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I Accept the Theory of Evolution

Humans and chimpanzees both carry inactive genes acquired from viruses.
This occurs because some viruses insert a copy of their genome into the DNA of whichever species they infect. These are called retro-viruses... HIV is one such.

Where such viruses infect the cells that produce sperm and eggs, they can be passed on across generations.

The human genome contains thousands of these remnants of long-past infections... now rendered harmless... and so does the chimpanzee genome.

Most of them are in exactly the same place on both genomes.
That’s astonishing, so I’ll repeat it: most of them are on [i]exactly[/i] the same place on both genomes.

Let’s choose an explanation from a few (non-exhaustive) options:

1. astonishing coincidence

2. when the gods created humans they decided to sprinkle around several thousand retro-viruses, and they put the preponderance of retroviruses at matching sites on both species because... umm... because... well... because... stop questioning the gods!

3. The majority of retroviruses match because both species inherited them from a common ancestor, who had itself accumulated them from the line of its own descent.

The small number which do not match are the remnants of infections that each species has warded off independently since divergence from the common ancestor... as predicted by the Theory of Evolution.
I love this. You're brilliant. 🧐
zork0000 · 56-60, M
@DarkHeaven There is a weekly radio show on CBC that's called Quirks and Quarks. It covers topics from all different sciences (physics, anthropology, ecology, astronomy, chemistry, geology, sociology, etc., etc.).

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quirks_%26_Quarks

https://www.cbc.ca/radio/quirks

https://www.cbc.ca/radio/podcasts/mobile/science-and-tech/quirks-quarks/

The first host back in the 70s was David Suzuki.
@zork0000 Cool. I’ve always been curious. Both a blessing and a curse.
@zork0000 This is great. I'll look into it.
zork0000 · 56-60, M
Awesome post!

An easier to see proof is when a human fetus is grossly mutated and has fish scales or horns or a tail.

This means that these structures are carried in our genome from the far distant past. Evolution is caused by mutations but they do not happen on such a grand scale in a single generation. The change from scales to skin (or back again) occur with fractional differences over millennia.

Since spontaneous formation of a tail is far too complex to happen, it can only mean that we have these features buried in our genetic code from ancestors from millions and millions of years ago.
CookieLuvsBunny · 31-35, F
How dare you use biochemistry and genetics as explanations. It was a magical fairy with a blue wand
CookieLuvsBunny · 31-35, F
@newjaninev2 Well don't let it happen again or the wizard will come out from behind the curtain
newjaninev2 · 56-60, F
@CookieLuvsBunny I expect angry clerics to stone me to death at any moment... especially since this morning I'm wearing mixed fabrics!
CookieLuvsBunny · 31-35, F
@newjaninev2 The fact that you have an opinion is probably reason enough😆
I read somewhere, I can't remember where, that those same similarities exist between humans and other animals. Not just chimps.
newjaninev2 · 56-60, F
@AcidBurn: You score a lot of Brownie Points with me by saying 'humans and other animals'. It's astonishing how many people think that humans aren't animals (although yes, I have met a few who could well have been vegetables) :)

Because of common ancestry we share genes with [i]all[/i] other species, of course. The match moves away from identical, and more into similar, the further away our common ancestry lies in genetic space (as you'd expect).
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@newjaninev2 The dead giveaway is how every living thing uses DNA (or RNA). Remarkable coincidence!
dark548 · M
Very interesting 🤔 sources are also nice but I realize those take time to site
newjaninev2 · 56-60, F
@dark548fromEP: I can find some references for you if you'd like to explore the background to the piece... I'd be happy to do that for you.
dark548 · M
@newjaninev2: It's alright, you don't have to. Thanks for Interesting info though 👌
Per Occam's razor principle the high probabilities favor common ancestry.
Tatsumi · 31-35, M
Reminds me of the, probably irrelevant, fact that the human genome contains a deactivated gene for dog-level smell. From...What's his name. I'm too tired to remember. The British super-athiest biologist who always goes around vehemnently dispelling religious ideas.
This message was deleted by the author of the main post.
@Tatsumi Richard Dawkins?

That's fascinating, I never heard that before. I was mocking a guy on here who claimed to be able to smell as well as a dog; maybe he wasn't exaggerating. Although, humans lack the physical turbinate structures that dogs and other animals with long snouts have, so even if the "software" could be activated, our "hardware" couldn't run it.
Mk8155 · M
Hard to get those chimps to wear condoms
newjaninev2 · 56-60, F
@Mk8155 Even worse, they're extremely promiscuous
Mk8155 · M
Lucky rascals
Cabernetfranc · 80-89, M
What? A scientist on SW...you will disrupt the entire social order.😡❤
Uncfred · 61-69, M
I learned something new today, thanks.
Tennessee · 46-50, F
Alabamians don't get HIV
newjaninev2 · 56-60, F
@Tennessee So if I move to Alabama I’ll automatically become immune to the HIV virus?
helenS · 36-40, F
My question in this context is: are human experiences [i]completely[/i] determined by biochemical processes and their historical evolution? Is experiencing the color "yellow" [i]identical[/i] to some brain activity? Electric signals (as produced by neurons) are [i]not yellow[/i], after all.
newjaninev2 · 56-60, F
@helenS I feel that you're probably exploring the development of phenotypes (rather than genotypes) - is that right?
Thereyouare · 56-60, M
I believe in both but do you not find it interesting that chimpanzees and apes cannot swim at all they sink and black people cannot swim either not full blooded black people
newjaninev2 · 56-60, F
@Thereyouare [quote]I believe in both[/quote]

I'm not sure what the other scientific Theory might be, so I'm not sure what you mean by 'both', but the Theory of Evolution by Natural Selection doesn't require belief... it's the best explanation to date that consistently, completely, and coherently explains the available evidence.

[quote]chimpanzees and apes cannot swim at all[/quote]

All primates (bonobos, humans, apes, and chimpanzees) can [i]learn[/i] to swim… but it does need to be learned.

Among the primates, this is easiest for humans, because they have a much greater percentage of body fat than the other primates, so it’s easier for humans to float. The extra body fat helps us to regulate our temperature, because although we have as many hairs per square centimetre as a chimpanzee, our hair is finer and shorter

Humans are also the sweatiest primate, once again to help us to regulate our temperature (incidentally, this means that we’re also the smelliest primate).

[quote]black people cannot swim either not full blooded black people[/quote]

I have no idea what you mean by the term ‘full blooded black people’.
Are you referring to people who have more melanin in their skin than you?

Only 30% of African-Americans can swim, and this reflects the prejudice and segregation that was common in your country in the last century… African-Americans were denied access to aquatic recreational facilities. Once given the opportunity to learn, African-Americans swim just as well as any other human. Why wouldn’t they?
QuixoticSoul · 41-45, M
@Thereyouare Black people can swim, holy shit. Is this serious???
@Thereyouare I was about to say, I used to live in Africa, and the only reason people didn't swim was because of the lack of clean water. But they learned to swim just fine in swimming pools.
1GHOST · M
first ; wow NearMiss

2nd ; I believe in both theories - that is to say that I do believe in a higher power . But I also believe that a life form can and does evolve to survive in its environment .
@1GHOST The official position of the Catholic Church is, more or less, "God created evolution."
newjaninev2 · 56-60, F
@LeopoldBloom the catholic church, desperate to appear relevant, a real giving the impression that 'they accept the Theory of Evolution by Natural Selection '.

They don't.

They're trying to ring-fence humans, because human evolution removes Adam and Eve, which removes original sin, which removes any need for Jesus, which removes their power and influence.

Additionally, they want to replace natural selection with direction by their magical entity (they're marketing it as theistic evolution, or some such)

No sale.

You don't get to exclude a species simply because it suits you to do so, and you don't get to use magic. There's no compelling necessity for it, and it's not an explanatory mechanism.
@newjaninev2
The Catholic Church has found that they don’t have to feed on the dribble of evolution, a scientific theory birthed in the racism of the British elite. You sound intelligent. I’m sorry you sold your soul to that tripe.
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Mk8155 · M
Interesting. Do you believe aides came from monkeys?
newjaninev2 · 56-60, F
@Mk8155 The HIV-1 strain (the virulent, easily transmitted strain that we see worldwide) has been traced to chimpanzees, where it's known as the simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV).

The much rarer, and less transmittable, HIV-2 strain seems to be associated with Old World monkeys in West Africa.

So, as far as we humans are concerned, the source is chimpanzees rather the monkeys i.e. it's primate to primate.
@newjaninev2 I thought one theory is that the virus crossed from chimps to humans around 100 years ago when a hunter ate an infected chimp. It was brought from Africa to the West by a French airline steward.
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EuphoricTurtle · 41-45, M
@newjaninev2: great response
masterofyou · 70-79, M
@TotalMiss she doesn't know how....
newjaninev2 · 56-60, F
@masterofyou nor do I see the need to do so just because what I say makes you uncomfortable.
Alabamiangods · 41-45, F
Why are there so many deleted comments?
newjaninev2 · 56-60, F
@Alabamiangods I made those deletions several months ago. As I recall, some juvenile kept posting puerile and irrelevant comments... the sort of inane drivel that happens when children have inadequate parental supervision.
SW-User
This is clear and concise commentary. Nicely done.
Tennessee2 · 80-89, F
How many snps do grapes and apples have?

 
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