Industrial Melanism and Peppered Moths
When Rusty Swingset, the foreman at the Darwin Ranch, commences to speechifying to school kids, he invariably brings out the old chestnut that peppered moths are proof of evolution. Of course, he leaves out many important details such as lack of field research, staged photos, and the fact that moths are still moths (still not evolving). Newer research on industrial melanism gives further problems to evolution.
Genetic research indicated that a transposable element in DNA was the cause of the coloring, which changes gene expression. This made evolutionary researchers wonder if it was more than just chance that made the moths dark. The team did further research and saw that other lepidoptera also darkened due to pollution, but more research needs to be done regarding the transposable element factor.
Instead of thinking that maybe the Creator designed the moths to work that way (and remember that both mutations and the false god of Darwinian natural selection require a great amount of time to operate in this mythology), they are at least considering the possibility that there is more than just an accidental mutation happening. No kidding, Sherlock. In fact, this research may be supporting the Continuous Environmental Tracking model under development by the Institute for Creation Research.
Glad you came back. Some interesting research indicates that black coloring is not a method of hiding. The damselfish will attack highly venomous sea snakes, but only the darker versions. It seems that they are a mite confused by the Turtle-Headed Sea Snake ("I didn't do anything!") that is harmless to adult damselfish and the other dark-hued sea snakes that do cause problems.
At first glance, it seems to make sense that nasty Victorian air of London, England, the black peppered moth variety would switch on its super power to go dark. But what about those sea snakes in clear water? Apparently, they are receiving trace amounts of heavy metals from mining operations. To help relieve toxicity, it gets into their skins, which are shed later!
Instead of giving credit to the Master Engineer, the lead researcher evosplained the observations in vague terms and made use of "selective advantage", a subjective and vacuous term. While the research is interesting, it is also incomplete. Questions are raised that need to be lassoed and corralled. Also, this may be another indication of ICR's Engineered Adaptability part of their CET model.
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| Light and dark varieties of peppered moths Credit: both from Wikimedia Commons / Olaf Leillinger (link to top one is here, link to bottom is one here) |
Instead of thinking that maybe the Creator designed the moths to work that way (and remember that both mutations and the false god of Darwinian natural selection require a great amount of time to operate in this mythology), they are at least considering the possibility that there is more than just an accidental mutation happening. No kidding, Sherlock. In fact, this research may be supporting the Continuous Environmental Tracking model under development by the Institute for Creation Research.
Back in 2016, a genetic research team led by Ilik J. Saccheri of the University of Liverpool, England, discovered that the black coloration was due to the insertion of a “transposable element” of DNA. . . . In fact, of the 105 black moths the team examined 103 (98%) had this identical insertion of the transposable element, but the insertion was absent in all 283 white moths studied.You can read the entire article by flying over to "Peppered Moth Color Changes Are Engineered", and I hope y'all will come back for the second part, below.
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A recent paper by Saccheri’s team now extends their research. Peppered moths were not the only moth species that responded to pollution by an increase in the frequency of the black variety.
Glad you came back. Some interesting research indicates that black coloring is not a method of hiding. The damselfish will attack highly venomous sea snakes, but only the darker versions. It seems that they are a mite confused by the Turtle-Headed Sea Snake ("I didn't do anything!") that is harmless to adult damselfish and the other dark-hued sea snakes that do cause problems.
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| Credit: Cropped from Wikimedia Commons image by Tim Cameron (CC by-SA 4.0) |
Instead of giving credit to the Master Engineer, the lead researcher evosplained the observations in vague terms and made use of "selective advantage", a subjective and vacuous term. While the research is interesting, it is also incomplete. Questions are raised that need to be lassoed and corralled. Also, this may be another indication of ICR's Engineered Adaptability part of their CET model.
In her paper, Goiran cites studies that other species of land-dwelling snakes and reptiles also sequester trace elements by melanin in their skin that are excreted with sloughing (shedding) their skin. She also cites a study on pigeons in Paris, France where there was an increased population of dark-feathered pigeons living in soot-soiled areas of air pollution. Chemical analysis found that melanin pigments in the darker feathers also had high levels of bound trace elements. These toxins were excreted with feather loss. Goiran concludes,You can find out what Claire Goiran concluded and to read the entire article, click on "Shedding Toxins: A Surprising Role for 'Industrial Melanism'".