The really novel nature of this work is the visualization of intracellular structure of embryonic cells that are 550 MY old.
The discovery of such delicate microstructures in fossilized form is unprecedented to my knowledge.
They provide a unique opportunity to contrast the cellular development of very primitive extinct animals with that of extant organisms that are already well described. A number of important similarities and contrasts have already been noted. These comparisons will provide insights into how cellular development has evolved since the Cambrian explosion and evolutionary theory is certain to be used in interpreting their significance.
A focus of the discussion could be that the very primitive intracellular structure revealed is consistent with the evolutionary view that no complex life existed at that time and completely inconsistent with the Creo view that all life was created at once, and that what followed was a loss of diversity after 'The Fall'.
Regardless of any contention that dating techniques might be flawed, these geological strata, that were apparently formed in conditions remarkably conducive to fossilization, contain no complex higher organisms that should be there if the Creo view were to be supported.
Here is the Astract from the
Science article.
quote:
Stereoblastic embryos from the Doushantuo Formation of China exhibit occasional asynchronous cell division, with diminishing blastomere volume as cleavage proceeded. Asynchronous cell division is common in modern embryos, implying that sophisticated mechanisms for differential cell division timing and embryonic cell lineage differentiation evolved before 551 million years ago. Subcellular structures akin to organelles, coated yolk granules, or lipid vesicles occur in these embryos. Paired reniform structures within embryo cells may represent fossil evidence of cells about to undergo division. Embryos exhibit no evidence of epithelial organization, even in embryos composed of 1000 cells. Many of these features are compatible with metazoans, but the absence of epithelialization is consistent only with a stem-metazoan affinity for Doushantuo embryos.
Released from Message 3 of thread Embryonic fossils 500 MY old - a YEC explanation? in the [forum=-25] forum. --Admin