Any practical use for Universal Common Ancestor?

Yeah, there is that. But the thread is still based on a viewpoint he's explicitly rejected.

This thread should have been closed long ago, when it became obvious that he only started it to troll and spout religious inanities.
This thread is truly Bonfire of the Inanities.

... exactly what actually happens. The genome evolves as the species evolves, it is not fixed and immutable as you seem to think.It's that simple.Enjoy

... except that it confirms the prediction made by the Theory of Evolution. ... except that each fossil currently valides the ToE when it fits into the temporal/spatial matrix and the explanation provided by the ToE for getting from one spcies to another via known mechanisms of evolution.Means, motive and opportunity:

• Means: known mechanisms of evolution observed and documented to cause changes in living species.
• Motive: to survive and reproduce.
• Opportunity: the evidence for evolution in the natural history of the earth has only been found where populations are in close proximity to ancestor and descendant populations, and showing intermediate characteristics between ancestor and descendant populations.

Which is just another way of saying "god-did-it" while ignoring the weight of evidence that ccurrently onfirms that the ToE provides a complete explanation of the fossil record, including the constraints of the ToE. Neither aliens nor "progressive creation" provide as complete an explanation of all facets of the evidence.Curious that aliens and gods only created evidence that completely mimics what the process of evolution would produce and only what the ToE predicts would occur.Enjoy

We already know of differences between Homo sapiens and Homo neanderthalis as currently sequenced. We also have some evidence of Denisovian DNA and some of the other Homo species.So we can compare the degree of differences with those of chimps and see what the evidence shows.IIRC this was done a year ago or two ago. The result I remember was that a triangle representing the degrees of differences was formed with the three sides being:

1. Homo sapiens to Homo neanderthalis
   
2. Homo neanderthalis to Pan troglodytes
   
3. Homo sapiens to Pan troglodytes

Where (1) showed lesser degree of differences than either (2) or (3) and that (2) and (3) were approximately of equal degree. This fits with ToE nested hierarchy predictions.Perhaps someone can dig up the old posts on this (Moose?)We can then introduce real numbers into this discussion with Faith and see how far she can take it.Enjoy

Telling the truth is not an ad hominem ... just a statement of fact.Enjoy

It can be confirmed by both the pattern of physical differences and similarities and the same for genetic differences and similarities. We find a correlation between the nested hierarchies in both sets of data which confirms the mechanisms of vertical inheritance and random mutations. Why would aliens produce a nested hierarchy? You need to explain this.

It was Slartibartfast pissing around after he got bored with fjords ;-)

Yes, the entertainment factor should not be minimized. But we should understand that we are being trolled. No need for umbrage.

Try again . you conveniently ignored that part of my question that says "antibiotic resistance". Explain why it's necessary to accept that all life on earth shares a common ancestor in order to understand antibiotic resistance. It's easy to make a stupid, baseless claim; it's not so easy to back it up with a sane explanation or evidence . but have a go.

I don't recall saying that "Ediacaran-type of fauna could not be precursors to the Cambrian ones." However, I do recall saying there is no evidence of evolutionary links between Ediacaran life-forms and the animals that appear in the Cambrian.Edited by Dredge, : No reason given.

No, that's incorrect. I said nothing about believing in aliens - in fact, I definitely don't believe in aliens. I said aliens performing genetic engineering is the best scientific explanation for the fossil record. I also said that science can't explain the fossil record.Edited by Dredge, : No reason given.

Well, to most scientists in the field, the pattern in which the Ediacaran fauna fall is a line of evidence for them being precursors to the Cambrian fauna. The geochemical changes also support the transition from soft-bodies to more durable carbonate skeletons at the same time. This may not be good enough for you, but until there is evidence for something better, that's what I'm going with.Your opinion is noted, but somehow, I don't think it is sincere and you certainly haven't come up with even the remotest evidence for alien genetic engineers.

Very funny.

In some remote corner of an intellectually benighted galaxy, this makes sense.