One of the new Christians to this forum asked with a please for evolution facts, and I think that we can provide. I myself am still in awe at the absolute lack of science education that I got here in America thanks to my small town religious upbringing, so I thought we could just make a list of them here, in part, for myself since it's all new to me

This I've found, is an excellent introduction to evolutionary biology. (For me its an introduction, anyways.)

http://evolution.berkeley.edu/evosite/ev...igin.shtml

There are countless experiments taking place, forming complex compounds from simple building blocks. There are also countless creationist websites yelling 'nuh uh!', but I tend to believe the people with observable, quantifiable, verifiable, and replicable proof.

We can observe evolution and the Genesis of new species in the lab. It only took 26years and 50,000 generations.


http://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/20...real-time/


RNA and DNA molecules — the genetic material for all life — are just long chains of simple nucleotides.

Here are some current, and half century old experiments proving just that:


http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2013ApJ...765...60G
http://www.astro.cornell.edu/~rgarrod/re...molecules/


Miller-Urey Experiment and subsequent findings:



The Miller–Urey experiment and similar experiments demonstrated that most amino acids,basic chemicals of life, can be racemically synthesized in conditions which were intended to be similar to those of the early Earth.

The Miller–Urey experiment [1] (or Urey–Miller experiment) [2] was an experiment that simulated the conditions thought at the time to be present on the early Earth,and tested for the occurrence of chemical origins of life. Specifically, the experiment tested Alexander Oparin's and J. B. S. Haldane's hypothesis that conditions on the primitive Earth favored chemical reactions that synthesized more complex organic compounds from simpler organic precursors.

After Miller's death in 2007, scientists examining sealed vials preserved from the original experiments were able to show that there were actually well over 20 different amino acids produced in Miller's original experiments. That is considerably more than what Miller originally reported, and more than the 20 that naturally occur in life. [7]

Moreover, some evidence suggests that Earth's original atmosphere might have had a different composition from the gas used in the Miller–Urey experiment. There is abundant evidence of major volcanic eruptions 4 billion years ago, which would have released carbon dioxide (CO 2 ), nitrogen (N 2 ), hydrogen sulfide (H 2 S), and sulfur dioxide (SO 2 ) into the atmosphere. Experiments using these gases in addition to the ones in the original Miller–Urey experiment have produced more diverse molecules. [8]

Miller's experiment was therefore a remarkable success at synthesizing complex organic molecules from simpler chemicals, considering that all life uses just 20 different amino acids. [7]

This experiment inspired many others. In 1961, Joan Oró found that the nucleotide base adenine could be made from hydrogen cyanide (HCN) and ammonia in a water solution. His experiment produced a large amount of adenine, the molecules of which were formed from 5 molecules of HCN. [16] Also, many amino acids are formed from HCN and ammonia under these conditions. [17] Experiments conducted later showed that the other RNA and DNA nucleobases could be obtained through simulated prebiotic chemistry with a reducing atmosphere. [18]

What Darwin Never Knew
Earth teems with a staggering variety of animals, including 9,000 kinds of birds, 28,000 types of fish, and more than 350,000 species of beetles alone.
What explains this explosion of living creatures-1.4 million different species discovered so far, with perhaps another 50 million more to go? The source of life's endless forms was a profound mystery until Charles Darwin's revolutionary idea of natural selection, which he showed could help explain the gradual development of life on earth.
But Darwin's radical insights raised as many questions as they answered. What actually drives evolution and turns one species into another? And how did we evolve? On Charles Darwin's 2009 bicentennial, and the 150th anniversary of the publication of On the Origin of Species, NOVA reveals answers to the riddles that Darwin couldn't explain.
Stunning breakthroughs in a brand new science-nicknamed evo devo - are linking the enigma of origins to another of nature's great mysteries, the development of an embryo. To explore this exciting new idea, NOVA takes viewers on a journey from the Galapagos Islands to the Arctic, and from the Cambrian explosion of animal forms half a billion years ago to the research labs of today.
Here scientists are finally beginning to crack nature's biggest secrets at the genetic level. And, as NOVA shows in this absorbing detective story, the results are confirming the brilliance of Darwin's insights while exposing clues to life's breathtaking diversity in ways he could scarcely have imagined.

Quote:How do species split?What causes speciation? And what evidence do we have that speciation has ever occurred?

Critics of evolution often fall back on the maxim that no one has ever seen one species split into two. While that’s clearly a straw man, because most speciation takes far longer than our lifespan to occur, it’s also not true. We have seen species split, and we continue to see species diverging every day.

From flowers to Orcas to dogs to bacteria, we see new species evolve all around us.

Here's a good thorough list:

http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/scienc...8Df2fd5u5k

Here are some of my favorites:

Live Birth in Three-toed Skinks


Speciation involves many mutations leading to significant changes. The yellow bellied three-toed skink (Saiphos equalis) is a lizard of New South Wales, in Australia, that appears to be undergoing the change from laying eggs to live birth. Since these skinks can either lay eggs or give birth, it gives scientists the chance to study the adaptations necessary for live birth. Skink embryos encased in an egg have an extra source of calcium that the live born skinks lack. It turns out that this nutritional difference is made up by the mother secreting extra calcium for the young held inside her. This looks like the first step on the road to developing a system like the mammalian placenta. Skinks living on the coast tend to lay eggs, probably because the warm weather is predictable and sufficient for embryonic development. Those skinks living in the cooler mountains tend to give birth to live young, the mother’s body providing a more stable temperature. It is to be predicted that these two populations will at some point separate into different species as each population becomes fixed in its reproductive strategy.

This brings up a common question in creationists – If man evolved from apes, why are there still apes? Well, with the skinks we would see two species formed, an egg laying and a live birthing species. Each would be best suited for their habitat. If live birthing skinks evolved from egg layers, why are there still egg layers? Because each is adapted for its niche.

For more examples:

http://listverse.com/2011/11/19/8-exampl...in-action/


Pictures: Nine Fish With "Hands" Found to Be New Species

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/...-pictures/


Omnivore pirahna relative


Pacu is related to the meat-eating piranha, both sharing the same subfamily Serrasalminae, although they have different food habits. The piranha is a carnivorous species while the pacu is omnivorous with vegetative tendencies. The difference is evident in the structure of their teeth. Piranha have pointed, razor-sharp teeth whereas pacu have squarer, straighter teeth, that eerily resemble those of humans.

(July 12, 2014 at 3:10 am)Zidneya Wrote:

Please be intellectually proactive enough to provide context or a synopsis.

Is carbon the main component of organic compounds because of his high reactivity with other nonmetals?

Wiki'd it:

An organic compound, by definition, is one which contains carbon and at least one of: hydrogen or oxygen.

Such organic compounds are common because carbon can bond with up to four separate elements at one time.

Carbon is the smallest tetravalent atom, so it forms strong covalent bonds

Carbon is the most abundant tetravalent atom.

(July 12, 2014 at 4:15 am)Luckie Wrote: Wiki'd it:

An organic compound, by definition, is one which contains carbon and at least one of: hydrogen or oxygen.

Such organic compounds are common because carbon can bond with up to four separate elements at one time.

Carbon is the smallest tetravalent atom, so it forms strong covalent bonds

Carbon is the most abundant tetravalent atom.

In simpler language, carbon is the whore of the periodic table.

Boru

I found the cassiopeiaproject evolution videos to be very detailed and well explained...

I know I keep coming back to this, but what the fuck more do evolution deniers WANT? We've got examples of speciation, we've got fossils, we've got genetic evidence...fuxxake, we've got reptiles giving live birth, oviparous mammals, venomous mammals, wingless birds, fish with rudimentary legs and mammals with scales. But is that enough for them? No, they want crocoducks and dogs giving birth to cats and an unbroken fossil sequence (never mind the rarity of fossilization).

They want us to accept creation based on arguments that have nothing to DO with evolution - 'Darwin was a racist, so evolution can't be true' and 'Carl Sagan was a lousy father, so his views are suspect'.

I used to debate these feckwits. I used to try and take the time to point out to them where they were wrong, why they were wrong, how evolution is really no threat to their beliefs. I've talked about genotypes and phenotypes til I'm blue in the mouth. I've given links to website after website in an attempt to educate these simpletons.

But no more. The information is out there - mountains of it. If they can't be bothered to look at facts instead of the lunatic rantings of the likes of Ken Hamm and WL Craig, fuck them, each and every one. Life's too short for me to spend any more of mine trying to rescue the deliberately, obstinately ignorant from their own folly. Fools.

Boru

You'll burn in hell for not trying hard enough to help these poor xtards.