I
never said that evolution taught that life just popped up fully-formed. HAHA!
Again. Prove to me that Abiogenesis is possible.
Scientists have already been able to prove that abiotic molecules and simpler molecules with redox reactions can self-organize and self-replicate under proper conditions similar to some models of Earth's early atmosphere. They proved that amino acids can spontaneously form protein micosperoids which are likely the most common ancestor of all life on earth, or similar to it. It's not proof, but it's a start.
Which one do you know happened??? The word evolution has six different and unrelated meanings or stages.
There is plenty of evidence for all these phenomena, not just microevolution, which is only different from macroevolution in scale.
Evolution is hypothetical.
There is so much evidence behind the theory, which is falsifiable, that it is "hypothetical" only to the degree that the atomic theory, the theory of special relativity, etc, are.
The steps of the scientific method, which most of us learned in high school science classes, are simple: [1] Observe data, [2] Make an hypothesis, [3] Test the hypothesis, [4] If it passes the tests, make it a theory, [5] Test and retest, [6] If it passes all tests, make it a law.
Actually that is only one aspect of the scientific method. The method can also be used to construct frameworks into which observations fit -- theories.
So, how does one test the hypothesis of evolution? The obvious answer is that one cannot test this hypothesis. It is not possible to create experiments which will either support or defeat this particular hypothesis.
There are many ways to test the theory (not the hypothesis, which it is not). For example, DNA sequencing, which shows how organisms can be grouped by sequence similarity into trees so congruent with traditional taxonomy that they are used to strengthen or correct taxonomic classifications. All the evidence of common descent visible from proteins to endogenous viruses also provide testable evidence. In fact, scientists have uncovered a number of different mechanisms organisms use to facilitate large evolutionary changes: gene duplication, which distributes a lot of genetic material with very little selective constraints; the process of transferring genetic material between cells that are not an organism's offspring, which is how species acquire beneficial genes from each other; and the way populations reassort large numbers of different alleles while establishing reproductive isolation.
Evolution, which is gradual change, cannot be tested in a laboratory experiment. How does one observe 13 billion years of gradual change in a laboratory? One does not. One can not.
Actually, it is quite simple to observe evolution occurring,when populations change their genetic composition from generation to generation. In the laboratory, this has been seen in fruit flies, mice and bacteria and in the field, cichlid fish. Testing evolution with controlled experiments has become its own field.
Scientists cannot observe events that took place billions of years ago. There were no witnesses to write down what happened. There were no cameras to record the events. The hypothesis of evolution is built on data scientists are not able to see or recreate.
By that standard, a great many accepted theories would not be theories, but that is not necessarily how science works. In this case, scientists can infer past macroevolution from transitional fossils, which provide plausible links between several different groups of organisms, for example between birds and dinosaurs, or fish and limbed amphibians.
The evolution of human beings is said to have involved the gradual transition of creatures from primates (apes) to humans. That is the hypothesis. But how can one create experiments to support this hypothesis? In all the recorded history we have, apes remain apes and humans remain humans. No one has ever seen evolution of species taking place, and no one can create a situation in which it can take place. In order for this hypothesis, that primates gradually evolved into humans, to be supported, experiments must be conducted that show this change taking place. It cannot be done.
Actually scientists have seen evolution of species taking place within a life time, as with the examples above. We didn't evolve from primates, we ARE primates. And there is much evidence of human evolution, including: The correspondence of chromosome 2 in humans to two ape chromosomes, the fact that the closest human relative -- the chimpanzee -- has near-identical DNA sequences to human chromosome 2 but are found in two separate chromosomes, and the fact that this is also true of the gorilla and the orangutan. In addition, chromosome 2 contains a vestigial centromere, unusual for any chromosome, as well as vestigial telomeres in the middle of its sequence. This indicates lost ancestral functions not belonging to the current species.
This is very strong evidence in favor of the common descent of humans and other
apes, indicating that the relic of an ancient telomere-telomere fusion marks the point at which two ancestral ape chromosomes fused to give rise to human chromosome 2.
But I've always wondered about possible microbes being on the actual Europa probe craft and if there's more of a concern with it being water as opposed to a barren wasteland like Mars or something as harsh as Venus. Not that Europa is calm and sunny, but contact with alien water seems like a whole different ball of wax.
