RockyMidnight

5 hours ago, Debp said:

Where the tourists view the Komodo Dragons, there are alot of the big lizards in that special place....so it's possible the tourist was attacked by several Komodo at once.   Awful....

Some years ago an actor and his wife got taken into the Komodo exhibit at the L.A. Zoo.  Can't remember the actor but I think it was a birthday present from his wife....one of the Komodos bit him in the foot!

What was his wife thinking? 

Cheers!!! 

2 hours ago, Debp said:

RockyMidnight, why did you let your six foot Monitor Lizard loose in Florida? ? Just heard on the news trappers are looking for it.  It was seen looking through some lady's glass door in her back yard.

Seriously, it is dangerous to children and pets.   Years ago I read in a travel industry magazine about a tourist viewing the Komodo Dragons in Indonesia.   Apparently, he had stepped out from behind the protective cement barriers....all they found of him was his hat and camera!

Komodo Dragons don't eat live prey. First they attack it. Their saliva is loaded with infectious bacteria, and all they do is wait until that prey dies of sepsis, then they devour it. No risk of injury to themselves, so that tourist lasted a day or two before getting consumed! I hope he was saved!

Cheers Debp!!! 

2 minutes ago, siegi91 said:

I think the point is: DI institute and ID scientific proponents support old earth, and the science behind it.

If that is the case, how do you trust them when they can make errors of several orders of magnitude for something as mundane as the origin of earth?

 

 siegi

 

Hello Siegi91! Great to see you here again! I don't trust them per say. Again they simply are a resource I thought others here might be interested in knowing about. Personally, I don't trust any resource that claims any philosophy or science that at the very least will not even consider the option for creation by intelligent design, and definitely none that totally ignore Biblical Creation outright.  It is blatant ignorance that is completely unreasonable, even irrational, and therefore totally contrary to any endeavor concerned with finding truth. JMHO of course!

Cheers Siegi91!!!

11 hours ago, Sojourner414 said:

The only way I'm ever eating a lizard sandwich is if we end up getting Brontoburgers from the Flintstones! ?

Actually Sojourner414, Iguana's are on the Menu in Mexico and Central America. You'll never guess what they say they taste like. Yep, Chicken!

http://blogs.worldwatch.org/nourishingtheplanet/iguana-meat-is-on-the-table/

Cheers!!! 

1 minute ago, Debp said:

Wow, I knew about people in FL releasing their Pythons and Boa Constrictors...creating a huge problem in the Everglades...but no idea about the Iguanas.   That's a big lizard!  

Hi Debp! Yes, lot's of non native stuff here in Florida from other parts of the world. In Miami they have a problem with snails from Africa. They are as big as soft balls, and eat concrete, or actually the calcium in concrete. We used to have a little lizard called the Green Anole. Really cute and a native species. They are all but gone, having been out competed for food by the Brown Anole from the Caribbean Islands, introduced here back in the 70's. The Brown's will eat the young of the Greens as well. One could write a book about all the invasive species in this State. Probably someone already has!

Then there's the Love Bug. A genetically created insect by a Florida University that were supposed to pray on mosquitoes. They never ate a single mosquito, and now they come in big swarms in spring and fall, and their body acid content takes paint off cars when you run into their swarms on the roads. There are so many that at times you have to stop driving to clear your windshield as they will cover it so you can't see out! It's happened to me. They can clog up a radiator so bad it stops working and your engine will overheat. Welcome to Paradise!

Cheers Debp!!! 

1 hour ago, Tyler22 said:

Hello friends.  My story is one that I "bore witness" to being a reprobate in April of 2017.  I have tried unbelieving that but im having trouble.  For Christians, what is the best way to "unbelieve" that I am reprobate?  Thanks.  Desperately seeking for answers here.

Hello Tyler! Only Satan wants you convinced you're a reprobate.  You have free will, so predestination is not even logical. It is not a matter of "unbelieving" as that still focuses on Satan's plan for yoy, but in believing in Christ and all of God's word.

Are you born again? If not, and you simply consider yourself a Christian, then you need to confess you sins to Christ and be baptized in the Holy Spirit,and He will take your sins upon Himself, making you sinless. By faith you now belong to Christ; you are His and Satan loses any claim he as long as remain vigilant in Christ's defense you.

Then you need to learn God's word and strive to please Him, without being fearful of falling short. 

Cheers Tyler22!!! 

"If you can't take the heat get out of the kitchen?" (Yowm,  Thoughts About Taking The Heat On Forums thread)! 

Cheers!!! 

40 minutes ago, Debp said:

It's raining cats and dogs!

One of my Grand Mother's favorites; Every pot has a lid! (referring to unmarried people).

Cheers!!! 

40 minutes ago, Debp said:

A Massachusetts woman's three and a half foot lizard was finally found after a month in a neighbor's shed.   It somehow escaped from its outdoor enclosure.  It was a little skinnier but ok.

Can you imagine the neighbor going to the shed and seeing that?   The lizard is a native of South America.

 

I used to live in Boca raton, Florida, where people would have Iguana's for pets. These creatures can grow to 5-6 feet nose to tip of tail, and when they get too big, people would just let them go. Now they are all over the place there, having adapted and are breeding. I could drive down US 41 and literally count scores of them eating plants on the road side. That was over 10 years ago, and now it's even worse! And they can give you a nasty bite! 

 https://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/boca-raton-struggles-with-exploding-iguana-population-they-never-get-rid-them-expert-says/l5OBYaLkLdKjlA91IrQk7N/

Cheers!!! 

On 8/25/2018 at 1:43 PM, zorgblar said:

Has anybody on here every been into out of body or lucid dreaming divination?How did you get over it?And how did you know it was wrong when you came to jesus?I ask this question because i want to help my friends who are into this.

Ecclesiastes 5:7 ESV 

For when dreams increase and words grow many, there is vanity; but God is the one you must fear.

Cheers!!! 

On 7/19/2018 at 3:52 PM, Tyler S. said:

I think my final and ultimate confusion about my eternal destination HAS to be the WAY we are saved. Paul, in his many letters, restated over and over and over (and I’m paraphrasing here) that it is by FAITH that we’re saved! He thinks of good works as profitable and pleasing to God and we’ll be rewarded but they don’t SAVE us. This seemed to make sense until I read on to James and saw that, apparently, faith without WORKS is dead and that God doesn’t recognize faith that isn’t augmented by WORKS...but I thought all out righteousness was like filthy rags? So how can I have faith in the finished work of Christ’s mercy and have “assurance” of my salvation if James says I need works...effectively EARNING my salvation. Originally I thought “oh well James wasn’t writing to ME so it’s fine” but, then again, neither was Paul right? Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks! ?

Tyler! Where did you go? You have received so many outstanding scriptural explanations to you confusion about faith and works, but you haven't indicated if this has resolved your confusion.  It is certainly important to know the difference between faith and works, how the former saves and the latter is just an inherent "fruit" of being saved, and why faith without works is dead (because there is no faith in the first place!).

Do you understand this now? Please let everyone here know.

Thanks Tyler S.

Cheers!!! 

11 minutes ago, Abdicate said:

So I've laid out the crux of the matter: evolution denies the need for a plan of salvation. This is right in line with these verses:

Psalms 10:4 
In the pride of his face the wicked does not seek him; all his thoughts are, “There is no God.” 

2 Thessalonians 2:8-12 
And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will kill with the breath of his mouth and bring to nothing by the appearance of his coming. The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders, and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false, in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness. 

Evolution started with the denial of God, but since science is proving over and over that the universe is so complex that statistically it cannot have happened randomly through any process, so they turn from billions of years to billions of miles - yes, aliens. They now believe an alien race came here and seeded the earth. Star Trek has been pushing that for over a generation. Here is the "strong delusion" aliens. Every Sci Fi show is about aliens, some good, most bad. The point is even the evening news talks about that UFOs are real. They are nothing more than demonic activities. We either believe God despite our five senses or we don't. After all, isn't that what Heb 11:1 explains?

Here is the domino effect for sure: no Adam, no Eve, no Sin, no God, then yes to aliens to remove God from His unmistakable handiwork. That's just plain Vulcan logic.

The Lord has said: "These people praise me with their words, but they never really think about me. They worship me by repeating rules made up by humans. So once again I will do things that shock and amaze them, and I will destroy the wisdom of those who claim to know and understand." (Is 29:13-14 CEV)

The Lord said, "These people claim to worship me, but their words are meaningless, and their hearts are somewhere else. Their religion is nothing but human rules and traditions, which they have simply memorized. So I will startle them with one unexpected blow after another. Those who are wise will turn out to be fools, and all their cleverness will be useless." (Is 29:13-14 GNB)

I make liars of false prophets and fools of fortunetellers. I take human wisdom and turn it into nonsense. (Is 44:25 CEV)

I make fools of fortunetellers and frustrate the predictions of astrologers. The words of the wise I refute and show that their wisdom is foolishness. (Is 44:25 GNB)    

This applies to aliens as well, even Vulcans!

Cheers!!! 

2 hours ago, Debp said:

If it walks like a duck, if it sounds like a duck....

Then it must be a rabbit! 

Cheers Debp!!! 

1 hour ago, one.opinion said:

I absolutely agree! I just see evolution as a tool that God used, not an explanation unto itself.

If you were to say “There simply is no prion for it to evolve on its own”, I would agree with this, too!

How many people do you know have a PhD in biology? Of those, how many chose to study biology as a way to refute the existence of God? It sounds like you are assigning motives to people you don’t know, but I could be wrong.

I absolutely agree! I just see evolution as a tool that God used, not an explanation unto itself.

I understand your point. I thought that for a long time myself, but can you find one scripture that supports this? No, but there are plenty to refute it.

If you were to say “There simply is no prion for it to evolve on its own”, I would agree with this, too!

No, sorry, but I wouldn't say that. I would say what I already said! 

How many people do you know have a PhD in biology? Of those, how many chose to study biology as a way to refute the existence of God? It sounds like you are assigning motives to people you don’t know, but I could be wrong.

Great point! I worded that very poorly. What I meant was how many unbelievers in science depend on science to confirm their unbelief. 

Now that addressed, have you considered that you are actually trying to justify evolution within creation? Round peg, square hole. Based on God's word, it just doesn't fit. Actually, if biology ever discovers the science of quantum physics, it to will realize that, scientifically, evolution is non existent. Ultimately science will be forced to admit that existence is by intelligent design. There is no way to avoid it, no matter how many theories science devises.

Cheers!!! 

1 hour ago, one.opinion said:

I’m sorry you’ve had that experience. I’ve known about two dozen academics that love Jesus Christ and accept the science of evolution. They recognize the ultimate truth of Jesus and also accept what He has made evident in His creation.

One.Opinion, your friends are deceiving themselves. If you believe in God and Jesus, then you believe He is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow forever. No option for change and certainly none for evolution. Hebrews 11: 3 By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible. Creation and all that exists comes from God's will, and no where else. God is immutable, so when He willed matter and energy and all the structures they combine to form, organic and inorganic, that matter and energy is the same today as it was when He created it. There simply is no option for it to evolve.

He does not change, nor does what He willed into existence. God decided before the beginning all that we have experienced, experience now, or ever will experience. Where is the evolution in that? (In case you were going to bring this up in response, no, this does not eliminate free will at all. When you know someone well enough to know what they will decide to do in a given situation, you are not denying them their free will. You simply know in advance how they will use that free will. God knows each of us better than we know ourselves, so He knew even before we were born all our choices and willed existence to conform to those choices accordingly and  to best serve His purpose and plan.  He is after all Omniscient, Omnipotent, Omnipresent)

There cannot be a Biblical bad argument for evolution therefore, because evolution is not even a Biblical possibility. 

Yes, I know when a person believes in science and believes in God it can be a conflict. Look at how many unbelievers are in science just to chose that conflict. But the bottom line is that in every case, God's word trumps all other considerations. At best, for those open minded enough to realize all that God has created is His, and leads back to Him. Science can do that; it can lead back to God, but not as long as it strains to seek any new explanation that eliminates God. Science needs to get "real".

Cheers One.Opinion!!! 

2 hours ago, one.opinion said:

I just ran across an article that is relevant to the conversation. You can link to it (here).

Theodosius Dobzhansky, an Eastern Orthodox Christian and scientist, famously wrote in 1973 that “nothing in biology makes sense except in the light of evolution.” He was talking specifically about fossils, the diversity and geography of life, and the sequence similarities between proteins. We now know he could also add cancer to his list. Our understanding of both cancer and evolution are intertwined.

Evolutionary theory “makes sense” of cancer, giving us critical insight into how it works.

This has become particularly clear in recent years. Now, we can sequence all the genes in a patient’s cancer, and see how they change over time as cancer evolves. Cancer evolves with the same evolutionary mechanisms¹ that drive the evolution of new species. Like breadcrumbs marking a path through a forest, cancer evolution leaves information in cellular genomes that evolutionary theory can decode.

Going the other direction, cancer makes sense of evolution too. Cancer itself is not evolution at the species level. However, it validates the mathematical framework underlying modern evolutionary theory. Cancer cells evolve multiple new functions in an evolutionary process, creating precise genetic signatures of common descent. At both a genetic and functional level, cancer follows patterns explained by evolutionary theory.

Skeptics of evolution often doubt we know enough about how genomes change over time, or how new functions arise, to correctly infer common ancestry from patterns in genetic data. They sometimes argue that “historical science” cannot be trusted, since it is making claims about the distant past. In cancer, however, we can directly verify that evolutionary theory correctly reconstructs a cancer’s history, including its ancestry. We see all the same patterns in cancer evolution that we do in the evolution of species: neutral drift, nested clades, novel functions, and positive selection. The same math, software, and theory that is used to study the evolution of species works for cancer too.

If evolutionary theory is wrong about the origin of species, why does it work so well for cancer?

What is Cancer?

On a human level, we are all affected by cancer. Many of us will die from it. Almost of all of us will be close to someone who dies from it. Cancer is a tragedy. Scientists want to understand how cancer works so we can intervene and reduce human suffering.

From a biological point of view, it is now clear that cancer is an evolutionary disease. Cancer biologists use evolutionary theory because it is useful and accurate, not because they are pushing an “evolutionary agenda.” In cancer, cells evolve a set of new functions. These functions are beneficial to the cancer cell, but ultimately lethal to their host. And cancer must do much more than just grow quickly. It must also…

1. ignore signals to die,
2. evade immune defenses,
3. grow blood vessels to obtain nutrients,
4. invade surrounding tissue,
5. survive in the bloodstream,
6. establish new colonies throughout the body,
7. and even resist treatment.

Not every cancer acquires all these functions. Nonetheless, in all cases, more than just rapid growth is required for cancer to develop. Several new functions are required. Ultimately, many cancers will acquire more than ten beneficial (to the cancer cell) mutations that enable these new functions.

One incorrect metaphor for cancer (and a misguided way of dismissing evolution) is that cancer is just cells “breaking down” or “gunk in the machine.” Superficially, the “breaking down” metaphor explains some changes in cancer. For example, some cells acquire the ability to divide uncontrollably by truncating, or “breaking,” specific proteins that normally control cell division.

The “breaking down” metaphor, however, is not adequate. When our technology breaks down, it never produces anything resembling cancer. Old cars, laptops, and watches do not grow tumors as they break down. In this way, cancer reminds us that biology is unlike any human design. Cancer is unique to biological systems, and we are afflicted with it because we are intrinsically capable of evolving.

Evolution, it turns out, is a much more useful framework for understanding cancer. From the cell’s point of view, cancer is evolving new functions in the environment of the host’s body. It evolves these functions in an evolutionary process. Cancer exists only because biological systems, including humans, have the intrinsic ability to evolve.

Does Cancer Evolve New Species?

Of course, cancer does not evolve new species. At least not usually…

In biology, there are exceptions to almost every rule, including this one. As it turns out, cancer occasionally produces new species. The two most interesting examples of this are a parasite that infects dogs, and another that infects Tasmanian devils. In these cases, a cancer evolved specific new functions: genetic stability and infectivity. Then, because of its location and the behavior of its host, it spread to others. A new species of parasite is born.

New species arise from cancer only very rarely; this isn’t the rule. Still, sometimes, they do. The evolution of new species from cancer is an important reminder that biology is surprising. It does not work according to our intuitions. In biology, there are always exceptions to the rules, and the improbable flukes are important.

Moreover, cancer still demonstrates how evolution works at a genetic level. Instead of millions of years, the time scale of cancer’s evolution is just years. So, cancer enables us to repeatedly study evolution in a system that matches our own biology. We see several important patterns: signatures of evolution. Evolution leaves information in our genomes from which we can reconstruct the past.

“Neutral” Processes Dominate Evolution

A common misconception about evolution is that it is dominated by natural selection acting on beneficial mutations (this is often what is meant by “Darwinian” mechanism). However, brilliant mathematical work and genetic experiments in the 1960s and 1970s by scientists like Haldane and Kimura demonstrated that evolution, at the genetic level, is usually dominated, instead, by the drift of neutral or near-neutral mutations. So most of the genetic differences between different lineages were either non-functional or not beneficial enough for natural selection. Only a few of the differences were fixed by natural selection. This is one reason biologists say that Darwinian evolution² is quantitatively less important than non-Darwinian evolution (e.g. neutral drift, neutral draft,³ and other mechanisms) in explaining the complexity in genetic differences between species.

Cancer evolution independently confirms that neutral theory is correct. We see the same patterns here, but the terminology is different.

In place of beneficial and neutral mutations, Cancer biologists often talk about “driver” and “passenger” mutations. The driver mutations are the ones that cause cancer, by conferring new abilities on the cancer cells. The passengers have no strongly selectable function: they are neutral. Rather than by natural selection, these neutral mutations are fixed by other mechanisms, like neutral drift. Any individual cancer cell will have tens, hundreds, or even thousands of mutations. But only a few⁴ of the mutations are drivers that are selected by natural selection. We know this fact from direct experimentation; only a small handful of mutations (of the thousands we observe) can actually induce cancer.

This is exactly what we expect from neutral evolutionary theory: drivers are vastly outnumbered by passengers. This is true for cancer, and it is also true for the evolution of new species. For example, the vast majority of genetic differences between humans and chimpanzees are neutral, and were fixed by neutral mechanisms like drift and draft. Over the last 6 million years, our ancestors explored hundreds of billions of mutations,⁵ tens of millions of these mutations were neutral and drifted into our genomes, and perhaps just a few thousand mutations were functionally important enough to be selected by natural selection.

Genetic Information and Common Descent

Most of the information in cancer genomes is a record of history. Genomes record the origins and evolution of every cancer cell, and their relationships to one another. Using evolutionary theory, we can read this history out of genetic data.

The specific part of evolutionary theory that reads history from genetic data is “phylogenetics.” Phylogenetics is foundational to modern evolutionary theory, with deep roots in information theory, population genetics, and neutral theory. It bears repeating, the exact same math, software, and theory that so accurately reconstructs a cancer’s history, is also used to reconstruct the evolutionary history of species.

Phylogenetics is powerful because there is so much historical information in genetic data. This information traces the ancestry of cancer cells. For example, one study used phylogenetics to map the ancestry of cells in a colon with a large tumor.⁶ This analysis showed that the cancer arose from a mutated original cell that also gave rise to neighboring regions of the colon and nearby polyps. The genetic mutations in the colon are in a “nested clade” pattern, exactly as evolution predicts.

Phylogenetics can identify exceptions to the normal rules of biology; it can reconstruct surprising and unexpected events. For example, we usually assume that cancer descends from a single cell in the host patient, but this is not always the case. Evolutionary analysis of genetic data (based on neutral theory), is how scientists demonstrated that the parasitic cancer in dogs is not a normal cancer, but an infectious parasite. Phylogenetically, parasitic tumors from different dogs shared most recent common ancestry with each other, rather than with the cells of the dogs. In the distant past, a single dog’s cancer evolved into an infectious parasite. This cancer is the common ancestor of all the parasitic cancer tumors we see today in dogs. As surprising as this is, we see the story recorded in the genetic information.

Phylogenetics also detects exceptions to common descent from a single Tree of Life, an overly simplified model of evolution. For example, many cancers are partly caused by “horizontal gene transfer.” In these cases, viruses transfer new genes into normal cells. Famously, the human papilloma (HPV) virus causes cervical cancer in this way. It transfers genes into the cells it infects. The newly transferred HPV genes give our cells some of the new functions needed for cancer.

In the same way, phylogenetics detects horizontal transfer of genes in the evolution of species. For example, an important protein in human placentas looks and functions like a viral protein that transferred to our ancestors in the same way HPV transfers its genes to enable cancer evolution.

Convergence and Multiple Solutions

What about the drivers? What patterns do we see in how cancer evolves new functions? Two key patterns emerge. On one hand, we see cancer evolution “converge” to the same solutions. On the other hand, cancers are incredibly diverse, demonstrating that there are multiple ways to evolve the same function.

Cancer demonstrates “convergent evolution.” We see this at both a genetic and a functional level. For example, specific driver mutations are often “recurrent”: they appear independently in different patients. In other common cases, different mutations in the same genes have very similar overall effects. Similarly, proteins in the specific pathways are often independently mutated in different patients. Functionally, cancers usually evolve new functions in a predictable sequence. So, cancer demonstrates convergent evolution in multiple ways.

We see convergent evolution of species too. At a functional level, bat and bird wings are a type of structural and functional convergence. So are the wide variety of eyes we find in nature, where we frequently observe structural and functional convergence. Evolution sometimes shows convergence on a molecular level as well. In these cases, the same mechanisms, pathways, and mutations occur independently in multiple lineages. For example, different mammals evolved similar placentas by horizontal gene transfers from different viruses (a convergent mechanism and genetic change). Then, as placentas became more effective at nourishing embryos, egg yolk became obsolete. Then, each line of mammals began to independently lose their yolk genes (a convergent genetic change).

On the other hand, cancer demonstrates there are thousands of possible mutations that could evolve the same functions. There are a very large number of ways to solve the problem. This makes evolution more likely, because no single specific set of mutations is required to generate a new function. Instead, evolution has only to find one of the many solutions. This makes it much easier for new functions to arise.

We see multiple solutions in the evolution of species too. A large number of mutations can all have the same functional effect. There are multiple ways to solve the same functional problem. In fact, convergence at one level is usually accomplished with totally different solutions at other levels.

For example, there are multiple ways to lose a gene, so there is divergence in the specific inactivation histories of yolk genes in each mammalian line. A similar example: bats and birds both have wings (convergence), but their wings are also different and make use of many different genes and structures (divergence). Evolution makes coherent sense of these patterns of convergence and divergence. And this feature of biology, that there are multiple ways of solving the same problem, makes the evolution of new functions much more likely.

Some see convergence as evidence against evolution. Cancer, however, empirically demonstrates that evolutionary processes do converge to similar solutions. Likewise, most mathematical arguments against evolution assume that specific mutations are required to evolve new functions. Cancer, however, empirically demonstrates that the same function can evolve from a very large number of different mutations.

Cancer’s Testimony of Evolution

We have some understanding of cancer evolution, but we are learning more all the time. Currently, we have the genomes of over 10,000 tumors, covering dozens of different types of cancer, and this number is going to exponentially grow in coming years. Repeated observations of the same evolutionary process gives us unprecedented understanding of how life evolves.

In the end, cancer does not (usually) demonstrate evolution of new species. It does not demonstrate that humans arose from a common ancestor with the great apes. It does not demonstrate the full story of evolution. To tell that story, we need information from the genomes from multiple species and the fossil record. Encouragingly, the same evolutionary theory that reconstructs cancer’s history works here too.

Even before engaging the larger story, a detailed look at cancer leaves us with some important conclusions; without doubt, evolution makes sense of cancer. Whether or not we agree with the full evolutionary story, cancer demonstrates that evolutionary theory itself is useful. Going a small step farther, understanding evolution is centrally important in medical research. Fundamentally, cancer is an evolutionary disease. It only arises because life evolves.

 

 

1.  We see both Darwinian and non-Darwinian mechanisms in cancer. The “Darwinian” mechanism is the most commonly understood mechanism of evolution: positive selection acting on random mutations. While this mechanism of evolution is important, is not the only mechanism of evolution. Evolution also works by several “non-Darwinian” mechanisms in addition to strict Darwinism. For example, neutral drift and negative selection (sometimes called purifying selection) are also necessary to understand evolution at a genetic level. This fact makes A Scientific Dissent From Darwinism very strange. Biologist do not think “random mutation and natural selection” can fully “account for the complexity of life;” for example, we need non-Darwinian mechanisms too. Moreover, the precise mechanisms of evolution are an active area of continued “examination” in science.
2.  In this sentence, Darwinism does not refer to the modern understanding of evolution, but the definition of Darwinism in A Scientific Dissent From Darwinism: exclusively random mutation and natural selection.
3. Genetic “draft” is subtly different than neutral drift, but also a mechanism by which neutral mutations are fixed. In this case, they are fixed because they are nearby beneficial mutations in the genome. They “hitchhike” on the selective force generated by the drivers. In principle, “passenger” mutations can be fixed by either drift or draft, though sometimes the distinction is not clarified when “passengers” are referred to as “hitchiker” mutations. Either way, these mutations are selectively neutral, are the most common mutations in cancer, and are not fixed by positive selection acting on their beneficial.
4. Estimates range from three to about seven rate limiting mutations, and perhaps ten or so more likely mutations too. The seminal work by Armitage-Doll in 1954 is a brilliant study of this point, well ahead of its time.
5. A low estimate of the number of mutations explored by our ancestors over the last 6 million years is 400 billion mutations. The human genome is only 3 billion bases long, so every possible point mutation could have been explored more than one hundred times.his estimate is computed assuming 10,000 individuals, 100 new mutations per individual, and a generation time of 15 years (10,000 * 100 * 6 million / 15). Remember, this is a very low estimate that ignores the upward contributions of population growth, individuals that die before reproducing, and variations in mutation rate. In this simplified model, we expect about 40 million mutations to be fixed by neutral drift (100 * 6 million / 15) and for there to be about 80 million point differences between chimps and humans (or 1.3% difference). This very rough calculation is reasonably close to the observed differences human and chimpanzee genomes (about 2% different). These are very rough estimates with simplified formulas and imprecise data, so some discrepancy is expected. As we improve the models and the data, the discrepancies reduce and neutral drift still accounts for the vast majority of genetic differences between us and our common ancestors with apes. Only a small number of differences, perhaps just a few thousand mutations, were beneficial enough to be fixed by natural selection. The rest were fixed by neutral processes (like drift and draft). Moreover, the rough formula is often a good approximation: mutation rate multiplied by divergence time approximately equals the observed divergence divided by two.
6. In the linked figure (warning: graphic image of internal organ), because of the low mobility of colon cells, we also see the clades in a geographical distribution that matches their ancestry. The spatial pattern of biogeography was one of the earliest clues to the evolution of species, and we see it in cancer too. We also see convergence, as multiple polyps (a convergent function) develop independently in different lineages. Moreover, phylogenetics has become a critical tool in studying colon cancer specifically, other cancers too, and also cancer metastasis.

Did you miss this one? 

http://peacefulscience.org/peace-be-with-you/

Cheers One.Opinion!!! 

4 hours ago, Jen77 said:

I joined a team within my company about a year ago and am now regretting it.  I am the only straight (and female, and Christian) person in a group of five money-hungry, Christian-hating gay men whose mouths and minds are filled with the most vile things, and they speak of everyone around them -clients, other teams, anyone - with bitter contempt.  I was not the most devoted Christian when I joined, so it would be an unpleasant surprise to my team if I were to begin to demonstrate my faith, even in the smallest ways. In fact, whenever they take the opportunity to bash believers, I stay silent for fear of putting my job in jeopardy.  They managed to push out the previous girl, who was also a Christian. My desire is to leave the team and find a better fit - as well as something closer to home (my commute is over an hour one way).

I have been praying persistently to Jesus to invoke the Holy Spirit to either strengthen my walk and help me endure this job, or provide a better opportunity.  But neither has happened, and I live in constant discouragement.

Recently I was presented with a better offer from a Godly team in my hometown.  I turned it down before my resume was even accepted, simply because the ringleader of my team suspected I was looking for another job, and offered me a $200 gas card and a .50-cent an hour raise.  Now I feel like Judas, who was bought out by the Pharisees for a bag of coins. Furthermore, my boss has recently insisted on helping me financially with moving into my new apartment. So I feel ashamed, because in a way I am greatly indebted to him.

Would there be a reason for God to keep me in this job - possibly to use it as a mission field? I should hope not, no Christian should have to be surrounded by this daily filth!  But I’m afraid since I forfeited my chance at a better opportunity for a few cents more an hour, I have indeed messed up God’s plan, and now must remain here as a consequence. How am I ever to know which path God wants me to take?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

 

Hello Jen77! Try this. Read your post as if it was someone else's dilemma.  What would your advise be to that person? You already know the answer. Now, read Colossians Chapter 3 and especially versus 23 and 24. No need for advice after all as this is your answer!

Cheers!!! 

On 8/20/2018 at 7:40 PM, FaithGirl said:

I have pre diabetes so please pray that it goes away I am watching my sugar intake I drink diet soda instead of regular soda

Hello FaithGirl!  Soda of any kind is not helping you.  Diet soda contains artificial sweeteners that can create a whole other set of problems. Better to switch to green tea with honey. Also read the food labels for sugar and carb content. And limit consumption of anything with MSG (Monosodium Glutamate). While generally considered safe (FDA approved) MSG has been linked to insulin intolerance and type 2 diabetes, and high blood pressure. daily exercise is also an important factor to stay healthy.

It would be wise if you consulted a nutritionist who specialists in pre-diabetic/diabetic conditions as well, as what you eat is critical to diabetes prevention and control, especially if you have family members with diabetes (Genetically predisposed to developing diabetes).

As with the others here, I am also praying for your health, but you must do your part too, by taking control of reducing  those things that create a pre-diabetic situation. Trust me, you do not want to deal with the effects of diabetes at all.

Cheers!!! 

Spaceballs (1987)

Cheers!!! 

Same difference!

Cheers!!! 

1 hour ago, Debp said:

Keep your nose out of my business!

But I thought you manufactured Kleenex!

Cheers!!! 

"God created war so that Americans would learn geography." –Mark Twain

"A clear conscience is the sure sign of a bad memory." –Mark Twain

Fillet and release!

"Toto, I've (got) a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore."

Wizard of Oz

Cheers!!!