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Living Without a Pulse
SteamyMobile writes "Can you live without a pulse? Yes, now you can. The reason why we have a pulse is because it's hard for evolution to result in turbines or continuously spinning things. The next generation of artificial hearts may have no pulse. They also have no bearings, so they should last much longer than previous attempts. In fact, engineers don't give a predicted lifespan on these models. How would your life be different without a pulse?"
The reason why we have a pulse is because it's hard for evolution to result in turbines or continuously spinning things.
:-)
That's a loaded sentence
It's also hard for evolution to result in something as complex as an eye; In fact, if you look at how many seperate pieces must 'evolve' for an eye to function, you'll realize that a turbine would be much easier to 'evolve' than an eye.
This is not flamebait... lol... In fact, run over to your library (bookshelf?) and grab a copy of Darwin's book "On the Origin of Species..." and turn to page 162. Read the section about the mousetrap. Darwin concludes that "If it could be demonstrated that any complex organ existed, which could not possibly have been formed by numerous, successive, slight modifications, my theory would absolutely break down." (i.e., an irreducibly complex system). A mousetrap has five essential pieces - and if any one of them is missing (i.e., the spring, the hammer, the catch, the platform or the holding bar), the trap will not function.
But back to a turbine, which you say is impossible for to evolve on its own...
I'll take your challenge one step further and show you something that does exist in nature: the flagella on a bacterium.
A flagellum looks kinda like a hair that's attached to the surface of the bacterium. It acts like a propeller & allows the bacterium to swim. The flagellum is attached to and rotated by a small electrical motor made up of several different proteins.
The flagellum contains a rod (i.e., a drive shaft), a hook (i.e., a universal joint), L and P rings (i.e., bushings), S and M rings (i.e., the rotor), and a C ring & stud (stator). The electrical power for driving the motor is supplied by the voltage difference developed across the cell membrane.
Anyway, what was that about evolution not being able to cause a turbine to be created? I definitely agree with you on that point!
Can anyone offer a plausible explanation for how any one of the pieces of a bacterial flagellum would offer that bacterium some sort of advantage?
That said, it would be really weird to not feel my own heartbeat!