Transcript Origin of Life - Azusa Pacific University

Amazing Scientific
Discoveries Support
the Creation Model
Dr. Fazale “Fuz” Rana
Reasons To Believe
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Miller–Urey Experiment
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Primordial Soup?
No evidence for
prebiotics
12C
and 13C content
of earliest deposits
indicate the
presence of life
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Primordial Soup?
Earth’s early conditions
• Atmosphere:
carbon dioxide,
nitrogen and water
• Atmospheric
oxygen
• Oxygen/UV
paradox
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Primordial Soup?
Earth’s early conditions
• Hydrospheric
oxygen, Hydrogen
peroxide,
Reactive oxygen
species
• Early volcanic
eruptions
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Life Appears Rapidly
At least 3.8 billion
12
years ago C
enriched
• kerogen
• apatite
• graphite
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Life Appears Rapidly
At 3.5 billion years
ago
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S enriched sulfide
deposits
At 3.5 – 3.8 billion
years ago
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N enriched kerogen
7
Life Appears Rapidly
Stromatolites ~ 3.3 –
3.5 billion ya
• Microbial mats
• Complex microbial
communities
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Life Appears Rapidly
Microfossils ~ 3.3 – 3.5
billion ya
• Resemble
cyanobacteria
• Show a variety of
forms
9
“Now, one of the most arresting facts I have ever
learned is that life goes back as far in Earth history
as we can possibly trace it….In other words, in the
very oldest rocks that stand a chance of showing
signs of life, we find those signs-those vestiges-of
life. Life is intrinsic to the earth!”
Niles Eldredge, The Triumph of Evolution and The Failure of
Creationism
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First Life Is Complex
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Complex
ecosystem
Photosynthesis
Methanogenesis
Sulfate reduction
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First Life Is Complex
Required Pathways
• Photosynthetic or
chemoautotrophic
• Self-replication
• Synthetic pathways
• Metabolic
pathways
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“No one has publicly disagreed with my interpretation of
the Apex fossils. But privately, some would prefer I
were mistaken, since they (and I, too) would prefer a
simpler evolutionary story, one that told us these oldest
fossil organisms were capable only of primitive ways of
living and that advanced metabolic lifestyles evolved
much later. But the evidence seems strong, and what
one might “prefer” shouldn’t matter.”
J. William Schopf, The Cradle of Life
13
Life Appears under
Hostile Conditions
“Frustration Events”
• Late heavy
bombardment ~ 3.9
billion years ago
14
Cambrian Explosion
• 540 Million Years Ago
• Nearly Every Animal
Phylum Appears
• 2-3 Million Year
Window
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Cambrian Explosion
• No New Phyla Since
the Cambrian Event
• Loss of Phyla
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Cambrian Explosion
Problems
• Evolution in the
Wrong Direction
• Decreasing Cone of
Disparity
• Too Short a Time
Window
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Fossil Record
Features
• Absence of
Transitional
Intermediates
• Stasis
• Sudden Appearance
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“…with the benefit of hindsight, I am amazed at how long we
accepted that gradual morphological change was the norm when
data to support this belief were so sparse and the discrepancy had
been known since Darwin’s time.
Examples of gradual
evolutionary trends in the fossil record can be counted on our
fingers and we simply ignored countless examples that do not
show the expected pattern. Lack of morphological change was
equated with lack of data and the few examples of trends were
with the truth… the few known examples of gradual trends are no
more than random walks that just happen to be more or less
linear.”
Christopher R.C. Paul in The Adequacy of the Fossil Record (John Wiley &
Sons, 1998)
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Who were the Neanderthals?
22
Who were the Neanderthals?
• ~150,000 to ~30,000 years ago
• Europe and Western Asia
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Summary - Scientific Data
Humans originated from a Small
Population of Males and Females
In a single geographical location
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Who were the Neanderthals?
• Physical similarities with modern
humans
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Physical Differences Between
Neanderthals and Humans
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Poorly developed chin
Elongated Foramen Magnum
Medial Pterygoid Tubercle
Large Brow Ridge
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Physical Differences Between
Neanderthals and Humans
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Large eye sockets
Brain Shape
Large Nose
Large Sinuses
Large Front Teeth
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Physical Differences Between
Neanderthals and Humans
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Flatter Skull Base
Higher Larynx
Thicker Bones
Barrel Chests
Shorter Limbs
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Neanderthal Mt DNA
• Neanderthals Have No Genetic
(nor Evolutionary) Connection to
Humans
• Neanderthals Displayed Limited
Genetic Diversity
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Neanderthal Development
• Craniodental development of
Neanderthals and humans differs from
before birth
• Differences occur from the time
Neanderthals first appear
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Genetic Tests of Multiregional
Hypothesis
Study 1
• African and Asian and Oceanic peoples
originated from same population group
Study 2
• 90% of founding population must come
from Africa and this population must be
small
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H. erectus Development
• H. erectus developed in a fashion
similar to great apes-not modern
humans
• H. erectus developed from infanthood
to adulthood rapidly
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Molecular Anthropology
Compare DNA
Sequences of
Human Groups
• Similarities and
Differences
• Extent of Differences
39
Molecular Anthropology
Gives
• Date of Humanity’s
Origin
• Location of
Humanity’s Origin
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Molecular Anthropology
Gives
• Original Population
Size
• Pattern for
Humanity’s Spread
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Scientific Data
Genetic Evidence
• Diversity
• Mt DNA
• Y Chromosomal DNA
• Linkage Disequilibrium
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Summary - Scientific Data
Humans originated from a Small
Population of Males and Females
In a single geographical location
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Summary - Scientific Data
Recent Origin of Modern Humans
~ 50,000 years ago
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Scientific Data
Sudden Appearance of Human
culture:
• Sophisticated tool kit
• Art work
• Spiritual Expression
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Body Ornaments
• Dated at 40,000 years ago
• No Food Value
• Unusual Designs and Color
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Summary - Scientific Data
Humans Originated Suddenly and
Dramatically
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Scientific Predictions
for the Origin of Humans
Creation Model
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Scientific Predictions
Sudden Appearance…
•
Fossils
•
Human Culture
•
Spiritual Activity
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Scientific Predictions
Traceable to a Single Man and a
Single Woman
Recent Origin
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