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Author Topic:   New Species born and studied
Tangle
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Posts: 9489
From: UK
Joined: 10-07-2011
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Message 1 of 5 (795084)
12-06-2016 2:44 AM


Article in the register with the title "Take that, creationists: Boffins witness birth of new species in the lab". The work was done by a student of the famous 'citrate' Lenski.
quote:
A common chant from the anti-evolution crowd is that you can't demonstrate speciation — the creation of new species — in action. Now a team of scientists can do just that for anyone with a few weeks to spare.
In a paper published in the journal Science at the end of November, Justin Meyer, an assistant professor of biology at UC San Diego, describes how his team was able to culture a virus bacteriophage lambda which attacks e. coli bacteria via two receptors on e. coli's cell walls.
Over a month they then introduced the virus to two types of bacteria that each had different receptors for the virus to use. Very quickly the virus split into two distinct new forms, each suited to infecting one of the two types of bacteria. The virus, over time and generations, evolved into two new species, each attacking the receptors on one of the two types of bacteria.
"The virus we started the experiment with, the one with the nondiscriminatory appetite, went extinct. During the process of speciation, it was replaced by its more evolved descendants with a more refined palette," explained Meyer.
"The specialized viruses were much better at infecting through their preferred receptor and blocked their 'jack of all trades' ancestor from infecting cells and reproducing. The survival of the fittest led to the emergence of two new specialized viruses."
Mayer studied at Michigan State University under the legendary professor of microbial ecology Richard Lenski, who co-authored the paper. Lenski gained fame when his ongoing experiment, which began in 1988, conclusively showed speciation in E. coli bacteria.
Lenski demonstrate that over time the bacteria could evolve into a new type that could grow using entirely new food sources. This angered the creationist editor of Conservapedia and led to an exchange of letters with Lenski that resulted in one of the most epic scientific smackdowns in history.
"Even though we set out to study speciation in the lab, I was surprised it happened so fast," said Lenski about the current experiment. "Yet the deeper Justin dug into things — from how the viruses infected different hosts to their DNA sequences — the stronger the evidence became that we really were seeing the early stages of speciation."
Take that, creationists: Boffins witness birth of new species in the lab The Register

Je suis Charlie. Je suis Ahmed. Je suis Juif. Je suis Parisien.
"Life, don't talk to me about life" - Marvin the Paranoid Android
"Science adjusts it's views based on what's observed.
Faith is the denial of observation so that Belief can be preserved."
- Tim Minchin, in his beat poem, Storm.

Replies to this message:
 Message 2 by RAZD, posted 12-06-2016 6:42 AM Tangle has not replied
 Message 3 by Porosity, posted 12-06-2016 11:33 AM Tangle has not replied

  
RAZD
Member (Idle past 1404 days)
Posts: 20714
From: the other end of the sidewalk
Joined: 03-14-2004


Message 2 of 5 (795091)
12-06-2016 6:42 AM
Reply to: Message 1 by Tangle
12-06-2016 2:44 AM


the epic smack-down
... an exchange of letters with Lenski that resulted in one of the most epic scientific smackdowns in history.
The link in the original article is to Lenski affair - RationalWiki
quote:
In a 2012 paper, Blount et al. identified and sequenced the mutations leading to the Cit(+) phenotype. By demonstrating the actual series of mutations that eventually give rise to the phenotype, the scientists eliminated any concerns of horizontal gene transfer or contamination.[12]
Enjoy
ps -- "The Unicorn In The Garden" is one of my favorite James Thurber stories.
http://english.glendale.cc.ca.us/unicorn1.html
Edited by RAZD, : ps

we are limited in our ability to understand
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This message is a reply to:
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Porosity
Member (Idle past 2093 days)
Posts: 158
From: MT, USA
Joined: 06-15-2013


(2)
Message 3 of 5 (795108)
12-06-2016 11:33 AM
Reply to: Message 1 by Tangle
12-06-2016 2:44 AM


But.. but they are still bacteria, the same "kind" should they have not turned into fluffy kittens to prove evolution?

This message is a reply to:
 Message 1 by Tangle, posted 12-06-2016 2:44 AM Tangle has not replied

Replies to this message:
 Message 4 by NoNukes, posted 12-06-2016 2:01 PM Porosity has not replied
 Message 5 by RAZD, posted 12-07-2016 8:05 AM Porosity has not replied

  
NoNukes
Inactive Member


Message 4 of 5 (795120)
12-06-2016 2:01 PM
Reply to: Message 3 by Porosity
12-06-2016 11:33 AM


Is that what the theory of evolution says would happen, or are you just reciting yet another PRATT (point refuted a thousand times)?
I'll bet I missed some sarcasm, again...
Edited by NoNukes, : No reason given.

Under a government which imprisons any unjustly, the true place for a just man is also in prison. Thoreau: Civil Disobedience (1846)
History will have to record that the greatest tragedy of this period of social transition was not the strident clamor of the bad people, but the appalling silence of the good people. Martin Luther King
I never considered a difference of opinion in politics, in religion, in philosophy, as cause for withdrawing from a friend. Thomas Jefferson
Seems to me if its clear that certain things that require ancient dates couldn't possibly be true, we are on our way to throwing out all those ancient dates on the basis of the actual evidence. -- Faith

This message is a reply to:
 Message 3 by Porosity, posted 12-06-2016 11:33 AM Porosity has not replied

  
RAZD
Member (Idle past 1404 days)
Posts: 20714
From: the other end of the sidewalk
Joined: 03-14-2004


Message 5 of 5 (795169)
12-07-2016 8:05 AM
Reply to: Message 3 by Porosity
12-06-2016 11:33 AM


definition of life issue
But.. but they are still bacteria, the same "kind" should they have not turned into fluffy kittens to prove evolution?
LOL
Actually the article concerns viruses, which brings us into the question of whether they are "life" because they are missing an outer cell membrane.
With my definition of life as "something capable of evolution" then this is included (see Message 69 of Definition of Life).
NOTE: Further discussion should be taken to Definition of Life because "Links and Information" is not in a discussion forum.
Enjoy

we are limited in our ability to understand
by our ability to understand
RebelAmerican☆Zen☯Deist
... to learn ... to think ... to live ... to laugh ...
to share.


Join the effort to solve medical problems, AIDS/HIV, Cancer and more with Team EvC! (click)

This message is a reply to:
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