Evolution Facts

[Mystical]

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]