’s Chaplain, and this book, The Ancestor’s Tale.
The Blind Watchmaker is a gentle start for laymen such as myself. As I recall, it is good medicine for the irreducible complexity disease that seems to afflict so many.
As I noted at the start, I am not after a debate, but if you find this interesting enough to do more reading, I would like to know.
Thank you for taking the time to read this.

Replies to this message:
 Message 2 by Adminnemooseus, posted 12-20-2005 1:53 AM bkelly has not replied

Adminnemooseus
Administrator
Posts: 3974
Joined: 09-26-2002


Message 2 of 2 (270998)
12-20-2005 1:53 AM
Reply to: Message 1 by bkelly
12-20-2005 1:42 AM


Gotta slam the door on this one.
Coffee House violation. Can't make exceptions.
Resubmit it as a Proposed New Topic, if you want it discussed. But I think it needs a fair amount of work to be promotable.
Adminnemooseus
This message has been edited by Adminnemooseus, 12-20-2005 01:53 AM

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This message is a reply to:
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