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  #26  
11-05-2001, 12:46 AM
Sydney
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Queen of the Damned
 
: May 2000
: Australia
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Sydney  (32)

:
Originally posted by Lampion:
You stated "I don't believe in a higher power, althought nature can be regarded that way. I believe in evolution, because I just found the evidence to be more convincing..."
Could you please complete the sentence?
Sorry to butt in and answer for Sodd, but that sentence seems complete the way it is. Or at least it seems that way to me.

My opinion: Evolution is pretty much accepted these days, the only people who continue to campaign against it are religious people (generally fundamentalist Baptists) claiming that it contradicts their beliefs. But the fact that evolution causes the diversity of life on our planet doesn't declare anything about the truth of creators or religious beliefs. Many Christians do believe in evolution, but it's a shame that the most vocal are those who are in fierce opposition, bringing ridicule to their religion.

Somewhat on-topic, here's an interesting fact about Mitochondrial DNA. For those who don't know, mitochondria are tiny organelles that are important for cell metabolism. Mitochondria have their own DNA. Mitochondrial DNA mutates at a predictable rate, so the accumulation of differences in mDNA between two organisms can be measured, allowing for the time at which the two organisms diverged from each other to be calculated. The fact that mDNA is only passed down through the mother allows for easier tracing.

If your grandmother's sister's daughter's children had their mDNA analysed and compared to your own, the time at which the two of you diverged could be calculated! The same technique applies to humans and apes, which also measured roughly how long ago it was when Homo sapiens diverged from the common ancestor we share with chimpanzees and other primates.
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