-
2162 - Evolution on Earth, if diversity of
life on Earth is an indication than the diversity of life in the Universe is
beyond compression. It is even beyond
our imagination. The most incomprehensible
thing about the Universe and life within it is that we are here trying to
comprehend it.
-
-
-
------------------------ 2162
- Evolution - What has God got to do with it?
-
- If diversity
of life on Earth is an indication than the diversity of life in the Universe is
beyond compression. It is even beyond
our imagination. The most incomprehensible
thing about the Universe and life within it is that we are here trying to
comprehend it.
-
- Even life on
Earth is diverse beyond our comprehension.
It starts in the form of microbes that can survive in the most hostile
environments imaginable.
-
- In the depths
of the Mediterranean Sea microbes were found thriving at 2.5 miles below sea
level. The salt concentration was 10 times higher
than seawater. The pressure was 400
times greater than at sea level. At
those depths there is no oxygen and there is no light. These organisms are reducing sulfates to run
their own metabolism.
-
- In the brine
lakes off the coast of Sicily microbes are found living in high concentrations
of magnesium chloride. These microbes
are a new group of Archaea that produce methane. These same microbes could account for the
methane atmosphere that has been found on the planet Mars.
-
- Microbes have
been found in the hot springs of Yellowstone National Park that are using
hydrogen as their primary fuel source. The
temperatures are 170 degrees Fahrenheit.
This is a temperature too high for photosynthesis to exist. Hydrogen is the most abundant element in the
Universe so life elsewhere could be doing the same thing as this life in
Yellowstone.
-
- Beneath sheets
of ice in Siberia and Antarctica are microbes of bacteria, fungi, and algae
thriving in temperatures at 23 degrees Fahrenheit. Some of these microbes are found at depths
over two miles below the surface. These
same microbes are being used to clean up oil spills. They are the same microbes that turn your
milk sour.
-
- Rising 15
stories off the ocean floor at depths of 7,000 feet are hydrothermal vents that
spew acidic , mineral rich, 750 F water.
Microbes are feeding off this mineral rich water around volcanic
chimneys where no sun light can possible reach.
-
- Dredging up
sediment in the deepest part of the Pacific Ocean scientists have uncovered
abundant single cell protists called foraminifera. These soft-shelled animals are living at depths
of 7 miles and in pressures 1,100 times greater than at sea level. The foraminifera are thriving on organic
material that sinks into the deepest trenches in the ocean. Fossil records on these animals indicate they
have been around for at least 550,000,000 years.
-
- Endolths and
Hypoliths are microbes that live inside rocks.
They have been found 2 miles below the Earth's surface feeding on iron,
potassium, and sulfur. Water is scarce
at those depths and this slows down their procreation to where these microbes
only reproduce once every 100 years.
-
- The hypoliths
microbes live in rocks that are translucent, like quartz, because they are
still photosynthetic organism. Their
translucent homes trap moisture and protect them from ultraviolet radiation and
harsh winds found in the Antarctic.
-
- There are 50
known species of microbes that live around hydrothermal vents at temperatures
over 194 F. In fact they do not survive
above 140 F. They easily withstand high
acidity and high radiation. These high temperature
creatures are used in molecular biology research trying to replicate DNA, a
process requiring these same high temperatures.
-
- Microbes have
been found swimming in benzene saturated water that is highly toxic. They have even been found inside the core of
a nuclear reactor. Some of these
microbes can withstand a 15,000 gray dose of radiation. 10 gray will kill a human. 1,000 gray dose will kill a cockroach.
-
- Some microbes
surviving in a low nutritional environment have evolved metabolic processes
that allow them to produce their own sulfur and phosphorus by feeding on their
own organic waste.
-
- The diversity
of microbe life certainly staggers the imagination. Life certainly is not as delicate as we once thought
it was. It has been surviving and
evolving for 3,600,000,000years on our planet.
More recently on the planet , some 30,000,000 years ago, humans,
chimpanzees, gorillas, orangutans and gibbons evolved from "old world
monkeys". During the next
20,000,000 years our ancestors split off from this distinguished group. About 8,000,000 years ago hominids diverged
from the modern chimpanzees.
-
- Our DNA has
3,000,000,000 base units in each genome and more than 98% is the same as a
chimpanzee's. By DNA measure humans are
more like chimps than chimps are like gorillas.
Humans are closer to chimps than two different species of gibbons are to
each other. Excuse me for a moment I
need to scratch my behind.
-
- Evolution
works very slowly but the original hominid species started in Africa, walking
on two feet. For millions of years
multiple bipedal apes evolved. Radiation
caused mutations and some adapted well to their ecological niche. Natural selection allowed survival of only
the species that best adapted to the conditions of a very competitive
environment. About 2,500,000 years ago
homo habilis evolved with a larger brain, half the size of ours today. Using this brain they created the first stone
tools.
-
- The two other
hominoids homo rudolfensis had a bigger body and homo ergaster had a bigger
brain and better tools. All three homo
species lived in Africa at the same time.
-
- About 1,500,000 years ago homo erectus evolved from
homo ergaster. These big brained brutes
left Africa and spread across Asia.
Records show that they survived in Asia to as recently as 30,000 years
ago.
-
- Another
offshoot of homo ergasrer , homo heidelberensis, left Africa and spread across
Europe. Homo neanderthalensis appeared
about 230,000 years ago and survived until 30,000 years ago. About 200,000 years ago homo sapiens arrived
on the scene and spread across the globe rapidly replacing all the remaining
homo species. By 30,000 years ago homo
sapiens were the sole remaining species, except homo floresiensis, the hobbit
like hominids whose bones were recently discovered on the Indonesian island of
Flores.
-
- Over the next
30,000 years homo sapiens began growing crops,
building civilizations, fighting wars, discovering science, inventing technology,
founding religions, and leaning their own history in the bones and dust of the past.
-
- Life is
so complicated it is hard to condense it in a single Review 2162. How
could all this possibly happen by accident? How could I be writing this, and you reading this?
Einstein was right there must be higher purpose because the most incomprehensible
thing is that we are here trying to comprehend it.
-
- November 11, 2018. 583
An Index of other recent Reviews is available.
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“Jim Detrick” -----------
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--------------------- Sunday, November 11, 2018 -------------------------
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