The Gaps in Evolutionary Theory Created 150 Years Ago

2024 Author: Seth Attwood | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 15:55

This article will briefly discuss some of the flaws in the theory of evolution based only on natural selection. By the way, evolution is a natural process of development of living nature, accompanied by a change in the genetic composition of populations, the formation of adaptations, speciation and extinction of species, the transformation of ecosystems and the biosphere as a whole.

Doubts about the correctness of the theory of evolution based only on natural selection are supported by a detailed study of microorganisms and the scale and coherence of all biostructures and ecostructures. However, despite this, the theory of evolution based on natural selection is still taught in educational institutions in the form in which it was formulated by Charles Darwin more than 150 years ago, without any significant clarifications and changes.

But is such a theory of evolution absolutely correct, or perhaps just an unfinished hypothesis? Today, scientists, without denying the existence of the mechanism of natural selection, are trying to develop a more accurate theory of evolution, which would take into account more factors besides natural selection, and also explain in more detail not only the reasons but also the mechanism of evolution and gave answers to many questions that cannot be answered. the answer is the theory of evolution built only on the process of natural selection. Let's look at some facts that will shed light on the quality of a theory of evolution based solely on natural selection.

Let's start by looking at a very small but necessary organism. It's a bacterium. It would seem that bacteria are already very small and have not yet been fully studied, but even with such knowledge, a conclusion can be drawn. Despite its size, bacteria can perform many different functions, although they lack intelligence, not even that of insects. The coherence of her work still delights scientists. But let's dive even deeper. Bacteria do not have legs to move around in someone else's body; instead of legs, they have several small flagella. Flagella are filaments that emerge from bacteria. Until recently, scientists and researchers did not understand the exact structure of these flagella, but now we have the opportunity to study their structure in more detail, thanks to powerful microscopes.

It turns out that bacterial flagella have a similar structure to modern engines. At the base is the so-called "rotor", which attaches the entire flagellum to the bacteria. This rotor is a round surface covered with many bristles, thanks to which the flagellum, when rotating, remains in place. Right at the very surface of the bacterium, so to speak "on the skin", there is a "sleeve" that rotates the entire flagellum. The sleeve is cylindrical and contains the entire motor mechanism. A so-called "flexible joint" emerges from the sleeve, similar in properties to chewing gum. It connects the sleeve to the thread itself, or mechanically by "blade". When the hub rotates, the thread also rotates, thus acting as a motor on the boat.

It should be noted that with such a number of "motors" (flagella) in bacteria, they do not interfere with each other, but, on the contrary, turn on at the right time in order to move in the right direction for the bacteria. What is the power of such an "engine"? In the article "The Evolution Controversy" it was written: "The bacterial flagellum is a molecular motor that rotates at a speed of 6,000 to 17,000 rpm. And most surprisingly, it takes just a quarter of a turn to stop, change direction, and then spin in the opposite direction at 17,000 rpm.”Now imagine a mechanical motor spinning at 17,000 rpm! This is difficult to accomplish on a scale, not to mention the fact that the flagellum can hardly be seen through a microscope. Imagine that we can assemble such an engine. We will have to work hard to design such an engine and so that every part of our engine works smoothly and flawlessly. Now let's think about how long it will take us to assemble it? Unlike our mechanical engine, the bacterial flagellum, which consists of about 40 parts, assembles itself within 20 minutes!

Let's imagine that we were able to assemble such a powerful and complex mechanical engine, even if not in 20 minutes. And now the question: "Will such an engine be able to assemble itself, as a result of some kind of explosion?" Everyone will immediately answer that this is impossible. This engine is the result of the hard work of the best engineers and scientists. In the same way, the theory of evolution says that all such surprisingly complex and unexplored mechanisms of nature were the result of incomprehensible and impossible accidents, and we take this as a fact, although, using the example of our bacterial engine, it seems to us complete absurdity.

Many factors influenced the appearance of man and all the rest of the diversity of life on Earth. Ask yourself: why does our planet have an ideal shape for people, distance from the sun, size and speed of rotation around its axis and around the sun, as well as a sufficiently strong magnetic field that protects us from cosmic radiation? Where did the atmospheric layers come from, preventing too sharp temperature changes, the protective ozone layer? Where do animals, insects and birds have such a fascinating look, a variety of colors? Why are trees designed to provide people with clean air? Where does this variety of food and other resources come from on Earth? Where did people get such a conveniently structured, well-coordinated and well-thought-out physical body? Where do we get such qualities as love, joy, compassion, caring, the ability to think creatively and create something new?

Fortunately, modern physics, astronomy, probability theory and biology can already provide answers to most of these questions. Some of these questions can also be answered quite logically using the theory of evolution based on natural selection. However, not all of them. For example, the question about the variety of colors in the animal kingdom. Often, no external influence forced some animals, and especially marine inhabitants from generation to generation, to become brighter and brighter in order to survive. However, they became. But the main question is, where does a person get so many different feelings (love, compassion, caring, the ability to sacrifice himself for others or devote his life to them). According to the theory of evolution based on natural selection, living organisms should only have such new properties that allow them to more easily cope with external conditions and difficulties, or more successfully compete within their own species with other individuals. The ability, and sometimes the desire to sacrifice oneself for the sake of another, certainly does not belong to such qualities, this ability, on the contrary, entails a deterioration in the biological state of the organism up to death. Therefore, this quality could not appear as a result of natural selection. However, it appeared, and it is inherent not only in people but also in some animals.

Scientists still cannot fill in the gaps left by the theory of evolution by natural selection. Where did these complex natural mechanisms and such a variety of the most complex forms of life come from? Where do many living organisms have properties that do not contribute to their greater success in the world or better survival, and sometimes, on the contrary, even harm them? We have yet to get answers to these questions. Fortunately, the theory of evolution is evolving. Darwin's theory, or the theory of evolution based on natural selection, appeared more than 150 years ago. This theory is very firmly stuck in school textbooks. But real scientists are constantly developing and improving it.

At the moment, Darwin's theory has already been significantly improved and refined. Modern theories of evolution over the past 150 years have advanced as far as other fields of science. However, they turned out to be very difficult to explain in school textbooks. Therefore, paradoxically, in terms of evolution, most people are still studying what was proposed as a hypothesis 150 years ago. At the moment, the most generally accepted is the synthetic theory of evolution, which is a synthesis of classical Darwinism and population genetics. The synthetic theory of evolution explains the relationship between the material of evolution (genetic mutations) and the mechanism of evolution (natural selection). However, even within the framework of this theory, it is impossible to accurately answer many questions. Therefore, scientific research, research and the process of cognition continues in this area of knowledge. And so it should be!