What Darwin Never Knew
Earth teems with a staggering variety of animals, including 9,000 kinds of birds, 28,000 types of fish, and more than 350,000 species of beetles alone.
What explains this explosion of living creatures-1.4 million different species discovered so far, with perhaps another 50 million more to go? The source of life's endless forms was a profound mystery until Charles Darwin's revolutionary idea of natural selection, which he showed could help explain the gradual development of life on earth.
But Darwin's radical insights raised as many questions as they answered. What actually drives evolution and turns one species into another? And how did we evolve? On Charles Darwin's 2009 bicentennial, and the 150th anniversary of the publication of On the Origin of Species, NOVA reveals answers to the riddles that Darwin couldn't explain.
Stunning breakthroughs in a brand new science-nicknamed evo devo - are linking the enigma of origins to another of nature's great mysteries, the development of an embryo. To explore this exciting new idea, NOVA takes viewers on a journey from the Galapagos Islands to the Arctic, and from the Cambrian explosion of animal forms half a billion years ago to the research labs of today.
Here scientists are finally beginning to crack nature's biggest secrets at the genetic level. And, as NOVA shows in this absorbing detective story, the results are confirming the brilliance of Darwin's insights while exposing clues to life's breathtaking diversity in ways he could scarcely have imagined.
Ignorance is bliss. 1) No "Mod" shows on my display. Nor can I do a search. Possibly due to the Script Blocking and other Blocking software I have running in attempt to keep various sites from polluting my computer. I would imagine there are others who can see "Mod" as well.
2) Too often so called scientists "find" what they want to find, regardless of what evidence may not definitively show. And when they, like most news programs, or govt, only provide the limited edited information that supports what they want you to believe. And if people are inclined NOT to consider that there may be much more to the story than what was presented... You then get a bunch of arrogants who limit themselves to what they want to believe, like they actually know something, which they clearly cannot, limiting themselves as they do; then using whatever venue they can find, like this one, to puff their ego at other's expense.
3) If one specie can become an entirely different specie as the UNPROVEN THEORY presents, then how is it that a healthy viable organism produced by the crossing of two slightly different species, such as the crossing of a horse and a donkey to get a mule, cannot even reproduce? And we are supposed to believe that DNA mutates indefinitely and that organism will still reproduce?
4) It seems the better theory with actual hard and fast evidence to back it up is that when a specie deviates or adapts too far from its original, it either reverts back or dead ends.
5) If nature is neither good nor evil, it just does what it does, then how is it humans, being part of nature, especially Marxist socialists-communists can be so evil? Desiring to force all to live as they say, limiting the freedom of all AND ending competition to their companies and their rule. Killing off 10 times as many in Europe as Hitler was purported to exterminate of Jews. Then there are the Asian versions which killed many 10s if not 100s of millions. Then the African version. Even if a better system comes along which it did long before in at least one Native American nation but most notably when the US Constitution and Bill of Rights were signed. Yet people with limited information with the propensity to not investigate further, fall prey to their emotions which are manipulated via propaganda that the socialists are the ones who care and that is the direction of our social evolution. Despite the reality it has proven to fail mankind horribly throughout history.
6) Despite the failings of Darwin and his theories, they are still promoted heavily by the Marxist socialist-communists, Why? Simply because they don't want God, nor any higher power, or sense of right and wrong, getting in the way of what they want to do. Do they want to "take care of the poor" as they claim? Not at all. There wouldn't be any poor if they got rid of the welfare departments and just gave all that money wasted in govt, to the poor. They need more poor to keep voting for them. The purpose of open borders.
7) Look up and read what is chiseled into the Georgia Guidestones, what those behind the promotion of socialism, for what they want to do to you.
8) What does politics have to do with the theory of evolution? These days, everything. Wouldn't surprise me in the least if that had always been the case.
"He's not the messiah, he's a very naughty boy", Life of Brian
What are you dips going to bring up? You don't know who I am do you? What I am is a molecular biologist who was taught under the best teacher, like him, I don't believe in a "tree of evol0lution."
If the creationist would like to have all their questions answered about evolution, read 'Why Evolution is True' by Dr. Jerry Coyne
Unfortunately, most people consider science in general and evolution in particular to be an attack on religion / God. This thought arises from a lack of understanding of God in the first place. Also, a poor conception of God / Creator is what leads people to reject God. For example, It is like saying "I don't believe in air because when I flap my arms I do not fly". If one understood what air is (through science) they wouldn't make this claim. In fact, once they learn about the properties of air (through science) and how it affect us, their belief in air will only strengthen. Most of today's religions portray a distorted picture of God. And when Atheists reject God, they are just rejecting that distorted image of God and not the reality of God.
I am a firm believer in evolution. And when I learn about the intricacies and marvels of nature such as evolution, it only strengthens my faith in the Lord of the worlds. And I exclaim "Glory be to Allah".
I hope that you don't believe that "God" (thinking in form of existing religious view) created us, space and etc.
Religion is just human consolation that he understands world around him and has some rules to obey so he can get some kind of reward after death.
'Life is not the opposite of death. Death is the opposite of birth. Life is eternal."
Over and over again evolution has been a theory proven wrong
Proves nothing. Again beating a dead fish and asking it to talk. Human ape fused chromosomes paradigm.
OK. Your point is well taken. I do not know how the stress in an organism could trigger a shift in its' physical nature and I am aware that there may be no "will" written into the DNA for this kind of change. But there is strong evidence, supported by established fact in the field of human psychology that collective stress triggers a shift in consciousness. Since it is possible that animals experience some form of stress in a difficult enviorment I thought the same may be true in "physical" evolution. This would mean that the mutations are ordered by the organism in need of a change and that the "mutations" are not random. Is it an established fact that mutations are random? If so, is it not possible that stress could alter one of the continuously emerging mutations to be just what is required?
objection: Schopenhauer stated wat it IS, Darwin discovered how it WORKS
This video disproves evolution and makes a great case for creation resulting from an immediate change through on/off switches as opposed to a slow evolving change.
What Darwin never knew?
What the world would end up doing with his theory.
1i
BUT WHY ???
All true. The DNA being same, the switches that turn on and off, which means if it was possible to control the switches, one life form cud be turned into another by will. Then, understood that there is another strand of DNA which orders the switches. All amazing and previously believed by me.
BUT the question still remains. According to the fish theory, the one that walked into land and thus developed limbs, we can understand that the basic need for survival led to a will, a rather strong will, even if for that moment(as animals do not have imaginative fear of future danger), and this will led to a concious effort for change in DNA, probably the deciding DNA decided to turn on a few switches to convert fins to limbs, it is understood.
But in the apes, natural phenomenon, like acts of survival(like in the fish), will not trigger switches to develop such muscles of the brain which actually tell us to fight for others, to share, to hate, to conserve for greed. These things go against the law of nature, which is the primary reason why we are conciously destroying the planet unlike any other creature which lives in harmony quite unconciously.
Why wud an act of natural selection work for its own destruction by giving a primate something we call imagination. It isnt for survival. Apes infact are very much capable of survival, being quite strong, and have long lives.
We are constantly looking at the Darwin view that we are similar to apes, so we must have come from them. That's because the western past tells them that humans were ignorant in the past, and now science and knowledge is there so we are becoming better, humans are becoming more intellegent(from ape intellegence to human intel)
Why don't scientists think that it is agreed that things evolve, but one rule doesnt hold same for everything. When the DNA and genes are basically the same, AND THERE ARE SWITCHES provided the same way in ancient fossil creatures like in us, maybe all creatures existed at the same time. It was a matter of switches being on or off to decide what the creature wud look like and what will be its habitat, food, etc.
Why does any creature over a period of time have to evolve FROM another creature, and not by itself. The research isnt proving that humans came from apes. It just proves that humans and apes are similar, and how they are similar. But that cud mean that apes came from humans(those humans who refused to think and only thot of food and survival, mutated to apes)
There is a certain pre conditioning here. Those scientists who say that we find ape fossils but not human fossils to prove that apes existed before humans, and thus humans came from apes, shud see that in the recorded past, every culture used to cremate their dead, even egyptian common man(only the kings, etc went to tombs, pyramids), turning them to ashes.
White europeans moved to america. Europe was cold but america was warm. The Mayans there looked different. But, soaking the sun still gives the whites a sunburn. There looks haven't changed in the warmer region with plenty of sun exposure, different air and habitat, even after almost 500 yrs. The african slaves, considering they came from a hotter, humid, tropical climate with jungles of huge diversity in life, they look the same, havent grown fairer. The european families living in africa today who havent mated with anyone but their own race, look the same inspite of living in hotter climate. I do not reject transformation, but I feel it is not absolute, I think its subjective. Yes offsprings of different species mating, will be different, and also I also believe that the subconcious effort of a species to protect itself, to blend in, and to hunt better, would lead to change in its dynamics slightly. But that rat example was a bad one, The rat wud not mutate so fast, it will just avoid the black rocks. Plus animals do not have imaginative fear(its only for humans, that's why we save food and form civilization), animals have current fears, if the rat goes out during the day to scavage it will continue to do so every single day, not thinking that its gonna get hunted. They dont dive in to save their friends from getting hunted, or change their habitat. That is a human capability(ad to an extent is found in mamals during lactation). If I have to imagine the rat theory, I can think of a few possibilities :
1. The white rat tht went on the black rock and gets eaten, and another rat tht was watching it felt the pain and fear and wanted to be different, which led to the changes in her DNA while she was pregnant and led to the birth of slightly darker rat.
2. The black rock matter and the matter of rat's skin biologically interacted and saw a possibility of the rat getting hunted, so made changes in the DNA so that it could adapt. But that wud be unfair to the coyote. Nature is not unfair. Why wud the black rock only affect the rat's hair and not the coyote vision contrast.
I don't know much about Christian religious beliefs much, but Vedic system calculates the age of universe, circumference of sun and other scientific things very accurately and much before the western world. It seems logical, and scientific, so I'd also like to believe in other things it says like :
1. Everything is constantly changing, life, matter, energies, and nothing is absolute but the one conciousness. OK... it affirms that changes and evolutions keep taking place all the time.
2. It talks about dinosaurs(giant lizzards), the large fishes, etc.
3. It also points that humans have been on this earth in a much developed stage for a very long time. The fact that all ancient people, even animals as far as we know from all cultures around the world were cremated, and houses were built on top of other houses, and all waste metals were re melted and re used, is the reason why we dont have much archaeological evidence, only we find those where mass death suddenly happened and lands were ruined to an extent that microbial activity under the ground reduced to an extent that things got preserved.
I would give probability to both ideas under Scientific Logic, since we wern't present back then.
1. We came from apes, previously fishes - 50% OR
2. Including slight changes/mutations, the major lifeforms existed always - 50%
One thing where thr is no probability :
We know it all -0%, OR We will always be learning - 100% :)
Happy thinking.
Evolution by natural selection is a wonderful idea. Really powerful and wondrous. All life, all the vast variety of the natural world is intimately connected by common heritage. All life is part of a vast family tree descending back throught time. Those who wish to dismiss this idea, because it doesn't fit with the religious dogma of a book are doing manking a great disservice. Not only rejecting the evidence of the natural world but dismissing the power of science itself. It is truly shameful that there are those who to this day wish to replace this incredible idea with the shallow and ignorant belief that all life was simply placed here as it is by some supernatural being, the evidence of which there is not a single scrap of evidence.
how did the fish breathe when first coming out of water...
Arnold,
In addition to the radiation supplied by heavenly bodies impacting the planet there is of course another theory, well substantiated by the fossil record, that such impacts on a global scale actually clear the field for species that would otherwise not have made it with all the competition around.
It is quite clear to scientists that mammals would not have had any chance to develop if the meteor that wiped out the dinosaurs 65 million years ago had not hit the planet.
The evolvement of the human species therefore owes much to that single impact, fortunately timed very well for our sake. The geological history of the planet is full of such instances where conditions wiped out an enormous number of species, either en masse or gradually over time.
The majority of the people on this planet can not overcome their egos enough to be able to appreciate such harsh realities.
This was a very interesting program on DNA, what makes us human, and how switches in the DNA make every life form possible. What is interesting is how evolution is continuing everyday. This was sadly observed in the cases where brain development was cut in half and with muscular dystrophy.
However what we are not seeing is the changes of the brain leading to smarter humans. For instance what does the DNA of the brain look like for a scientist and a documentary programmer / videographer?
What other humans are being created that have exceptional mental, creative and physical abilities?
All in all very interesting work.
I would like NOVA to do a show on what is involved in creating a documentary like this. The entire process from concept to funding to script to filming to editing and the addition of special effects and the narrators voice. NOVA documentaries are so complex in the numerous details to bring a subject to life that I would enjoy seeing the entire process of creating one.
Arnold Vinette
Ottawa, Canada
To Voice of Treason
You're the one who is daft and let me add ignorant. "Think about it" is hardly an offer of proof.
Hey,
Natural selection is a myth.
Seriously, think about it.
It's bordering on daft.
@dread
Hello there!
It's nice to see that you made this connection but
can I clear some points out for you?
Chakra is mentioned in Hinduism FIRST.
Darwin refined and proposed it as a SCIENTIFIC theory rather than "chakra" which has nothing to do with evolution, what so ever. You might as well talk about Bible code and evolution.
Unknown to rest of the world? Please tell me what kind of information you have that points to Evolution proposed as a theory around rest of the world?
Btw, anyone can make vague connections. Even me, in Hinduism Rams servant Hanuman is half monkey and half human. Just because they made some vague connection does NOT mean they had any clue about evolution. I'm from India and I can confidently say that Darwin was a genius. And I would never make any comments about "west" or "white people". We are Homo sapiens and that's about it. Even Buddhas teachings just define humans as Humans and don't divide humans in any shape or form.
Theory of Evolution has nothing to do with white people or west. It's just science. The most powerful tool that changes understanding rather than a book that hasn't been changed since 2500 years ago.
Hello sarp kaya
The film quiet often gives credit to Darwin that what it spoils. though the WEST came to know Evolution through Darwin that does not mean that it was unknown to the rest of the world. that what i tryed to point out.
-listen to the narrator...
"It shook people up, changed the way people thought" "Darwin provided a proper scientific theory" etc; etc;
By the way We westerners have a long way to go.....
Evolution knows nothing about "west" or "east" my friend. Nor does it care about ancient mythologies, religions or other cultural and national divides. It seems you have some racial bones to pick with the "west" ? That is not the topic of this film.
Neither does evolution pretend to know how life began on this planet (a lot of people think it does). Philosophy or religion has nothing to do with evolution, or any other scientific activity for that matter.
If you are satisfied with Buddhism or Egyptology as the best way of explaining how you are what you are, then that is your problem my dear friend. Whatever rocks your boat. But that really is not the purpose of this discussion methinks...
hello, sarp kaya
its just that the WEST always want to & try to mislead the mass by stating that if not for them that the rest of the world would be blind or to say how great the white race(!!!i ain't no racist) is. & that sounds really sad.
After all Buddhism is not a religion its a philosophy. if you wish! read it to check.. also Buddhism is not the only teachings that mention 'bout evolution.. their are plenty of ancient source with similar thoughts like Egyptian etc;
Ohh thank you dread for this astounding revelation.
And to think that all these centuries we were fooled by science in to thinking that it could provide answers to such questions. All those shameless Nobel prize winning biologists, geneticists, paleontologists, archaeologists, astronomists and geologists had us fooled the whole time. What an atrocious conspiracy ! And I am sure they knew all along that the true answers were in Buddhism but they hid it from us. Off with their heads and burn their books is what I say !