Amazing Scientific Discoveries Support the Creation Model

1. Amazing Scientific Discoveries Support the Creation Model Dr. Fazale “Fuz” Rana Reasons To Believe

2. Miller–Urey Experiment

3. Primordial Soup? No evidence for prebiotics 12C and 13C content of earliest deposits indicate the presence of life

4. Primordial Soup? Earth’s early conditions • Atmosphere: carbon dioxide, nitrogen and water • Atmospheric oxygen • Oxygen/UV paradox

5. Primordial Soup? Earth’s early conditions • Hydrospheric oxygen, Hydrogen peroxide, Reactive oxygen species • Early volcanic eruptions

6. Life Appears Rapidly At least 3.8 billion years ago 12C enriched • kerogen • apatite • graphite

7. Life Appears Rapidly At 3.5 billion years ago 32S enriched sulfide deposits At 3.5 – 3.8 billion years ago 14N enriched kerogen

8. Life Appears Rapidly Stromatolites ~ 3.3 – 3.5 billion ya • Microbial mats • Complex microbial communities

9. Life Appears Rapidly Microfossils ~ 3.3 – 3.5 billion ya • Resemble cyanobacteria • Show a variety of forms

10. “Now, one of the most arresting facts I have ever learned is that life goes back as far in Earth history as we can possibly trace it….In other words, in the very oldest rocks that stand a chance of showing signs of life, we find those signs-those vestiges-of life. Life is intrinsic to the earth!” Niles Eldredge, The Triumph of Evolution and The Failure of Creationism

11. First Life Is Complex • Complex ecosystem • Photosynthesis • Methanogenesis • Sulfate reduction

12. First Life Is Complex Required Pathways • Photosynthetic or chemoautotrophic • Self-replication • Synthetic pathways • Metabolic pathways

13. “No one has publicly disagreed with my interpretation of the Apex fossils. But privately, some would prefer I were mistaken, since they (and I, too) would prefer a simpler evolutionary story, one that told us these oldest fossil organisms were capable only of primitive ways of living and that advanced metabolic lifestyles evolved much later. But the evidence seems strong, and what one might “prefer” shouldn’t matter.” J. William Schopf, The Cradle of Life

14. Life Appears under Hostile Conditions “Frustration Events” • Late heavy bombardment ~ 3.9 billion years ago

15. Cambrian Explosion • 540 Million Years Ago • Nearly Every Animal Phylum Appears • 2-3 Million Year Window

16. Cambrian Explosion • No New Phyla Since the Cambrian Event • Loss of Phyla

17. Cambrian Explosion Problems • Evolution in the Wrong Direction • Decreasing Cone of Disparity • Too Short a Time Window

18. Fossil Record Features • Absence of Transitional Intermediates • Stasis • Sudden Appearance

19. “…with the benefit of hindsight, I am amazed at how long we accepted that gradual morphological change was the norm when data to support this belief were so sparse and the discrepancy had been known since Darwin’s time. Examples of gradual evolutionary trends in the fossil record can be counted on our fingers and we simply ignored countless examples that do not show the expected pattern. Lack of morphological change was equated with lack of data and the few examples of trends were with the truth… the few known examples of gradual trends are no more than random walks that just happen to be more or less linear.” Christopher R.C. Paul in The Adequacy of the Fossil Record (John Wiley & Sons, 1998)

22. Who were the Neanderthals?

23. Who were the Neanderthals? • ~150,000 to ~30,000 years ago • Europe and Western Asia

24. Summary - Scientific Data Humans originated from a Small Population of Males and Females In a single geographical location

27. Who were the Neanderthals? • Physical similarities with modern humans

28. Physical Differences Between Neanderthals and Humans • Poorly developed chin • Elongated Foramen Magnum • Medial Pterygoid Tubercle • Large Brow Ridge

29. Physical Differences Between Neanderthals and Humans • Large eye sockets • Brain Shape • Large Nose • Large Sinuses • Large Front Teeth

30. Physical Differences Between Neanderthals and Humans • Flatter Skull Base • Higher Larynx • Thicker Bones • Barrel Chests • Shorter Limbs

33. Neanderthal Mt DNA • Neanderthals Have No Genetic (nor Evolutionary) Connection to Humans • Neanderthals Displayed Limited Genetic Diversity

34. Neanderthal Development • Craniodental development of Neanderthals and humans differs from before birth • Differences occur from the time Neanderthals first appear

35. Genetic Tests of Multiregional Hypothesis Study 1 • African and Asian and Oceanic peoples originated from same population group Study 2 • 90% of founding population must come from Africa and this population must be small

36. H. erectus Development • H. erectus developed in a fashion similar to great apes-not modern humans • H. erectus developed from infanthood to adulthood rapidly

39. Molecular Anthropology Compare DNA Sequences of Human Groups • Similarities and Differences • Extent of Differences

40. Molecular Anthropology Gives • Date of Humanity’s Origin • Location of Humanity’s Origin

41. Molecular Anthropology Gives • Original Population Size • Pattern for Humanity’s Spread

42. Scientific Data Genetic Evidence • Diversity • Mt DNA • Y Chromosomal DNA • Linkage Disequilibrium

43. Summary - Scientific Data Humans originated from a Small Population of Males and Females In a single geographical location

44. Summary - Scientific Data Recent Origin of Modern Humans • ~ 50,000 years ago

45. Scientific Data Sudden Appearance of Human culture: • Sophisticated tool kit • Art work • Spiritual Expression

46. Body Ornaments • Dated at 40,000 years ago • No Food Value • Unusual Designs and Color

48. Summary - Scientific Data Humans Originated Suddenly and Dramatically

50. Scientific Predictionsfor the Origin of Humans Creation Model