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Icons of EvolutionHow to frighten your biology teacherICONS OF EVOLUTION How do changes come about in science? How does one theory get discarded and a new one emerge? These questions were investigated by Thomas Kuhn, in a book which has now become a classic, entitled The Structure of Scientific Revolutions. Experimental research produces data, and a scientific theory is an interpretation of that data which ties everything together in a coherent system. As more data comes to light, or the original data is scrutinized more carefully, old theories are discarded and new theories take shape. But the time between theories is characterised by bitter controversy. We are in the 'bitter controversy' stage as the weaknesses in Darwin's theory of evolution are being ever more clearly exposed. Double doctorateJonathan Wells holds PhDs from both Yale University and the University of California at Berkeley in the USA. What his religious commitment is, it is impossible to say, but one thing is certain he believes that much of what is taught in schools and universities about Darwinianism is simply wrong. This book is basically an indictment of the honesty of many teachers of biology and a call to intellectual integrity when it comes to discussing the origins of life. No one doubts that descent with modification occurs in the course of ordinary biological reproduction. Dog breeders etc. have been working in this trade for centuries. The question is whether descent with modification accounts for the origin of new species and indeed explains the origin and diversification of all living things. The usual evidenceWhen asked to produce evidence for Darwinian evolution, most teachers and textbooks produce the same set of ten examples. These examples are usually illustrated with memorable pictures, like that of ape-like creatures changing into upright human beings. Wells calls these the icons of evolution. The substance of this book is to take these ten well-worn pieces of evidence and look at what the most up-to-date research tells us. According to Wells, in every case the evidence falls apart, and it really is time that biological textbooks stopped trotting out what amounts to myths and misinformation rather than science. There are an impressive 70 pages of research notes with reference from the scientific literature right up until last year. So what are the ten icons and what does Wells say about them? I would encourage the readers to buy the book and read it to get the full flavour. But here is an attempted summary using Wells's own words and warnings. The Miller-Urey experiment. A laboratory flask containing a simulation of the Earth's primitive atmosphere has an electric charge passed through it and produces some of the chemical building-blocks of living cells. But the reality is that geologists have for a long time believed that the gases with which Miller-Urey experiment starts does 'not satisfactorily represent early geological reality... the inference that Miller's synthesis does not have a geological relevance has become increasingly widespread.' Darwin's tree of life. The idea that fossil and molecular evidence support the idea of a family tree of living creatures in which the branches can be traced back over time to the 'trunk' of simple life forms. But Wells warns that 'Darwin's tree of life does not fit the fossil record of the Cambrian explosion, and molecular evidence does not support a simple tree branching pattern.' Homology in vertebrate limbs. This is the idea that similar bone structures in a bat's wing, a porpoise's flipper, a horse's leg and a human hand indicate that they have a common evolutionary ancestor. Wells criticizes the circular thinking of many biologists in this area of homology but boldly states that whatever is the cause of such similarities it is not similar genes as the Darwinists would like us to believe. Haeckel's embryos. These are drawings of similarities in early embryos showing that amphibians, reptiles, birds and human beings are all, supposedly, descended from a fish-like creature. Embryology is Wells' own speciality and here he accuses Darwin himself of deliberate deceit in citing the work of Von Baer as supporting his thesis. Scientists have known for a long time that drawings supposedly showing these similarities were faked, yet they continue to use them as evidence for evolution. It is not true that vertebrate embryos are most similar in their earliest stages as Darwin's ideas demand. Archeopteryx. The famous fossil bird with teeth in its jaws and claws on its wings was meant to be the missing link between ancient reptiles and current birds. The truth is that Archeopteryx is probably not the ancestor of modern birds - hence the recent frantic search for a new missing link. Peppered Moths. The pictures of peppered moths on tree trunks are used to show how camouflage and predatory birds produced the most famous example of natural selection. But it is now known that peppered moths do not rest on tree trunks in the wild and photos in biology textbooks showing them on tree trunks have in fact been staged. The original experiments by Kettlewell are now thought to be highly questionable. Darwin's finches. It is a simple fact of history that the variations in the Galapagos finches did not inspire Darwin with the idea of evolution. He had already thought of the theory. Recent research on the changes in the finches with weather conditions on the islands show that the changes to their beaks oscillate and produce no observable net change. Fruit flies. The genetic manufacture of a fruit fly with an extra pair of wings has been used to show that genetic mutations can provide the raw materials for evolution. But Wells's assessment is that four-winged fruit flies must be artificially bred, and their extra wings lack muscles. They are in fact disabled mutants, not a step forward in evolution. Horse fossils. Evidence from fossil horses does not justify the claim that evolution was undirected. The idea was based on materialistic philosophy rather than empirical science. Ape-men. Drawings of ape-like creatures evolving into human beings, are meant to show that we are just animals and that our existence is merely the by-product of purposeless natural forces. Having quoted many eminent scientists Wells states the real situation. 'The general public is rarely informed of the deep-seated uncertainty about human origins that is reflected in the statements of scientific experts. Instead we are simply fed the latest version of somebody's theory, without being told that paleoanthropologists themselves cannot agree over it.' All drawings of 'ancestors' are hypothetical. Honesty?Wells accuses many biologists of perpetrating mere myths which would be laughed out of court in any other scientific field for lack of evidence. To the retort that without Darwin there is no biological science he replies that many areas of biology can do without Darwin. 'In fact, most major disciplines in modern biology - including embryology, anatomy, physiology, paleontology and genetics - were pioneered by scientists who had never heard of Darwinian evolution - or who (like Von Baer) explicitly rejected it. Youngsters, if you want to give your biology teacher a fright - this is the book for you! JEBJohn Benton© Evangelicals Now - August 2001 |