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Top 10 Evolutionary Adaptations

Posted by Zonk on from the don't-make-me-choose-between-my-brain-and-sex dept.

oneill40 writes "The New Scientist has an interesting article up listing the Top 10 most amazing things to have evolved, including sex, death, the eye, language and parasites!" From the article:"Sponges are a key example of multicellular life, an innovation that transformed living things from solitary cells into fantastically complex bodies. It was such a great move, it evolved at least 16 different times. Animals, land plants, fungi and algae all joined in." J adds: Number four, Language, got a careful look from Carl Zimmer a while back. It's Pinker vs. Chomsky, winner take all, pass the popcorn!

3 of 716 comments (clear)

  1. Re:disagree. by genrader · · Score: 0, Redundant

    I disagree. It would have to be Democrats.

    --
    the Political Inquirer
  2. Top 10 by Dr.+Binders · · Score: 0, Redundant

    1 boobies

    2 boobies

    3 boobies

    4 boobies ... need i say more?

  3. Re:Trying to get a feel for evolution in america - by Clueless+Moron · · Score: 0, Redundant
    Creationists believe in mutations and natural selection just as much as evolutionists do. The difference is that creationists think that mutations and natural selection has a degenerating effect (i.e. removes functionality) whereas evolutionists believe the opposite.

    I can't believe you just wrote that.

    In the case of the moths, random mutations cause some to be darker and some to be lighter. As has always been the case and is still the case today. That's mutation.

    Since darker moths hide better, they got eaten by birds less, and so they survived and procreated more than their lighter cousins. And so today, gypsy moths are darker than they were 100 years ago. That's natural selection.

    So, better camouflage, i.e. more functionality.

    This, taken together, equals evolution. That's the whole theory in a nutshell. It's staring you right in the face.

    The world is crammed full of examples of it. Whales have vestigals limbs from when they were land mammals. Us humans still have vestigal tails, and while in the womb briefly have primitive gills.

    If you want to believe that some god or gods put all that there as some sort of a joke, go right ahead, but by Occams Razor, I think the theory of evolution explains it all in a much simpler way.