Thanks to new DNA research, Evolutionary scientists have just found new evidence that supports that Biblical account of creation! Here’s what they found (h/t: PJ Media):
via World Magazine
Researchers are shocked by the unexpected results of a large new genetic study that appears in the journal Human Evolution. The findings indicate that either most animal species and humans originated at approximately the same time, or some major population crash wiped out most of the original species.
In the past, researchers studied DNA in the nucleus of cells, which differs markedly from one species to another. But the new study analyzed a gene sequence found in mitochondrial DNA. (Mitochondria, the powerhouses of cells, produce about 90 percent of a cell’s chemical energy.) Although mitochondrial DNA is similar across all humans and animals, it also contains tiny bits that are different enough to distinguish between species. This difference allows researchers to estimate the approximate age of a species.
The researchers analyzed these gene sequences in 100,000 species and concluded that the event—either the simultaneous appearance of humans and most animals, or a population crash—occurred about 100,000 to 200,000 years ago. That proposal challenges the bedrock of evolutionary theory.
via Phys.org
It is textbook biology, for example, that species with large, far-flung populations—think ants, rats, humans—will become more genetically diverse over time.
But is that true?
“The answer is no,” said Stoeckle, lead author of the study, published in the journal Human Evolution.
For the planet’s 7.6 billion people, 500 million house sparrows, or 100,000 sandpipers, genetic diversity “is about the same,” he told AFP.
The study’s most startling result, perhaps, is that nine out of 10 species on Earth today, including humans, came into being 100,000 to 200,000 years ago.
“This conclusion is very surprising, and I fought against it as hard as I could,” Thaler told AFP.
That reaction is understandable: How does one explain the fact that 90 percent of animal life, genetically speaking, is roughly the same age?
Phys.org really digs into the science of this kind of DNA researching. You can read more about it there, but here’s a snippet:
In analysing the barcodes across 100,000 species, the researchers found a telltale sign showing that almost all the animals emerged about the same time as humans.
What they saw was a lack of variation in so-called “neutral” mutations, which are the slight changes in DNA across generations that neither help nor hurt an individual’s chances of survival.
In other words, they were irrelevant in terms of the natural and sexual drivers of evolution.
How similar or not these “neutral” mutations are to each other is like tree rings—they reveal the approximate age of a species.
It wasn’t long ago that we heard in the science world that DNA research revealed that humans had come from one man and woman that lived about 135,000 years ago.
And now they are finding that humans and animals showed up at the same time? Amazing.
For many of us Christians we don’t need this kind of evidence. Our faith in God, the Church, and His inerrant Word is enough. But that being said, it is awesome to see when scientific research begins to line up with what we know to be true.
I just want to note that these researchers point out they weren’t just willing to accept these results. One author says above that he fought against it as hard as he could before finally accepting what the evidence revealed. And I think this bodes quite well for the authenticity of this evidence.