Saturday, April 18, 2009

How does evolution do this?

"Desorption electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (DESI-MS) reveals that a simple red seaweed uses 28 different chemical weapons to defend itself against a single fungal attack." Even back in the days when I was a humanist Democrat, I didn't believe in evolution. So don't think this is confined to conservative Christians. Even when I was taught it all through 12 years of public school and college and my master's degree. Even when I was Associate Professor working in a science library. Even when people would point and laugh and loan me books to show me the error of my ways. And this DESI-MS story (which I only found today) is a good example of why at age 6 I had figured it out. So, while chemicals 5, 15 and 27 were evolving over a few million years, how did the seaweed protect itself from fungal attack (which was also evolving at a different pace, I assume). And will it die out before it can evolve #29 because the fungus is also evolving?

The Bible begins in a garden with a man and woman and ends with a city and a bride and bridegroom. You can trust it.

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