The Tree of Life Consolidates

Roland Piquepaille writes "The Tree of Life is an expression first used by Charles Darwin to describe the diversity of organisms on Earth and their evolutionary history. There are only two life forms, — eukaryotes, which gather their genetic material in a nucleus, and prokaryotes, such as bacteria, which have their genetic material floating freely in the cell. Until recently, eukaryotes, which include humans, were divided into five groups. But now, based on work by European researchers, the Tree of Life has lost a branch. After doing the largest ever genetic comparison of life forms they concluded that there are only four groups of eukaryotes."

Comments

Science is a moving target

[davidwr]

The more we know, the more we know that what we knew was wrong.

Or, as a coworker of mine used to say when we realized we didn't know what we were doing: "Everything you know is wrong."

Re:Proof?

[MightyMartian]

Define "seen"? Because by your argument, electrons may or may not exist, Proto-Indo-European may or may not have existed and you may or may not have had great-great-grand-parents.

Evolution is confirmed not just by observing what goes on now, but by observing the fossil record, and just as importantly nowadays, by gathering molecular data. These two lines of evidence fit very well together into the so-called twin-nest hierarchy.

If you wish to wander down the road of epistemological nihilism, that's your affair, but be aware that everything, and I mean everything you think you know you can't actually know at all. Either you admit that inference is a legitimate means of gathering factual knowledge, or you render the whole show, including what you see, hear, touch, feel and taste irrelevant.

Re:Three levels of truth (maybe more...)

[NIckGorton]

When religion doesn't get it right, people abandon it completely. No they don't. They just reinterpret the primary tenets of the religion to suit their current desired conclusions. Religious works and religious beliefs are interpreted in the light of the present society and its prejudices. Rather than being taken at face value, they are used to justify what people want to believe. For example, there is no real prohibition against abortion in the Christian Bible. For another example, the selective interpretation of Leviticus as condemnation of homosexuality while ignoring the condemnation of poly-cotton blends and Red Lobster.

Well, unless you are someone who strictly interprets the OT: http://www.godhatesshrimp.com/