Natural selection on display this week

 

A four-legged chicken

 I was a zookeeper back in the 1980's at ZooAmerica in Hershey, PA.  A nearby hatching facility regularly sent frozen chicks to us for feeding the bobcats, birds of prey, owls and other predators. 

We regularly found chicks with extra limbs in every batch and sometimes (but less often) the occasional chick with an extra head. However, most suggest this such events are not usually the result of a mutation, but instead the result of conjoined twins when an embryo only partially separates into what would otherwise be identical twins. 

But I have never seen a chick with two extra legs and no wings.

Week 4 Slides - Kitzmiller v. Dover

 

Genetically Altered Mosquitoes

 from the Washington Post:

In Florida Keys, a controversial project 
releases genetically modified mosquitoes

By Gwen Filosa

May 4, 2021 at 12:02 a.m. EDT

MIAMI — A controversial project to release genetically modified mosquitoes in the Florida Keys to battle the disease-carrying Aedes aegypti mosquitoes started last week. Boxes filled with eggs, water and food are being placed in the Lower and Middle Keys.

The modified Aedes aegypti mosquitoes will be in six Keys locations: two on Cudjoe Key, one on Ramrod Key and three on Vaca Key, with the non-biting male mosquitoes starting to emerge in May, according to Oxitec, a British biotech company that is conducting the trial.

The male bugs will mate with the female mosquitoes, which are the ones that bite.

But a “death mechanism” built into the mosquitoes is meant to prevent viable female offspring resulting from the mating, according to Oxitec.

“The female offspring of these encounters cannot survive, and the population of Aedes aegypti is subsequently controlled,” Oxitec said in a statement. “The Aedes aegypti mosquito makes up about 4 percent of the mosquito population in the Keys but is responsible for virtually all mosquito-borne diseases transmitted to humans.”

This species of mosquito spreads diseases such as Zika, dengue fever and chikungunya. Last year, the Keys saw its first outbreak of the mosquito-borne disease dengue fever in 10 years.

Fewer than 12,000 mosquitoes are expected to emerge each week for about 12 weeks, Oxitec said.

The project has been approved by the Environmental Protection Agency, Florida state officials and the local mosquito control district’s five-member board to try to eradicate or significantly reduce the local population of the mosquitoes.

Oxitec said “public support in project areas remains high” but some local people oppose the release of genetically modified male mosquitoes.

Mara Daly, of Key Largo, has been protesting the project for nine years and has deep concerns over whether the release will harm people and the environment.

“The locals have had some serious questions over the years, scientifically, easily based questions that they have refused to answer for 10 years,” Daly said. “They say lots of things but there is no science and no proof and they don’t allow simple testing.”

Daly said Oxitec could have studied whether the project will cause allergic reactions.

“Why do they not perform a simple test to satisfy locals who are forced to be part of this project trial?” Daly asked. “It’s not one person asking. It’s a lot of people asking for a lot of years.”

The mosquitoes will not cause allergic reactions, said Meredith Fensom, head of global public affairs for Oxitec.

“What she’s saying is simply not true,” Fensom said. “Oxitec has conducted extensive tests.”

— Miami Herald

World Religions and Evolution

 (all are hyperlinked, summarized from Pew Forum, 2014)

• Buddhism - no inherent conflict
• Catholicism - accepted, but natural selection is God-directed
• Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints - contradictions, but some acknowledgment
• Episcopal Church - rejects creationist dogma  
• Evangelical Lutheran Church in America - God-directed evolution
• Hinduism - universe is a manifestation of Brhaman, but modern flexibilities
• Islam - Allah created humans in current form, but scholars are divided
• Judaism - God created the universe and all life, but no inherent conflict 
• Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod - creationism is true and factual, rejects evolution
• Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) - 1969 amendment acknowledges no inherent conflict, but no endorsement
• Southern Baptist Convention - 1982 rejection of evolution, restricted support for creation science, support for ID
• United Church of Christ - evolutionary theory and Christian faith are compatible
• United Methodist Church - science is not in conflict with the church's theology

Documents of the Kitzmiller vs. Dover Case

 

Kitzmiller Complaint - LINK

Defendant's Answer to the Complaint - LINK

Deposition of the Assistant Superintendent - LINK

Defendant's Statement of Material Facts - LINK

Plaintiff's Answer to Material Facts - LINK

Brief Opposing Summary Judgment - LINK

Decision - LINK  

Shortcut to Conclusion - LINK

Lemon Test (Lemon v. Kurtzman, 1971) - LINK (evaluating government actions, three prongs)

Endorsement Test (Lynch v. Donnelly, 1982) - LINK (prayers, symbolism, curricula)

     

Judgement Day (PBS NOVA Account of Kitzmiller vs. Dover)

 

Judgement Day (PBS NOVA Account of Kitzmiller vs. Dover) - 01:51:25