Public talk today on evolution today

Witness 007

I love how they have no evidence go off in a completely different direction.

bohm

Inspiration for the talk:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xwdba9C2G14

Emery

hmmm let me guess did they say something to the effect of....

"THEY THINK WE CAME FROM MONKEYS!" ...?

Yup. "Darwin's theory is still JUST a theory. After all these years. Many supposed enlightened minds even disagree with his version of how evolution works." Makes you want to stand up and scream, it's been 150 years! Of course science and evolutionary science has advanced!!!!

Julia, I wasn't intending to call you out and I don't think your simple minded at all. I was just pointing out that belief in a creator or creation of the initial life, does not discredit evolution. Even if God exists, evolution seems to be the proven way life works. How did life get here? That's another argument. Abiogenesis is I think that discussion, not sure? But, life evolving and survival of the fittest are proven facts.

Another rant - how can WT say that Neanderthals and Cro Magnon man were just other human races when the DNA is wrong? If my understanding is correct we share 4% of DNA with Neanderthals. So we had a common ancestor or interbreeding took place. If they were a human race wouldn't the DNA all match? I'm still new to this and learning as fast as I can.

keyser soze

And this is why higher education is discouraged among JWs- so information like this can be propagated without anyone calling BS.

jgnat

tiktaalik, can't resist:

Tenants of evolution: http://itol.embl.de/

Tenets of evolution: http://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Evolution#The_principles_of_evolution

Natural variability
Differential fitness
The "fittest" will produce more offspring

cofty

to make an enzyme the protein needs to undergo seven simultaneous mutations or folds, of exactly the right type. The chance of this happening randomly is 10 to the power of 77 at a conservative estimate. Things in molecular biology like this make me think more was involved than natural selection.

I would like to challenge that Julia.

Proteins are chains of even smaller molecules, amino acids, which also fold themselves in highly determined ways. The amino-acid sequence is determined by the by the DNA code, each set of three letters (codon) results in a different one of twenty possible amino acids. The sequence of amino-acids twist and turn in specific ways like a necklace of curiously shaped magnets simply following the laws of chemistry and thermo-dynamics. The important point for evolution is that any mutation in the DNA will result in a different sequence of amino acids that will fold up in a different way to form a different protein molecule. If that consequence affects survival the changed gene will stand or fall in competition in the gene pool.

Protein molecules fold themselves up into their unique and distinctive shapes complete with subtle dents in their surface. It is these details that determine the proteins role as an enzyme, which is a catalyst.

The living cell is like a huge chemistry lab containing a many different chemicals. Unlike a lab though the chemicals are not stored in separate containers but all mixed up together, however the chemicals do not react with one another unless an enzyme is present.

Catalysts speed up chemical reactions by as much as a billion or even a trillion times. Enzymes, which are protein catalysts are champions among enzymes because of their specificity.

Let’s take two chemicals which we will call substance A and substance B. These two molecules are happy to get together but in reality never do so. The reason is entirely mechanical in nature. The molecules can fit together like a key in a lock but as they spin around in the chemical soup inside a cell they just never meet up in the right way. What is needed is a chemical matchmaker. A specific enzyme has a precise shape on its surface that readily captures substance A and in such a way that it’s facing the right way to get it together with a passing molecule of B. Having done its job the enzyme leaves the newly formed molecule A-B to their life together while it floats on seeking new As and Bs it can introduce to each other.

A cell is therefore a versatile chemical factory that can produce a wide variety of different substances depending on which enzyme is present.

Today we see enzymes that are very efficient at peforming specific tasks but iow imagine an enzyme that is very crudely fitted for a particualr reaction. Even this primitive enzyme is better than no enzyme at all. Future mutations may cause changes in its amino acid sequence cause subtle changes in its shape and improvements in its efficacy. This step-by-step process is natural selection at a molecular level. Natural selection is a "chance accumulator".

To review and put it in context....

The nucleus of every cell contains the entire set of genes or genome, with only a minority of genes turned on in any particular cell. The sequence of letters (ATCG) of the active genes is read off in groups of three as codons that code for specific amino acids. Like a necklace of oddly shaped magnets the amino acids determine the shape of the protein molecules that they form. The shape of the molecule determines the precisely shaped sockets that marry up the substances drifting around in the cell. For example a particular enzyme will cause a thyroid cell to produce thyroid hormones. Finally the chemical reactions that go on in a cell determine the way it is shaped and how it behaves and participates with other cells in the origami style interactions that form the various parts of the embryo. This leads to differences in the form and behaviour of adults which effects their success in survival and reproduction. This then feeds back on their survival in the gene pool of the genes that made the difference between success or failure in the first place.

AND THIS IS NATURAL SELECTION.

Sorry its taken me a few hours to reply but I have been decorating this evening. I hope that you can see that your claim about the chaces of an enzyme coming about by "chance" is based on a faulty understanding of how evolution works.

alecholmesthedetective

Black and white thinking prevails in the Kingdom Hell.

Yes punkofnice, I can still remember a talk by a missionary talking about blood fractions and conscience matters in which he said that for Jehovah ™ there are no 'grey areas', only black and white, he knew what was right and wrong. I remember being so confused by that statement, why didn't I wake up back then? Here we had a missionary blatantly admitting the WT was a cult!

So many unsubstantiated claims in the OT for which no evidence in archaelogy or science can be found, it's really irritating that friends or family refuse to "Face the Facts"™.

Julia Orwell

Bohm and cofty,

You clearly know more about this than I do. Forgive my bold font as I'm using Android and can't turn it off!

Now it's switched itself off...you have given me a lot to think about as well as directions for research. Thanks. I'm not going to stick up for a particular theory or belief until I have all the relevant facts....

Finkelstein

What did you expect from poorly educated religious zealots/Charlatans

Public talk today on evolution today - real doozy