Darwin evolution going backwards? (Introduction)

by David Turell , Thursday, September 04, 2008, 16:55 (5713 days ago) @ George Jelliss

The article cited by David Turell is a good example of the way science works. New facts are discovered and old theories have to be revised. 
> It's surely pretty obvious why some birds lose the power of flight. They arrive in a place where there is an abundance of food and a lack of predators so they don't need to waste energy on flight, and they grow larger until they are too heavy to fly any more. - George's explanation as to why birds lose flight is a good guess, but we don't really know 'why'. His explanation fits Australia and New Zealand, but doesn't explain the Serengeti in Kenya and Tanzania. There the ostrich, which can run fast, live side by side with the red of tooth and claw: lions, leopards, and cheetahs. Ostriches can really move out, but cheetahs are the fastest animal on Earth. - And this is my real point. The genetic study of DNA/RNA will really help the suppositions of the Darwin Theory. Many of the after-the-fact explanations of evolution offered by Darwin scientists will be revised, but never having seen evolution in historical perspective, much of our knowledge will still be guess work, not as to the 'how' but as to the 'why'.