Towards A Grand Unified Theory of Evolution
Abstract: It is proposed that two forms of evolution exist. The first called micro-evolution is based upon Newtonian principals of physical law and is entropic in nature. The second called macro-evolution is based upon the principals of plasma behaviour, quantum physics, the active vacuum, and is negentropic in nature. It is proposed that current models of evolutionary development are anachronistic, focussing exclusively upon the type of evolutionary development permitted by Newtonian law, ignoring the insights offered by modern physical research.
Introduction
There are two distinct classes of evolutionary development. The first is an entropic procoess that I shall hereafter refer to as micro-evolution, the second is a negentropic process I shall hereafter refer to as macro-evolution.[i] Currently textbooks teach entropic micro-evolution as if this is the only way animals evolve. While today correctly broken down into several different sub-types of evolution such as sexual selection, the basic principals that underlie this distinct subgroup of evolution are the same. That is to say selection based upon survival fitness draws out certain traits within the species to prominence, over time altering the form of the species as the gene that is responsible for the beneficial trait spreads through the gene pool. Sometimes, although very rarely it must be said, some kind of chance mutation occurs that offers a change in phenotype that produces a survival advantage. Often, though not always due to random factors, this trait will be preserved and will also spread through the species gene pool, in time becoming widespread.
The problem with this evolutionary mechanism as the basis for a complete account for the development of life on earth, is that it does not add new information to the genome.[ii] In fact it generally reduces the level of information present within the genome. Those mutations that are beneficial are so because they alter an existing biological system – they do not create new and distinct biological systems. That is to say the total amount of information within the genome remains the same, although altered or rearranged, or is even reduced. If animals are heavily bred, over time the results of this reduction of information can become extremely serious, leading directly to a variety of ailments which finally culminate in sterility, ending further attempts at speciation. Micro-evolution is best seen a form of tuning mechanism that ensures a species can respond in a limited way to environmental changes. However, because adaptations undertaken in this manner reduce the amount of information within the genome, every step along the path of micro-evolution, somewhat ironically given the way it is currently presented in textbooks it must be said, actually reduces the future survival prospects of the species. And point of fact, as is readily shown by computer simulation, micro-evolution in its day to day operation is actually a conservative force, preserving the distinct form of a species.[iii]
It thus becomes clear that the major jumps in evolution must be accomplished by some alternative system of negentropic physics that is capable of increasing the level of order within a system. This notion is not extant in classical Newtonian physics, and the entropic nature of the universe is one of the fundamental cornerstones science. However, what is still not yet widely appreciated, is that a number of experimenters on the leading edge of current physical science, have documented the existence of a second cold, time-reversed, negentropic state of energy,[iv] particularly associated with the active vacuum, in which all normal physical principals are reversed. Negative energy if you wish. This discovery permits us to re-examine the principals upon which evolutionary thought is currently based, and consider the possibility that an alternative mechanism exists for evolutionary development, which is capable of adding information to the genome.
Layers of reality
A re-examination of what we consider to be physical is required to progress beyond the mechanistic Newtonian paradigm that currently dominates evolutionary research. Physics textbooks will commonly tell you there are three states of matter. Solid, liquid, and gas. In fact there are four, since 99% of matter in the universe exists in a distinct plasma state, a name that derives from the life-like properties observed by matter in this state.[v] However, the fundamental reality of these four states of matter has come under serious scrutiny in the twentieth century, and intelligent deductions from experiments has led to the publication of texts such as Paul Davies classic work The Matter Myth, whose title is I feel is self explanatory about the conclusions derived. The point is matter as such is not an absolute quantity, but is an illusion formed by interlocking fields of energy.[vi] Another modern development in our understanding of physical law, is an appreciation of the active vacuum and the zero-point background fields of space,[vii] that today many modern physicists believe play an important role in the organisation of the universe.
With these elements of quantum physics in mind, some otherwise puzzling experimental results become more readily comprehensible. For example Princeton’s PEAR lab has demonstrated beyond all reasonable scientific doubt,[viii] that a conscious mind can influence the outcome of a random event generators. If matter were a real substance this would make little sense. However, what these experiments suggest is that a conscious mind is capable of interacting at a quantum level with the background energy fields of space, bending local space time such as to influence the results of random events generators. While the magnitude of the effect is admittedly small, there is no reason in principal why a collective act of consciousness might not be able to achieve much more significant results, and sound scientific reasons can be advanced for why collective acts of consciousness might be possible only under specific electromagnetic conditions.[ix]
Since solid, liquid, gas or plasma have no documented ability to alter space time, it seems to me that in order to influence the quantum energy fields of space, consciousness must be some kind of distinct higher state of energy, that could be likened to a fifth state of matter.[x]The suggestion is that a school of thought long extant in philosophical circles that all matter is conscious is correct, but it is only in a high frequency non-physical form that the conscious nature of energy becomes apparent.
In all probability it is conformity to an as yet unwritten physical law, that dictates energy in the fifth state cannot itself have a physical presence. A kind of sliding scale. If energy is to gain the certain abilities, it must lose others, preserving some kind of unknown factor x constant. Since we are still only on the verge of understanding quantum physical law, a full understanding of a fifth state of matter that can alter space at a quantum level, most likely will remain out of reach for some time. However, this lack of understanding, and lack of appropriate tools for experimentation, does not stop us from making some intelligent deductions about the probable qualities possessed by matter existent in this fifth state, especially since we have an extensive knowledge plasma physics, the forth state of matter.
The Limitations of Matter it its Fifth State
I have already advanced the notion that some kind of factor x must remain constant for all states of matter. And that upon the gain of quantum physical altering powers, energy must give up its ability to form itself into one of the accepted four accepted physical states of matter. Because of this, I do not accept that idea that fifth state energy has the power to directly influence macroscopic matter, that is create objects, levitate objects, or any other kind of magical process. The physical interaction is weak at a macroscopic level, and to be effective really needs to go through a highly developed amplifier commonly referred to as a brain. However, it can influence odds of movement and combination at the macroscopic level, through the creation of a sharp probabilistic well engineered at a quatum level in the background energy fields of space, that make up the fabric of space time.
The Negentropic Mechanism of Evolution Revealed
The Miller experiment of 1954 revealed that it is possible for physical processes to produce amino acids – an important building block for life.[xi] What I propose is that many existing theories about how life could have started are correct, but that the chemical interactions that gave rise to life, were guided by the presence of fifth state matter. That is to say the rise of life is so massively improbable it could never on its own happen. But, in the presence of suitable materials, fifth state energy can intelligently bend space time, such as to cause organic molecules to form together to become a simple cell, in a negentropic quantum physical interaction with the background energy fields of space, that increases the level of order within the universe.
It seems probable to me that the quantity of fifth state energy required to do this came on the intergalactic flows of plasma conventional science has well documented. Therefore it also seems probable to me that the fifth state energy used a design template extant in other parts of our galaxy. Hence an interesting prediction of this theory is that life in many solar systems in our galaxy will be based upon, or variations of, the classic double helix genetic design. The existance of astonishing similarities in all life in our galaxy, is a clear and unambigious prediction of this theory, that can in time be falsified. However it seems unlikely to me that the quantity of fifth state energy in orbit around earth was initially of much significance, and forming simple self replicating cells was the limit of what this fifth state energy could initially achieve, since any more advanced engineering would require much greater quantities of fifth state energy.[xii]
The Accumulation of Fifth State Matter
Since fifth state matter is effectively consciousness, all life on planet earth possesses in addition to a physical form, an aetherical blanket of fifth state energy which animates the otherwise corpse.[xiii] Both the size and density of the fifth state energy extant in a single cell must be minuscule. Since it can be experimentally demonstrated that organic matter accumulates fifth state energy,[xiv] which is done I would suggest through a quantum field interaction, the amount of energy a single cell could add to the earth’s biosphere would also be miniscule. Hence it would require hundreds of millions of years of single cell type life, before the development of much more demanding larger animal forms would become possible.
The How of Invertebrate Engineering
I suggest based upon the principals I have outlined, that after hundreds of millions of years of steady accumulation, Earth's aetherical blanket of fifth state energy is both dense and widespread. At times in the past it has engineered the background energy fields of space that generate local space time probability curves, which while normally neutral and irrelevant to physical processes, can be made to drastically alter the chances of certain mutations and molecular combinations occurring, in an intelligent and self aware process that gives rise to the development of new phyla of species, in several generations or less, in line with the dictates of the 'punctuated equilibrium,' variant of evolutionary theory.[xv] Because of the inability of fifth state matter to directly affect matter on the macroscopic scale, these ‘jumps’ are always limited in extent, built upon the form of previous species, both on a macroscopic and genetic scale. [xvi] This is why we see a clear evolutionary ‘trajectory,’ in the fossil record and in animal genomes, yet are at a loss to find the intermediate forms.[xvii] It also explains why modern genetic research has demonstrated that animals on different evolutionary paths such as dolphins and humans share so many identical chromosomes,[xviii] for that is to say the process behind all life is the same, in line with the argument put forth in Walter Remine’s treatise The Biotic Message. [xix]
Conclusions
This paper is intentionally entitled 'Towards A Grand Unified Theory of Evolution.' That is to say my ideas are an extension to existing theory, and not a replacement. It is hoped in the years to come, that a fuller understanding of non and semi-physical interactions can be acquired, and new tools developed to support research. The paper is concerned with the possible science behind evolution, and philosophical questions are left to the reader. That said, the brave might claim we are now on the verge of finally knowing the mind of God.
Endnotes
http://talkorigins.org/faqs/faq-welcome.html
The talk.origins welcome faq makes the laughable claim ( well, several actually, but let that go ) no-one has ever presented a serious scientific creation theory of evolution. This is rubbish. This paper presents one which adheres to all the key points that are claimed to be required. However, despite a dozen submissions, the talk.origins site ABSOLUTELY REFUSE to link to it?!?!?!??!??
‘The ToC is the Holy Grail of the origins debate - everyone talks about it, but no one's ever seen it. If you argue against evolution, or imply in any way that creationism is scientific, then you can count on being asked to supply a theory. A scientific theory must have predictive value, must be internally consistent, must be falsifiable, and must explain at least those phenomena explained by the currently dominant theory. Thus, such statements as "God created the heavens and the earth..." are not theories, as they are neither predictive nor falsifiable.
While no one has ever presented a scientific theory of creation to us, we maintain that it is necessary for an honest comparison of various ideas of origins. Because of the properties listed above, theories provide specific points for comparison of the explanatory value of different ideas. Without a predictive, falsifiable theory of creation, it remains impossible to objectively evaluate the idea of creation.’
This web site http://hometown.aol.com/roberthamiltonr/myhomepage/newsletter.html advances ideas similar to my own, and provides another entirely scientific ToC. There are in fact several serious scientific models of non-mechanistic evolution around. It is just as in all things, the people who run www.talkorigins.org see what they want to see, and discard the data that does not fit in with their preconceptions, be it fossils, Haldane’s dilemma, irreducible complexity, or otherwise. *NOTE* I've just e-mailed the man responsible for the welcome faq, if the above statement is not revised, you know the talk.origins faq contains a deliberate *LIE*. If they are willing to lie to you on the welcome faq, how on earth can you trust any other content on the site?
[ii] http://www.trueorigin.org/dawkinfo.htm This page contains an excellent essay on information theory and evolution
[iii]Martianscapella.com contains an interesting paper on this subject
[iv] http://www.free-energy.cc/ offers a video on cold electricity. They claim Tesla in the nineteenth century was the first experimenter
Tom Bearden's website is http://www.cheniere.org/toc.html
And in general A Brief History of Time by Stepahan Hawking is worth looking at, as well as other more scholarly treatments of the issue of time. The point it is there is general bafflement as to why time flows only forward, increasing entropy. Of course, time and entropy can flow the other way.
[v] Plasmas are conductive assemblies of charged particles, neutrals and fields that exhibit collective effects. Further, plasmas carry electrical currents and generate magnetic fields. Plasmas are the most common form of matter, comprising more than 99% of the visible universe. The term plasma was coined after the blood plasma by Nobel laureate Irving Langmuir to depict the 'life-like behaviour' not seen in the other states of matter.
[vi] Michael Talbot The Holographic Universe makes another startling but well reasoned claim about the illusionary nature of the universe
[vii] For an appreciation of the zero point energy I suggest you visit my zero point web page
[viii] Radin, Dean I., and Nelson, Rodger D.,1989, Consciousness-related effects in random physical systems, in Foundations of Physics, Vol 19, pp.1499-514.
[ix]Properties and Behaviour of Hypothetical Fifth State Energy Plasma
A plasma scientist and a radio astronomer announced the discovery of charged particle flows in interstellar space at the 1999 International Conference on Plasma Science in Monterey, California. The discovery culminated decades of speculation and debate whether or not electricity existed on the scale of hundreds of thousands of light years in the interstellar space between the stars. According to Anthony Peratt, Scientific Advisor to the United States Department of Energy and a plasma researcher at Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico, the discovery was made by computer analyzing large amounts of data gathered by radio telescopes from regions in space known to be occupied by 'neutral clouds of hydrogen.' The data was processed and the results obtained by radio astronomer Gerrit Verschuur, Physics Department, University of Memphis. Verschuur found that the 'neutral hydrogen clouds' were not completely a neutral gas of hydrogen and other elements, but rather consisted of charged particles of electrons and ions, called 'plasma.'
Also,
it is possible given that consciousness can be visualised as high frequency
form of plasma, its operation may be affected by the sun and planets. It could
be that only at certain planetary conjunctions that matter manipulation and
acts of collective consciousness and DNA manipulation can be performed. In
particular, the Sun with its dense magnetic fields and plasma nature, may have
a very powerful affect upon the thoughts of all life on planet earth. The Mars effect whereby
athletes are slightly more likely to be born under certain planetary
conjunctions, may be a modern day remnant of past processes which shaped the
physical and mental development of planet earth. I feel it important to
emphasize that DNA manipulation may be an act of collective consciousness,
because the observed mind / matter interactions documented byPrinceton’s PEAR labfor example, are
rather weak. Collective acts of consciousness may only be possible under
certain very special and rare solar system conditions, and involve a form of hyperdimensional alignment,
in line with some of Hoagland’s theories. Just
read Remote
Viewing Secrets : A Handbook by Joseph McMoneagle. One of the fascinating
points he makes, is that the military discovered that at a specific sideral
time ( earth's relation to the sun ) psychic functioning increased 400%. While
not stated, I would also suspect that at key nodes on the world grid psychic
functioning will be further increased. I would guess at certain sideral times
electromagnetic interference from the sun is reduced, and a variety of military
experiments make it clear grid nodes amplify electromagnetic signals. The point
is, it seems quite probable to me based upon the above evidence, that
macro-evolution of the type I propose, can only happen at selected and specific
moments, in relation to the Sun’s sunpot cycle, planetary alignments, and
position within the earth’s hyperdimensional electromagnetic grid. Thus a
punctuated equilibrium biological field based version of evolution, is an
entirely scientific hypothesis. Talkorigins.org
has a faq on so called
bad design. I must take issue with some of the points made, for example 'In
human males, the urethra passes right through the prostate gland, a gland very
prone to infection and subsequent enlargement..... Any moron with half a brain
(or less) could design male "plumbing" better' What I mean is
enlargement generally only becomes an issue for men older than at least 50, and
until recently, not many men lived that long. Why over-engineer something? Seems to me the extraordinarily arrogant and ignorant moron is the person writing the faq.
Anyway, what these bad design arguments seem to indicate to me, is that some
kind of effort is involved in evolution, and that new species, genes, etc, can
not effortlessly be created by magic, and that sometimes corners are cut. I
find this evidence entirely compatible with my fifth state energy theory. That
is to say fifth state energy can not directly influence macroscopic matter, but
can alter the background energy fields of space, such as to make certain
actions and movements vastly more probable. Once one understand the dfficulties
of engineering physcial forms, the many strange 'cut corners,' and recycled
genes become readily understandable. It
is also worth looking ay Julian Jaynes's book, The
Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind. It suggests that until recently man lived in a state of blurred
collective consciousness, prone to hallucination and delusion, as the
many minds conflicted with each other in subspace. The evidence for this is in the sudden change in writing style seen in ancient texts,
when a literary world populated by characters who hear voices, suddenly gives rise to modern characters with modern mentalities.
The suggestion is that the modern mind is a prouct of historical times, and that it is only very recently man left the Garden of Eden so to speak, ate of the tree of knowledge, acquired the ability to know good from evil, and became aware of the burden he has to carry.
That is to say physical evolution for man has now concluded, and further evolution on planet earth will take place in the minds of men, as the form of individual consciousness resident on this planet develops further, as what was once considered an exceptional mental achievement, increasinlgy becomes the norm. In medievel times for example, it was considered only the most able could possibly master the formidable task of reading in one's head, and not aloud. A long list of exceptional talents that have become commonplace can be given. Finally, I am also tempted to recall a Star Trek the Next Generation episode when Captain Picard encountered a group of refugees fleeing their own people. These people were all very ill, and were supposed to be quaranteened. Their government was very concerned they had escaped. In fact they were undrogoing a transformation from corporal beings to subspace beings of hyperdimentsional energy. While this can only be regarded as highly specuative, it is not impossible if what I write has any shred of truth in it, that something along those lines might happen to man. I guess the idea would be that with the evolution of man to subspace the cycle is complete. We return to the subspace aetherical energy fields whence we, matter, and indeed the entire physical universe, originally came from. An interesting novel along these lines is the famous ( dreaded / infamous? ) Celestine Prophecies. Just read the original book, and remember it is fiction.
[x]Wachsmith, Guenther, 1932. "The Etheric Formative Forces in Cosmos, Earth, and Man," Borderland Sciences Research Foundation, Bayside, CA. Facsimilie Edition, 1991. Right or wrong, claims 7 fundamental states of matter exist
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[xi]I am aware of the many flaws in this experiment, but the fundamental point seems valid to me – organic molecules can be formed by physical process
[xii] It must be stated this version of the purpose of Earth’s ecosystem is startling reminiscent of that set out by Robert Monroe. Famous for his claimed out of body experiences, he stated in his books that he had been told the purpose of life was to generate ‘loof,’ or what I am describing as fifth state energy. While pure speculation, the idea of all life being a battery in a The Matrix type scenario, while improbable, remains plausible. It is possible the universe was created by higher dimensional beings, in order to create a fifth density energy source they could feed upon. http://www.monroeinstitute.org/, and Far Journeys by Monroe are worth looking at.
[xiii] Henry Williams found at the turn of the century that when he pressed sponges through a cloth until they were disassociated into individual cells, the cells spontaneously came together and formed new sponges on their own initiative, suggestive of a co-ordinating biological field. Similar results are documented in Humphreys, T.,1963, Chemical dissolution and in vitro reconstruction of sponge cell adhesions in Developmental Biology, Vol 8, pp. 27-47. This next reference explains how a similar effect with kidney and heart cells has been observed. Moscona, A. A., 1959, Tissues from dissociated cells in Scientific American, 200(5)132.)
[xiv]James Demeo, The Orgone Accumulator Handbook : Construction Plans Experimental Use and Protection Against Toxic Energy. Also you could try this google.com search on Orgone energy, and vist http://www.sheldrake.org/. The website supports a book by Rupert Sheldrake entitled 7 Experiments That Could Change the World. I can verify from personal experiment that the sense of being stared at experiment produces extremely significant results. When allowed to call only when I felt sure, I was able to consistently be right 70% of the time – a massive deviation from 50/50 chance, and in line with results obtained by others.
[xv] http://www.sheldrake.org/articles/db.cgi?db=default&uid=default&view_records=1&category=Morphic+Resonance
The above link provides some articles on morphic resonance of the type I believe may have happened. A New Science of Life and The Presence of the Past by Rupert Sheldrake are also worth investigating, as is Jung's theory of the collective unconscious. Of course around 1920 three biologists -- Hans Spemann, Alexander Gurwitsch and Paul Weiss -- independently proposed that morphogenesis is organized by fields. It is not a new idea. I also feel it reasonable to state I can not agree with Sheldrake's idea that the laws of physics are evolving.
[xvi] In recent experiments with bacteria (E. coli), J. Cairns et al, at the Harvard School of Public Health (Shapiro, James A.; "Adaptive Mutation: Who's Really in the Garden?" Science, 268:373, 1995.), find they actually do produce mutations in direct response to changes in their environment in an apparently directed manner. "One of the experiments involves taking colonies of E. coli that are incapable of metabolizing lactose and exposing them to the sugar. If the lactose-utilizing mutants simply arise spontaneously in the population and are then favored by prevailing conditions, then this would lead to one pattern of new colony growth. A distinctly different pattern is produced if, under the new conditions, the rate of production of lactose-utilizing mutants is enhanced. The observation is something of a mixture of patterns, indicating that directed mutation appears to be occurring. 'This experiment suggests that populations of bacteria...have some way of producing (or selectively retaining) only the most appropriate mutations,' note Cairns and his colleagues." (Lewin, Roger; "A Heresy in Evolutionary Biology," Science, 241:1431, 1988.) Research with E. coli at other labs is producing similar heresy. Cairns does not doubt that some mutations arise spontaneously and randomly, but some bacteria have found a way to do a little better. (Hendricks, M.; "Experiments Challenge Genetic Theory," Science News, 134:166, 1988. Also: Cherfas, Jeremy; "Bacteria Take the Chance out of Evolution," New Scientist, p. 34, September 22, 1988.)
[xvii] The absence of intermediate forms is of course today no longer seriously debated, and indeed the absence of such forms is the basis for the so called punk-eek version of evolution. A variant of evolution that Haldane’s dilemma completely falsifies of course, because of the cap it puts on the rate of evolutionary change – but no-one ever seems to mention this.
[xviii] According to an article on the Discovery web site, researchers at Texas A & M University, who have performed a genetic analysis of dolphins, apparently written up in Cytogenetics and Cell Genetics. What they found is that 13 of 22 dolphin chromosomes are exactly the same as human chromosomes. Of the remaining 9, many were discovered to be combinations or rearrangements of their human counterparts. Prof. Hameister of Medical genetics at Ulm University in Germany commented,' Dolphins are marine mammals that swim in the ocean, and it was astonishing to learn that we have more in common with the dolphin than with land mammals.'
While this genetic fact may be baffling to modern day evolutionists, it of course makes perfect sense in light of my ideas. That is to say on one scale used by scientists to measure intelligence, humans rank 7, dolphins 5, and chimps 3. The top three species. According to my theory, the fact that all species are the product of the same biological energy field, would mean all higher level species would have striking genetic similarities, which of course, dolphins and men do. Obviously evolutionists would have you believe that by SHEER RANDOM CHANCE, men and dolphins are independently evolving the exact same chromosomes….. if you believe that you will believe anything as they say. Further evidence on this point of evolutionary converge abounds, and I provide only a small sample of the material that is available.
'One of the most fascinating discoveries of electron microscopy disclosed that all cilia, from flagellates and ciliates to the lower plants with antherozoids and through all phyla of the animal kingdom up to the mammalian including human sperms and ciliated epithelia are of the 9 + 2 stranded type.. What we must recognise is an amazing conservatism which clings, so to speak, indefinitely to an established and approved structure. 'Frey-Wyssling, A (1973) Comparative Organellography of the Cytoplasm, Springer-Verlag, New York, p 65-66.
'Richard Milton, The Facts of Life, p201 'The Tasmanian marsupial wolf is a virtual carbon copy of the European wolf. The marsupial flying phalanger is practically identical to the placental flying squirrel, as are the marsupial jerboa and the placental jeroba… So.. the question for neo-Darwinists is: how can a mouse-like creature have evolved into two identical wolf-like creatures ( and two different moles, etc.) on two different continents? Does this coincidence not demand merely highly improbably random mutations, but miraculous ones? ... the existence of identical evolutionary outcomes in isolated environments is the strongest possible indication that random mutation and natural selection are incapable of explaining the origin of species, and at the same time the strongest possible indicator of some other important process or processes at work, acting in some way to limit or direct the repertoire of evolution.'
Note: It is largely on the basis of this diagram, that I am confidently making a prediction that all life in our galaxy will be similar in the body text. From where I am standing, it just looks like a statement of the obvious, rather than a prediction
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ANTIFREEZE GENES CONVERGE
By Sean Henahan, Access Excellence
WASHINGTON, DC (April 18, 1997) In a remarkable example of convergent evolution, two groups of fish at opposite poles of the Earth have evolved an identical anti-freeze compound necessary for survival.
Researchers have identified the parent of the Antarctic antifreeze gene: a digestive enzyme called trypsinogen. The researchers also suggest that the gene arose five to 14 million years ago, providing a new line of evidence to confirm when the Southern Ocean froze. The researchers describe a rare, direct link between the evolution of a protein, the diversification of an animal and environmental change. The authors, supported by National Science Foundation (NSF) grants, are Liangbiao Chen, Arthur DeVries, and Chi-Hing C. Cheng, all from the University of Illinois.
Millions of years ago, fish in both northern and southern polar waters adapted to a cooling climate by evolving antifreeze proteins that kept them from freezing in frigid oceans, and let them exploit new ecological niches. The new research traces for the first time the genetic process by which a novel protein evolved to enable this adaptation.
The researchers show that the gene for antifreeze glycoprotein (AFGP), found in the Antarctic family of notothenioid fishes, evolved in a unique way: arising "whole cloth" from trypsinogen, an enzyme produced by the pancreas. New genes are usually created through recycling of existing protein genes. "This is the first clear example of how an old protein gene spawned a gene for an entirely new protein with a new function," said Chi-Hing C. Cheng. It is also one of very few newly-minted genes whose evolution can be so clearly traced. "Demonstrations of this sort at the molecular level are rare and noteworthy," write John Logsdon and W. Ford Doolittle in a commentary on the paper. The AFGP gene differs very little from its parent -- only 4 percent to 7 percent in the inherited gene segments -- so in evolutionary terms, its molecular clock began ticking quite recently. Segments at both ends of the gene are nearly identical to the parent trypsinogen gene.
Applying the known rate at which DNA evolves in salmon mitochondria to the amount the AFGP gene has diverged from trypsinogen, the authors have pegged the gene's origin at five to 14 million years ago, close in time to the estimated freezing of the Antarctic Ocean. The freezing date was deduced independently, through studies of changing temperature as recorded in plankton in ocean sediments. Some biologists had argued that Arctic cod, which produce very similar AFGPs, evolved from the same stock as the Antarctic fish. But DeVries, who discovered the first antifreeze gene in Antarctic fish thirty years ago, says the new molecular evidence shows that the two polar fishes, the Arctic cod and the Antarctic notothenioid, developed their antifreeze genes separately.
By sequencing and analysing -- essentially working out the architecture -- of the Arctic AFGP gene, the authors show that it does not resemble the gene for trypsinogen, and differs from its southern counterpart in gene structure and coding sequences as well. The similar AFGPs in two unrelated fishes exemplify convergent evolution -the development of a similar protein from different parents under similar environmental pressure. The notothenioid family now dominates Antarctica's continental shelf, comprising more than half of the species and 95% of the biomass, or weight, of fish there. The fish arose in the deep ocean, but underwent a burst of evolutionary radiation into different ecological niches as the Southern Ocean cooled. In an evolutionary pattern akin to Darwin's finches, they are the only example of an oceanic fish to show this adaptive radiation. The antifreeze protein was evidently a key mechanism that let them colonize different depths of water.
Two related papers appear in the April 15, 1997 issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
From : bionet.molbio.evolution. No reply was given to this post
Can
someone inform me of recent refs in regards to the above specifically in
regards to the convergent evolution of the catalytic triad that is similar in
both mammals and bacterial species. Why should the vertebrate pancreatic serine
proteases and bacterial subtilisin have attained the same solution by
independent parallel evolutionary processes??
G. Mckenzie
Why should caddis fly larvae and a species of aquatic snail look alike? Mimicry is rather common in nature for it often confers some sort of advantage to one or both of the species in the turmoil of evolutionary pressures. Or so the theory goes. Most examples of convergent evolution involve closely related species. In the present case, though, the species are in different phyla. The caddis fly larva builds its snail-like shell by cementing grains of sand together with a silk-like secretion, while the snail's shell is a calcareous excretion. One would expect a strong advantage to be conferred on one or the other species, especially in the matter of predation. Using brook trout as predators, how ever, proved perplexing, for the trout would eat only the snails, avoiding the carbon-copy larvae. (Berger, Joel, and Kaster, Jerry; "Convergent Evolution between Phyla...." Evolution, 33:511, 1979.) Comment. This is a remarkable case of mimicry. One wonders how the caddisfly larvae know exactly what snails look like, and how the unique shell constructing methods were coded into its genes by evolution. Or did the snail emulate the larvae? © Science Frontiers
Alien life
American government deep black project witnesses involved in the Greer UFO disclosure project have stated the 50 or so alien life forms currently known to the American government show astonishing similarities to humans. Some look identical, differing only in having telepathic abilities and other heightened senses. It is said the biologists on the case are baffled, since they thought alien life would be different to earth life, based upon the principals of their faith, I mean scientific theory of Neo-Darwinism. ( note: It is written in ancient texts that man is the product of genetic engineering by aliens, made after their image. I have no opinion on this idea either way, but if this is what the old texts say, then it would unquestionably provide a partial 'out,' for the Neo-Darwinists.)
[xix]"An analysis of the fossil record reveals some unexpected patterns in the origin of major evolutionary innovations, patterns that presumably reflect the operation of different mechanisms." The most interesting "unexpected pattern" is the gross asymmetry between the diversification of life in the Cambrian explosion (about 440 million years ago) and that following the great end Permian extinction (a little over 200 million years ago). Biological innovation was intense in both instances; both biological explosions burst upon a life-impoverished planet. Many niches were unoccupied. Even so, all existing (and many extinct) phyla arose during the Cambrian explosion and none followed the Permian extinction. "...why has this burst of evolutionary invention never again been equalled? Why, in subsequent periods of great evolutionary activity when countless species, genera, and families arose, have there been no new animal body plans produced, no new phyla?" Some evolutionists blame the asymmetry on the different "adaptive space" available in the two periods. "Adaptive space" was almost empty at the beginning of the Cambrian because multicellular organisms had only begun to evolve; whereas after the Permian extinction the surviving species still represented a diverse group with many adaptations. (Just how the amount of "adaptive space" available was communicated to the "mechanism" doing the innovation is not addressed.) Scientists contemplating these matters, however, seem to concur that microevolution, which supposedly gives rise to new species, cannot manage the bigger task of macroevolution, in particular the creation of new phyla at the beginning of the Cambrian. (Lewin, Roger; "A Lopsided Look at Evolution," Science, 241:201, 1988.) From Science Frontiers #60, NOV-DEC 1988. © 1997 William R. Corliss