Quote:You failed to mention that other species like Caviidae; Capybaras; some Passerine birds & bats have also lost there ability to synthesise Vitamin C. Does this mean we are also related to them through evolution?
The theory of evolution is about as wacked-out as the theory of creationism.
Here you go, Culldav:
...... researchers were able to use evolutionary theory to make some testable predictions. If the ancestors of humans, the other higher primates, and guinea pigs originally had the ability to synthesize vitamin C then each of these species should still carry the evidence of this lost ability in their genetic material. In addition, researchers predicted that humans and the other higher primates would likely have the same cause for this lost ability, since the scientific evidence suggested that they have all descended from a relatively recent common ancestor. In other words, they predicted that it wasn't a mere coincidence; decent from a common ancestor was the explanation for why humans and other primates are all unable to synthesize vitamin C. Finally, researchers predicted that guinea pigs, a species that was known to be only distantly related to primates, would most likely show evidence of a different cause for this lost ability.
Eventually, researchers confirmed each of these predictions by finding GULO-related DNA sequences in genomes of humans, other higher primates, and guinea pigs. Just as predicted, the sequences exist as broken genes meaning that they are present but non-functional. Here you can see a portion of the human, chimpanzee, orangutan, macaque, and guinea pig sequences compared to the functional GULO sequence found in a cow. This evidence suggests that a frame shift mutation is what originally rendered the GULO gene non-functional in the ancestor of higher primates by creating a premature stop codon. Just as expected, this particular mutation is not found in the same location of the guinea pig sequence. Instead, the evidence suggests that a point mutation in a different part of the guinea part sequence may have been what broke the GULO gene in the ancestor of the modern guinea pigs, again, by creating a premature stop codon. These completely separate mutations both had the same result: they deactivated the GULO enzyme and rendered the bearers of the mutation and all of their descendants unable to produce their own vitamin C. For the animals that originally inherited these mutations their natural diet probably provided all of the vitamin C they needed. This explains how such a seemingly harmful mutation could become so prevalent that it is now found in all members of these populations. A closer analysis of the DNA sequences confirms another prediction of evolutionary theory. In comparison to humans, the chimpanzee's sequence was the most similar, followed by the orangutan's sequence, followed by the macaque's sequence, followed by the guinea pig and cow sequences. Furthermore, ever since the original mutations broke the genes the altered genetic material has accumulated mutations at exactly the rate that is predicted by the evolutionary theory.
So, there you have it. A close examination of the evidence leads to a powerful explanation of a large set of biological observations. These observations only make sense using the real science of evolution.
http://en.wikicaptions.org/wiki/Youtube:SF2N2lbb3dk
There's nothing whacked out about evolution.
Quote:Both fundamentally flawed, and have no place being taught to children as being factual.
Wrong as far as evolution is concerned. The above should help you understand this.
Quote:If we look at the timeline of say 1 million years for humanity to evolve from Homo Rhodesians to current Homo Sapiens, then shouldn’t the question be asked as to why humanity is the only species that has evolved.
You seem to have some weird idea about evolution floating around in your head. Of course other species have undergone evolution- whales, for example.
Quote:Elephants and blue whales have larger brains than humans, but they have not evolutionarily evolved over the past 1 million years. Pygmy Shrews have a ratio of brain mass which is roughly equal to that of humans, but they haven’t evolutionarily evolved over the past 1 million years.
Yup, you have some weird idea about it . How do you think blue whales came to be? Just popped into existence? Have you seen the fossil record on whales? We still have Crocs that have been about for milllions of years. That doesn't mean that evolution hasn't occurred in other lifeforms. Look at the fossil record. Look at moths and industrialism, look at bacteria changing to become antiboitic resistant- It's all EVOLUTION.
Quote:If human beings have lost the ability to synthesise vitamin C, how could that be considered evolution? A species that loses its ability to synthesise an important vitamin for its own well being doesn’t say evolution.
Evolution doesn't mean ever onward and upward to some kind of perfection that you might imagine- it's genetic change and natural selection. That primates lost the ability to synthesize vitamin C didn't make them unfit to survive did it? So , they stuck around.