Evolution/design of human teeth

Message 33 of 58 (647037) 01-07-2012 8:18 PM

Reply to: Message 29 by foreveryoung 01-07-2012 7:41 PM

It continues to be passed down genetically because carrying only one sickle cell gene provides a fitness benefit in that it makes the carrier more resistant to malaria. That's why the trait is more commonly found in those from areas where malaria is more prevalent.

One would expect that if an intelligent designer had something to do with this, the malaria resistance would be present without the accompanying anemia disease. The fact that instead we see a mutation that's good enough to do the job but certainly not in an optimal manner is evidence that it evolved rather than was created.

Of course, I'm just basing my conclusions on evidence and reasoning and not a centuries old book, so I might be mistaken.

Message 35 of 58 (647042) 01-07-2012 8:57 PM

Which goes to show you that if you use faulty reasoning, you get faulty conclusions, which you so aptly demonstrated.

Message 40 of 58 (647051) 01-07-2012 9:53 PM

Reply to: Message 36 by foreveryoung 01-07-2012 8:59 PM

You need to read more carefully. I was using Huntington's disease(note that Huntington's disease is not Hodgkin's disease nor is it even remotely similar) as as example to illustrate how traits that reduce fitness can be passed down. How does this go against you saying that traits which reduce fitness can be passed down?

The reason I used Huntington's disease is that it is inherited in an autosomal dominant fashion, i.e., you only need one copy of the faulty gene to succumb to the disease. The point I was trying to make is that even if a trait is 100% fatal it will not be eliminated from a population if it only manifests itself after reproductive age has been reached.

Given that most people manage to get to reproductive age without suffering from terminal dental caries, there is little selective pressure for our teeth to have changed.

ABE I hit the "Cheers" button on foreveryoung's post while attempting to hit the "Jeers" button. If his post is an example of how carefully he reads other people's posts before replying, I wonder how carefully he's examined the evidence for the ToE.

Edited by Trixie, : Sorting out the "Cheers" and "Jeers" mistake

Edited by Trixie, : Spealing and rypos!

Message 41 of 58 (668093) 07-17-2012 5:29 AM

Reply to: Message 40 by Trixie 01-07-2012 9:53 PM

I liked the post about eating a coarser diet leading to no cavities but there is another point. I lived for three years in the rift valley, where humans are said to have evolved. The water there is 10 ppm of fluoride and higher. My older 3 kids were young then (their adult teeth were forming) and even now have almost no cavities. If we evolved to drink water with 10 ppm of Fluoride and then, reletively recently moved to areas with no fluoride, we would have teeth problems