Lobe-Finned Fish Supplies Surprises
by Brian Thomas, M.S. *
It was once the banner fossil behind the idea that land-walking creatures emerged from fish with overgrown fins. The lobe-finned fish was found in strata deemed 400 million years old—close to the time when land creatures supposedly evolved—making a tidy evolutionary story. But that didn't last long. Marjorie Courtenay-Latimer became famous for finding the live creature on a small fishing boat in 1938. A new survey of the critically endangered fish's genes shows that they are not finished divulging surprises.
A team led by German researchers from Ruhr-University Bochum published the first genetic population survey of these storied fishes in the journal Current Biology.1 They analyzed DNA sequences from 71 adult coelacanth fish.
The team analyzed the most variable region of the mitochondrial chromosome, the "d-loop." After 400 million years, different fish populations should show significant differences, but only 8 of 726 ceolacanth d-loop base pairs showed variation. Such a low number of differences is easily explained if coelacanth are only thousands of years old.
The study authors wrote in Current Biology, "Either the evolutionary rate in Latimeria chalumnae [coelacanth] is extremely slow or haplotypes may have diverged rather recently after the species went through a bottleneck."2 To have only produced 8 out of 726 base pairs in mitochondrial DNA's most highly variable region after 400 million supposed years would be a rate so "extremely slow" that it defies credibility.
On the other hand, recent species divergence fits the genetic data. But it also fits the creation model, wherein coelacanth fish were created only thousands of years ago. Some died and were buried in Noah's Flood to later become world famous fossils, and a few others survived through the Flood to eventually produce today's populations.
As if still-living coelacanths were not enough of a blow to evolutionary dogma, its genetics now also confirm biblical creation.
References
- Wieler, J. 400 million years old, but still capable of adapting. Ruhr-University Bochum press release, July 13, 2012.
- Lampert, K.P. et al. 2012. Population divergence in East African coelacanths. Current Biology. Published online before print. 22 (11): R439-R440.
* Mr. Thomas is Science Writer at the Institute for Creation Research.
====================================================
In The Magic Man in the Sky, Carl Gallups has given us an exciting insight into the many unanswered questions of evolution theory and, based on biblical truths – both prophecies and promises, the possibilities of other worlds and realities denied by evolutionists. With his open and frank approach, supported by extensive research and information from learned professionals in their respective fields, Carl challenges believers and unbelievers to take a serious look at the subjects discussed in this book. Ultimately, Carl invites every reader to seriously consider the gravity and consequences of accepting or rejecting the truth presented. In this hour of all-but-universal darkness, a bright ray of hope and confidence shines forth from the truths of this book. In a time when lives are marked by a growing hunger for spiritual realities, Carl Gallups reveals the truth that real science and Holy Scripture are inseparably linked to verify that behind all creation there is an intelligent designer who created all that exists.
No comments:
Post a Comment