This topic has 2 replies, 1 voice, and was last updated 18 years ago by 誠惶誠恐.
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- September 16, 2005 at 3:16 pm #128244
誠惶誠恐
Participant本帖最後由 誠惶誠恐 於 2009-10-19 12:02 編輯
方舟子:又見「達爾文進化論遭挑戰」
科普頻道來源:北京科技報 更新時間:2004-11-30
達爾文1859年出版了震動當時學術界的《物種起源》一書
方舟子快評
眼睛進化秘密一個科學理論被別有用心地歪曲、利用,並非科學理論本身的過錯。
每隔一段時間,就能見到中國所謂主流報刊,甚至是科技類的報刊,宣佈達爾文進化論遭到挑戰、已被推翻的消息。如果我們相信他們的話,達爾文進化論這個現代生物學的基礎理論都不知道已經死了多少次了。對此我已見怪不怪了。不過,看到某報2004年11月18日一篇《眼睛進化秘密揭開達爾文進化論遭強力挑戰 》的報道,仍然讓人覺得奇怪。文章開頭稱:
「科學家們一直在尋找機會反駁達爾文的『優勝劣汰』進化論,最近,來自歐洲分子生物學實驗室的科學家宣佈,他們發現了眼睛進化的秘密,對達爾文的進化理論提出了有力挑戰。科學家們發現,眼睛中感光層的光敏細胞是從我們祖先位於腦中的光敏細胞進化而來的,而非物競天擇。」
讓人看得一團霧水,這項研究說的是,用分子指紋技術發現,一種6億年來形態基本沒有變化的「活化石」───褐片闊沙蠶的腦細胞所含的視蛋白,與人眼感光細胞所含的視蛋白很相似,推測二者有共同的進化起源,進而推測人類的眼睛是從大腦內的感光細胞進化而來。這個進化論研究成果怎麼能夠用以否定達爾文進化論呢?
我查了一下,發現該報的報道實際上是根據歐洲分子生物學實驗室的有關新聞稿編譯的,只不過把結論掉了個個兒。
歐洲分子生物學實驗室新聞稿的第一段說:
「不相信達爾文的人在攻擊其進化論時,經常以眼睛為目標。達爾文本人承認,認為人眼這樣一種『極其完美和複雜的器官』通過隨機突變和自然選擇進化而來,是『荒唐的』。但是他也爭辯說,『如果我們能夠顯示,從一個簡單而不完美的眼睛到一個複雜而完美的眼睛之間,存在著許多漸變的層次』,那麼這個困難就能被克服。歐洲分子生物學實驗室的科學家在本周《科學》雜誌上發表的一項進化論研究,解決了對達爾文的重大挑戰。他們闡明了人眼的進化起源。」
可見,與該報報道恰恰相反,歐洲分子生物學實驗室的科學家認為他們的研究是在支持達爾文有關眼睛進化的猜想,是為達爾文進化論提供了新的證據。那麼該報的記者為什麼把結論搞反了呢?究竟是因為英語水平太差,還是反進化論思想的先入為主在作怪?
我想是二者兼而有之。該記者由於英語水平太差,所以看不懂歐洲分子生物學實驗室的新聞稿在說什麼,把「解決了對達爾文的重大挑戰」(tackled Darwin’s major challenge)理解成了意思相反的「對達爾文的進化理論提出了有力挑戰」。但是該記者顯然早就對達爾文進化論抱有偏見,因此見到「反進化論」的資料如獲至寶,在編譯時又塞入了反進化論的私貨,例如,開門見山說「科學家們一直在尋找機會反駁達爾文的『優勝劣汰』進化論」就是個謊言。現在還如此宣稱,就和宣稱「科學家們一直在尋找機會反駁愛因斯坦的相對論」、「科學家們一直在尋找機會反駁孟德爾的基因論」差不多,因為達爾文進化論早已是一個被普遍接受、有極為確鑿的證據的科學理論,除了某些異想天開的科學狂人和偽科學家,已沒有科學家還「一直在尋找機會」想要去推翻它。某些生物學家雖然對達爾文進化論的個別細節持有異議,想要修正它,但也沒有瘋狂到想要從根本上反駁它。
達爾文進化論既然是一個在科學界被普遍接受的科學理論,我們為什麼經常在大眾媒體上見到不利於達爾文進化論的報道呢?這有多方面的非科學因素。
一個重要因素是宗教因素。達爾文進化論與《聖經》的字面意思存在著根本衝突,基督教原教旨主義者必然要反對它,他們自己也知道那些反對進化論的「科學證據」在生物學家眼中一文不值,在生物學界難以得逞,因此改走「草根道路」,戴著「最新科學成果」的假面,向不具有專業辨別能力的大眾散布種種反進化論的謠言、謊言,大眾媒體也難免受其影響。另一個重要因素是思想因素。有些人由於痛恨鼓吹弱肉強食的社會達爾文主義,連帶著也反感達爾文進化論,甚至認為達爾文進化論是社會達爾文主義的基礎,要反對社會達爾文主義必須首先反對達爾文進化論。這真是天大的冤枉。社會達爾文主義其實應該叫斯賓塞主義,早在達爾文發表《物種起源》之前就已經由英國社會學家斯賓塞提出來了,只不過他後來利用達爾文進化論來推行自己的學說而已。一個科學理論被別有用心地歪曲、利用,並非科學理論本身的過錯。由於痛恨某種科學理論被濫用而反對它,那是因噎廢食,而如果為了反對它而去歪曲它,那更是大謬不然了。
http://www.bioon.com/popular/Class405/discovery/200411/84369.html
- September 16, 2005 at 3:27 pm #79758
誠惶誠恐
Participant本帖最後由 誠惶誠恐 於 2009-10-19 12:03 編輯
眼睛進化秘密揭示 達爾文進化論遭強力挑戰
2004-11-29 08:49:15 來源:科技日報
科學家們一直在尋找機會反駁達爾文的「優勝劣汰」進化論,最近,來自歐洲分子生物學實驗室的科學家宣佈,他們發現了眼睛進化的秘密,對達爾文的進化理論提出了有力挑戰。科學家們發現,眼睛中感光層的光敏細胞是從我們祖先位於腦中的光敏細胞進化而來的,而非物競天擇。
早期的動物祖先中存在兩類光敏細胞,一類是感光桿細胞,現存在於大多數動物的眼睛中,另一類是睫狀細胞,仍存在動物腦中。只是大腦中的睫狀細胞最終進化成視網膜的感光層。
科學家們是通過一種海洋蠕蟲的活化石得出這一結論的,這種蠕蟲與6億多年以前的人類祖先非常相似。當看到這些化石照片時,他們注意到,蠕蟲大腦中的細胞形狀與人眼的感光層非常相似,於是立即產生假設:這兩種光敏細胞可能有共同的進化起源。
他們隨後利用進化論生物學家們常用的現代工具───分子指紋對這一假設進行了科學驗證。如果兩個物種的細胞擁有相匹配的分子指紋,這些細胞很有可能來源於同一個原始細胞。其中一研究人員很快測出蠕蟲大腦細胞的分子指紋,結果發現,蠕蟲的視蛋白(光敏分子)與脊椎動物感光層中的視蛋白驚人地相似,也就是說,這兩種細胞擁有相同的分子指紋,這為人眼進化提供了確切證據,眼睛的細胞來源於腦細胞,並不是通過自然變異和天然選擇進化而來的。
- September 16, 2005 at 3:48 pm #118717
誠惶誠恐
Participant<font color=\”gray\”>Heidelberg, Thursday , 28 October 2004</font>
Darwin\’s greatest challenge tackled
The mystery of eye evolution
EMBL scientists [clockwise]: Detlev Arendt, Jochen Wittbrodt, Heidi Snyman, and Kristin Tessmar-Raible.
The \’living fossil,\’ Platynereis dumerilii.Press release 28 October 2004 [PDF]
Researchers provide concrete evidence about how the human eye evolved
When Darwin\’s skeptics attack his theory of evolution, they often focus on the eye. Darwin himself confessed that it was \’absurd\’ to propose that the human eye, an \’organ of extreme perfection and complication\’ evolved through spontaneous mutation and natural selection. But he also reasoned that \”if numerous gradations from a simple and imperfect eye to one complex and perfect can be shown to exist\” then this difficulty should be overcome. Scientists at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory [EMBL] have now tackled Darwin\’s major challenge in an evolutionary study published this week in the journal Science. They have elucidated the evolutionary origin of the human eye.Researchers in the laboratories of Detlev Arendt and Jochen Wittbrodt have discovered that the light-sensitive cells of our eyes, the rods and cones, are of unexpected evolutionary origin  they come from an ancient population of light-sensitive cells that were initially located in the brain.
\”It is not surprising that cells of human eyes come from the brain. We still have light-sensitive cells in our brains today which detect light and influence our daily rhythms of activity,\” explains Wittbrodt. \”Quite possibly, the human eye has originated from light-sensitive cells in the brain. Only later in evolution would such brain cells have relocated into an eye and gained the potential to confer vision.\”
The scientists discovered that two types of light-sensitive cells existed in our early animal ancestors: rhabdomeric and ciliary. In most animals, rhabdomeric cells became part of the eyes, and ciliary cells remained embedded in the brain. But the evolution of the human eye is peculiar  it is the ciliary cells that were recruited for vision which eventually gave rise to the rods and cones of the retina.
So how did EMBL researchers finally trace the evolution of the eye?
By studying a \’living fossil,\’ Platynereis dumerilii, a marine worm that still resembles early ancestors that lived up to 600 million years ago. Arendt had seen pictures of this worm\’s brain taken by researcher Adriaan Dorresteijn [University of Mainz, Germany]. \”When I saw these pictures, I noticed that the shape of the cells in the worm¡s brain resembled the rods and cones in the human eye. I was immediately intrigued by the idea that both of these light-sensitive cells may have the same evolutionary origin.\”
To test this hypothesis, Arendt and Wittbrodt used a new tool for today¡s evolutionary biologists – \’molecular fingerprints\’. Such a fingerprint is a unique combination of molecules that is found in a specific cell. He explains that if cells between species have matching molecular fingerprints, then the cells are very likely to share a common ancestor cell.
Scientist Kristin Tessmar-Raible provided the crucial evidence to support Arendt\’s hypothesis. With the help of EMBL researcher Heidi Snyman, she determined the molecular fingerprint of the cells in the worm\’s brain. She found an opsin, a light-sensitive molecule, in the worm that strikingly resembled the opsin in the vertebrate rods and cones. \”When I saw this vertebrate-type molecule active in the cells of the Playtnereis brain – it was clear that these cells and the vertebrate rods and cones shared a molecular fingerprint. This was concrete evidence of common evolutionary origin. We had finally solved one of the big mysteries in human eye evolution.\”
Source Article
Ciliary photoreceptors with vertebrate-type opsins in an invertebrate brain
D. Arendt, K. Tessmar-Raible, H. Snyman, A. Dorresteijn, J. Wittbrodt
Science. October 29, 2004.For copies of this Science paper, please contact:
AAAS Office of Public Programs
Tel: +1 [0] 202 326 6440
E-mail: [email=\”[email protected]\”][email protected][/email]Press Contact
Trista Dawson
EMBL Press Officer, European Molecular Biology Laboratory, Meyerhofstrasse 1, D-69117 Heidelberg, Germany
Tel: +49 [0] 6221 387 452
E-mail: [email=\”[email protected]\”][email protected][/email]http://www.embl.org/aboutus/news/press/2004/press28oct04.html
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2004/10/041030215105.htm
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