Radiation, Evolution, and Black Frogs at Chernobyl
Back in 1986, Ukraine was a part of the Soviet Union. There was a disaster at the Chernobyl reactor, which caused many fatalities and had some worldwide effects. It is interesting that when scientists discuss what will happen after nuclear disasters, including war, long-term habitability predictions are bleak.
Because of high radiation, there is an exclusion zone where access is possible but strictly limited. Other areas are less dangerous. Radiation is equated with mutations and death, yet critters like dogs are doing well. Tree frogs there are proclaimed as evidence for evolution.
Eastern tree frog, WikiComm / K.Kalaentzis (CC BY-SA 4.0), modified at PhotoFunia |
The real dispute about ‘evolution’ is about the ‘general theory of evolution’. That is, about a process which is claimed to have produced all life on Earth from one ancestral cell, which itself came from non-living chemicals.But the Chernobyl frogs do not support this grand claim. The change in frog colouration at Chernobyl is simply the result of adaptation, by means of natural selection (differential reproduction).
To read the full article, jump to "The black frogs of Chernobyl." This has something in common with another sneaky evolutionist trick, see "Peppered Moth Again."