A Froggy Situation
The weekly science journal Nature reported an amazing factoid yesterday. They now have a “classic example” of Darwinian evolution in action!
Its name is Bufo marinus (a cane toad). This fat, ugly, poisonous creature is the next straw that evolution is clutching. Why? Well, its legs are long.
That in and of itself is not that amazing. But here is the clencher: the toads with shorter legs cannot hop as far! In a series of tests run by researchers from the University of Sydney, it was confirmed that the toads with shorter legs did not move as fast as toads with longer legs.
“[The researchers] were astonished to find that the creatures can hop up to 1.8 kms (1.1 miles) a night during wet weather, a record for any frog or toad,” said the Agence France-Presse in an article at Yahoo! News. “But even more remarkable was the discovery that the first toads to arrive at the front invariably had longer hind legs than those which arrived later.”
This particular toad has historically expanded its range by around 10 miles per year. However, a mutation has apparently destroyed the gene that prevents uncontrolled leg growth, so the lengthened legs are allowing toads to expand up to 30 miles per year.
In order for Darwinian evolution to occur, there would have to be an actual increase in genetic material. Mutations are copying errors that result in a loss of genetic material, not a gain. Sorry, scientists. Next time, try learning the difference between natural selection (less capable creatures cannot pass their genes on) and Darwinian evolution (creatures increase their genetic material, sprout wings and feathers, and start flying).
In Him,
David S. MacMillan III
Jenn Joshua said,
March 1, 2006 at 9:24 pm
Your blog is impressive!
Is there really a real “Christian” divorcement ceremony like the one I wrote about? I had no clue! I’ve been on your “In Rejection of Mediocrity” blog – and if I was better at html I would link to both of them. Thanks for adding mine to yours!
I also appreciate you visiting my blog – I should tell my sister about your other blog because she loves apologetics and philosophy.
God bless!
Take care,
Jenn
David S. MacMillan III said,
March 2, 2006 at 2:09 am
Hey Jenn,
Yes, there is a “Christian” divorcement ceremony that took place a few years ago (I think). At least that is what I remember. I will have to take a closer look at that.
I think there may be some confusion: I really only have one blog, In Rejection of Mediocrity. The other blog you are thinking of might be The Account. It is owned by David Ketter, an old friend of mine.
I haven’t yet added your site to my blogroll because I am really busy working (it is my first week and I am working in a law office). But I will probably add it once I get the new version of In Rejection of Mediocrity up and running.
In Him,
David
Anonymous said,
March 9, 2006 at 4:55 am
you mom’s a toad with shorter legs.
CountryGoalie (Hannah) said,
March 10, 2006 at 5:39 pm
To reappear after 11 million years is more exciting than if the rodent really had been a new species, said George Schaller, a naturalist with the Wildlife Conservation Society, which unveiled the creature’s existence last year. Indeed, such reappearances are so rare that paleontologists dub them “the Lazarus effect.”
I just thought that this article: http://articles.news.aol.com/news/article.adp?id=20060309140409990008&ncid=NWS00010000000001 - would interest you some. I just had to shake my head when I read it.
Oh, and I had a question - offhand, do you know if Bible scholars place Job as having happened before or after the Flood? I am fascinated by the idea that some of the creatures mentioned in Job were dinosaurs. Personally, I don’t find it all that far-fetched to say that yes, there really were a handful of “dragons” in medieval times, nor that there could, indeed, be something in a loch of Scotland.
Call me crazy, right?
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