Exam 10, Origins of Life

Question 1

a

What is the estimated age of the universe and earth according to mainstream science?

Answer 1

Approximately 13.8 billion years for Universe; 4.5 billion for Earth

Question 2

What is radiometric dating, and what does it measure?

Answer 2

• Dating rocks, fossils, or even human artifacts based upon the ratio of certain parent atoms/elements “break down” (nuclear/radioactive decay) into other daughter elements over specific amount of time unique to each element.

Question 3

Describe the “primordial soup” model in the context of abiogenesis.

Answer 3

the first “simple” cell arose in an aquatic environment near volcanic vents with heat, minerals, protection, concentrated molecules, sunlight, lightning

Question 4

What are the four main biomolecules essential for life?

Answer 4

Carbohydrates, lipids, proteins (made of amino acid monomers), and nucleic acids (DNA, RNA; that are made of nucleotide monomers).

Question 5

Explain the significance of chirality in biomolecules for life.

Answer 5

Chirality refers to the mirror-image forms of biomolecules; life on Earth predominantly uses one form (e.g., left-handed amino acids; right-handed sugars), which is essential for the proper structure and function of biological macromolecules.
Yet, most mixtures created in a lab or made in prebiotic conditions are racemic (meaning they are 50/50 of each mirror image!–so no good for life)

Question 6

Why is the concept of molecular degradation a challenge for abiogenesis?

Answer 6

Biomolecules can degrade quickly or react with other unfavorable substances rapidly, which poses a challenge for their accumulation and the formation of complex life without protective or intelligently-guided mechanisms.

Question 7

What is Atheism?

Answer 7

Atheism is the absence of belief in the existence of supernatural God(s).

Question 8

What is the Levinthal paradox, and how does it argue against abiogenesis?

Answer 8

highlights the EXTREME improbability of proteins folding into their functional 3-D shapes/conformations through random chance, suggesting a guided process being required!

Question 9

Define Materialism/Naturalism.

Answer 9

It’s the philosophical stance that everything arises from natural properties and causes, excluding supernatural explanations.

Question 10

Describe Theism.

Answer 10

The belief in the existence of one or more God(s).

Question 11

Explain Young-Earth Creationism.

Answer 11

The belief in Earth and life’s creation by God over 7, 24-hour days, around 6,000 to 10,000 years ago.

Question 12

What does Agnosticism mean?

Answer 12

The belief that the existence of the divine or the supernatural is unknown or unknowable.

Question 13

What is Old-Earth Creationism?

Answer 13

The belief that Earth and life were created by God, aligning with mainstream science’s age estimates for Earth and the Universe.

Question 13

Define Theistic Evolution.

Answer 13

The belief in supernaturally-guided evolutionary processes by which God created life’s diversity, combining evolution with belief in God as the creator.

Question 14

What is the Theory of Intelligent Design?

Answer 14

The assertion that certain universe and life features are best explained by an intelligent cause, not by natural selection, multiverses, or random chance.

Question 15

What is Abiogenesis?

Answer 15

A theory that life on Earth arose from natural arrangements of non-living chemicals, unguided.

Question 16

Explain The Big Bang Theory.

Answer 16

The cosmological theory describing the Universe’s early, hot, dense state that expanded rapidly, forming the current cosmos, including all space-time, energy, and matter at that exact instant

Question 17

Explain Steady-State Theory

Answer 17

The idea that the universe is eternal (no beginning or end) that athiests used to believe (to explain away the need for a creator) before evidence came out for the Big Bang/Beginning of the Universe.

Question 18

Explain the Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation and what it is used as evidence for

Answer 18

• Big Bang: Heat left over from the Big Bang explosion can still be seen throughout the universe; implying that an explosion happened, and the universe is not eternal
• Age of Universe: From scientists studying the Big Bang’s leftover heat’s properties, they estimate how long this leftover heat has been traveling

Question 19

Explain How we know the Universe is expanding

Answer 19

• Hubble showed that distant galaxies are moving away from us faster than closer ones. Galaxies look blue if moving towards us, and red if moving away
• Hubble’s Law and the Expansion of the Universe: Studying how quickly galaxies are moving away from us, we can traceback how quickly the universe is expanding, and therefore, when it began.

Question 20

Explain How Einstein’s theory of relativity in relation to the Big Bang

Answer 20

• Space, time, gravity are linked by mass/matter and energy; all of which began at the same time, at the beginning of the universe!
• Therefore, what caused the Big Bang must be spaceless, timeless, and immaterial: GOD!! God doesn’t need a creator since he exists outside of time (He has no beginning or end).

Question 20

What are arguements some creationists make against radiometric dating

Answer 20

• Some dinosaur bones are found with organic materials still in tact (which should only take a few thousands years to decompose)–the defense against this is that maybe these specific fossils were just preserved in a special way
• Volcanos or human pollution could have altered the amount of Carbon in our current or past atomospheres
• The decay rates of the parent atoms may not be constant

Question 21

What are some assumptions of radiometric dating?

Answer 21

1. The orginal number of parent/unstable atoms is known
2. The decay rates of the atoms does/has not changed
3. The daughter atoms measured in a sample were all produced by radioactive decay (and not from outside contamination, etc.)

Question 22

What are the two main types of radiometric dating and what do they measure?

Answer 22

• Carbon Dating, used for organic materials up to 50,000 years
• Uranium-Lead Dating, using for very old rocks that are millions to billions of years old. (there is also Rb-Sr, and K-Ar dating)

Question 23

What is the idea of “relay synthesis” in abiogensis research?

Answer 23

Scientists guide abiogenesis experiments, often use “checkpoints” like passing a baton in a race. One scientist may make a few amino acids, then another will pull pure samples off a shelf to continue the “next step.” Yet, to an atheist, no one guided abiogenesis and ALL of the chemistry to build the first cell would happen all at once, within a few hours, and not with “checkpoints.”

Question 24

Why is the creation of biomolecules without ezymes around in abiogenesis a problem?

Answer 24

Remember, Enzymes are CRITICAL for biochemical reactions (lower activation energy); without them, reactions would not happen or they would take millions of years!!

Question 25

What is the panspermia hypothesis?

Answer 25

• Life or its building blocks might have come to Earth from space, possibly via meteorites since we’ve found some basic biomolecules in meteorites a few times.
• However, the meteroites are not pure mixtures and the other materials on them would interfere with the necessary additional chemical reactions to make these biomolecules!

Question 25

Explain the information problem for abiogenesis with DNA and RNA

Answer 25

• The specific, complex sequence/order of monomers in these biomolecules convey information that instruct or do a unique function.
• Intelligent Design proponents believe it is very improbable that these complex instructions could have resulted from random, unguided, purely naturalistic processes.
• In everyday life if we see information, digital codes, or language we infer a mind created it

Question 26

Summarize the RNA debate in abiogenesis (Ribozymes, RNA World Hypothesis)

Answer 26

• The RNA World Hypothesis says before DNA and proteins, life maybe started with RNA since it can both store genetic information and catalyze chemical reactions.
• Ribozymes, are RNA molecules that act like enzymes.
• The problem is that RNA is extremely unstable and ribozymes have not solved the problem in prebiotic experiments, nor have they been created in them.

Question 27

What is concordism? Why is it an issue?

Answer 27

• Reading/Forcing science into a specific interpreation of the Bible. This should be avoided because science is always changing; we must let scripture speak for itself.
• We must seek to understand scripture how the original audience would have understood it, and let the narrative speak for itself, in-context.

Question 28

Explain the literal interpretation of Genesis and some scriptural arguments that support it

Answer 28

• Interpretation that the genesis creation account is a historical and scientific text that the Earth and all life was created in 6, consecutive, 24-hour days. Age of 6,000-20,000 years is counting back from genealogies.
• Each day saying “evening” and “morning” implies 24-hour days
• Day 3 is plants, Day 4 is sun. Literal interpretation proponents argue that it must be 24-hour days since the plants wouldn’t survive long enough.

Question 29

Explain some of the scriptural arguments that may support a figure interpretation of Genesis

Answer 29

• Hebrew word for “day” is “Yom” and does not always mean 24-hours elsewhere in scripture (although it typically does). Gen. 2:4 refers to entire creation period as “a day.”
  Gen. 1:5 calls “light” “day.”
  Isaiah 2:11 “in that day (yom).” unspecified future time
• Seventh Day without End: Genesis 1 doesn’t conclude 7th day with “evening and morning,” implying as Hebrews 4:4-10 may, that we are still in the 7th day of God’s rest from creation.
• Genesis 2:5-9 imply plants being created after Adam, which may seem inconsistent with Genesis 1
• Plants created before Sun: Day 3 is plants, Day 4 is sun. argue it’s strange to have evening, morning, and 24-hour days without the sun or moon.

Question 30

Explain Day-Gap Interpretation, Gap Theory, and Day-Age Interpretations

Answer 30

• Gap-Theory: Hebrew grammatical structure may allow for time gap between Genesis 1:1 and 1:2. There may be a time gap between the creation of the universe vs. the preparation of Earth for life.
• Day-Gap Interpretation: There may be long periods between each day of creation; they are not sequential/consecutive days within a single week. (evening/morning suggests consecutive days)
• Day-Age Interpretation: The “days” in Genesis represent long periods of time (perhaps, millions of years) rather than 24-hour days.
• All 3 of these views may be motivated by concordism… A careful approach must be taken to avoid reading modern scientific understandings into the ancient Biblical texts.

Question 31

Define/Compare Microevolution vs. Macroevolution

Answer 31

• Microevolution: Small-scale changes within a species or population, occurring over a short period (from a few generations to thousands of years). Does not create new species or significant changes in body plans. Mechanisms of action are genetic drift, gene flow, mutation, and natural selection (Ex: Antibiotic resistance, moth camoflauge, darwin’s finch beaks, etc.)
• Macroevolution: large-scale changes over millions-of-years time-scales, leading to the creation of new species (speciation), families, phyla, etc.
• Pretty much everyone agrees microevolution happens, but creationists and evolutionists argue if macroevolution is possible, over many generations, using the mechanisms of microevolution

Question 32

What is Common Ancestry

Answer 32

Evolutionist idea that all living organisms share a common ancestor if traced back far enough in the evolutionary timeline. All life evolved, over millions of years, from one cell that came about through abiogenesis

Question 33

Explain Phylogentic Trees

Answer 33

• diagram representing the evolutionary relationships/common ancestry among all species based upon similarities and differences in their physical or genetic characteristics.
• Branches represent the evolutionary lineages or paths of descent.
• Nodes (where branches diverge from) represent common ancestors from which species evolved.
• Leaves or tips of the branches represent the species being compared.

Question 34

Explain Biblical Kinds

Answer 34

Genesis talks about organisms created “according to their kinds.” While it does not provide a definition of a “kind,” leading to various interpretations among creationists, generally, Young Earth Creationists and Literal interpretations say a “kind” represent a group of
organisms that share common ancestry, can breed within each
kind and were created with boundaries that prevent them from
evolving into entirely new species, or reproducing with animals
outside of their kind. So, felines vs. canines vs. dinosaurs, etc. are “kinds” of animals

Question 35

Explain the order of how the 5 theories of evolution, evolved over time (just list them, do not define each one for this card)

Answer 35

1. Lamarck’s Theory, Inheritance of Acquired Traits (1809):
2. Darwin’s Theory of Natural Selection, and book “The Origin of Species” (1859)
3. Mendel’s Pea Plant Genetics: Laws of Inheritance, Genetic Variation (1865)
4. Modern Synthesis, Neo-Darwinism (1930s-1940s):
5. Extended Evolutionary Synthesis (1950s-today):

Question 36

Explain Lamarck’s Theory, Inheritance of Acquired Traits, and the flaw that was later found with it

Answer 36

• Lamarck theorized that organisms could change during their lifetimes by using or not using various parts of their bodies.
• For example, he suggested ancestors of giraffes might have stretched their necks to reach higher leaves and that this trait was then passed on to their offspring over time.
• Problem is that only traits found within gametes (sex cells)–not somatic cells or acquired anatomical changes (tattoos, strength, etc.)–can be passed down to offspring

Question 37

Summarize Darwin’s Theory of Evolution

Answer 37

Charles Darwin is the most foundational figure in the study of evolution.
Through his study of geology, fossils, and living organisms, he published his famous book “On the Origin of Species” which lays out the following points:
1. Variation: Darwin observed that individuals within a species vary in physical traits. These variations are often heritable, and not random.
2. Competition: All species produce more offspring than can possibly survive given the limitations of their environment. Because resources are limited in nature, individuals compete for food, shelter, mates: survival.
3. Adaptation: Individuals with traits better suited to their environment tend to survive and reproduce more than those without such traits.
4. Survival: Over time, the most advantageous traits become more common in the population, leading to evolutionary change. “Survival of the fittest.” Fitness = an individual’s reproductive success/pass genes to offspring
His main contribution was Natural Selection

Question 38

Summarize the modern theory of evolution (Modern Synthesis/Neo-Darwinism, Extended Evolutionary Synthesis)

Answer 38

• Modern Synthesis, Neo-Darwinism (1930s-1940s): unification of Darwin’s and Mendel’s theories with population genetics, paleontology, and the concepts of genetic drift, gene flow, mutation, natural selection.
• Extended Evolutionary Synthesis (1950s-today): expands upon modern synthesis, advancements in molecular biology
  1. Epigenetic Inheritance: Environmental stimuli can signal changes in gene expression that do not involve alterations to the DNA sequence, which can then also be inherited and affect evolutionary outcomes. The more adaptive traits can then be naturally selected. Active area of research in many places outside of evolution
  2. Developmental Biology/Evo-Devo: Changes in developmental genes, such as Hox genes, can have profound effects on an embryo’s body plan and may have formed new morphological features or species over time.
  3. Genome/Gene Duplication Events: provides additional genetic materials that can accumulate and may lead to new functions or regulatory patterns. Transposons “jumping genes” of DNA that can move to other parts of the genome, possibly creating mutations or genetic diversity/innovation. All possibly make new genes. Polyploidy

Question 39

Explain how an evolutionist vs. a creationist interpret the observation of genetic similarity between different organisms/species

Answer 39

• Observation: There is lots of genetic overlap between certain species. Rats vs. Mice ≈ 85% similar. Humans vs. Chimpanzees ≈ 98% similar. Humans vs Banana ≈ 50%
• Evolutionists interpret this data to mean that if organisms have high % of genetic similarities, they are common ancestors/evolved from each other.
• Creationism/Intelligent Design interpret this data that God may be using the same blueprints to make proteins that serve the same function: “why reinvent the wheel?”

Question 40

Explain the error of evolutionists in the concept of “Junk DNA”

Answer 40

• Non-Coding DNA: Early on, it was believed that all of DNA in an organism’s genome coded for RNA, then proteins. As sequencing technologies improved, we found that only 2% of the entire human genome codes for proteins…
• The term “Junk DNA” was coined in the 1970s to describe these non-coding regions; evolutionists argued this was leftover DNA from evolutionary past/genes that ancestors needed that now we don’t
• Over time, researchers have shown that these non-coding regions actually play vital roles in regulating gene expression! Act as “on-off switches,” binding sites for gene expressing proteins, etc.

Question 41

What are vestigal structures?

Answer 41

According to evolutionists, these are anatomical remnants of organs or structures that had a clear function in an organism’s ancestors but serve nearly no function in the species that possess them today. Yet, many have been shown to actually have very important functions!

Examples: Tailbone, appendix, tonsils, wisdom teeth, whale pelvis

Question 42

How are homologous structures different from analagous structures; give examples

Answer 42

• Homologous structures: body parts of different organisms with similar structure but different functions b/c share common ancestry (Human arm vs. whale flipper vs. bat wing)
• Creationists argue this does not indicate shared ancestry, but rather, a common designer
• Analogous structures: body parts of different organisms with* similar function* but different structures that evolved independently. (Bat wing vs. insect wing vs. bird wing)

Question 43

What are transitional fossils? Give some common examples

Answer 43

• Fossils that evolutionists believe show intermediate forms between two different types of organisms, often bridging gaps in the fossil record for how species evolved from previous ancestors over generations/geological time.
• Tiktaalik: Displays features between fish and tetrapods, placing it “between” aquatic and land-dwelling animals.
• Archaeopteryx: Displays both bird and reptile features, placing it “between” non-avian dinos and modern birds.

Question 44

Describe how fossils are formed, and how an evolutionist explains this process vs. a creationist

Answer 44

• Organisms often need to be rapidly buried to become well-preserved fossils. 1% of all dead organisms are fossils
• Creationists argue this supports the global flood
• Evolutionists argue that over millions of years, plenty of local natural disasters can occur that would create fossils

Question 45

Explain the Creationist argument about “missing links” in the fossil record

Answer 45

Argue that the fossil record has “missing links,” which they claim weakens the idea of evolutionary transitions from one species to another (macro-evolution). Evolutionists deny this and say there are plenty of transitional fossils that have been found. Only 1% happen too

Question 46

Explain the Creationist argument about the “time problem” in the fossil record/cambrian explosion/transitional fossils

Answer 46

Argues that there has not been enough time for the gradual accumulation of the genetic changes necessary to account for the diversity of life observed during certain periods, such as the Cambrian Explosion, or other periods where lots of transitions from one species to another would have happened. Evolutionists deny this.

Question 47

How do evolutionists vs. creationists interpret the order/layers of fossils found around the globe?

Answer 47

• Evolutionists argue that the consistent ordering of fossils in layers across the globe supports a gradual, incremental buildup of life’s complexity rather than a single catastrophic event (like a global flood).
• If a global flood had mixed all organisms together, we would expect a random assortment of fossils in the geological record, not the orderly sequence observed (dinos have never been found with humans).
• Some creationists argue the flood buried sea creatures first, then coastal animals, then land animals, etc. and that this logic would explain the order observed.

Question 48

Explain Darwin’s prediction that “gradualism” would be observed in the fossil record

Answer 48

• Darwin originally predicted gradualism (slow and steady change in species, over long periods of time, to form new species) would be observed in the fossil record. But, this is not always the case.
• The fossil record often shows sudden “explosions” of diversity, new body plans, or increased complexity of organisms.

Question 49

What was the Cambrian explosion, and how do creationists often argue this against evolutionists

Answer 49

• The Cambrian Explosion, roughly 541 million years ago, is when ~½ (10-20 new) of the major animal phyla rapidly appeared over a relatively short geological period.
• They argue this does not agree with Darwin’s prediction of gradualism, the slow/long genetic changes needed for macro-evolution (Time problem), and that transitional fossils are not found for many of these new phyla that appeared
• There are many other smaller “explosion” events in the fossil record. Some creationists argue this may show God’s days of creation and the idea of “Biblical kinds”

Question 50

Explain Genetic Drift

Answer 50

random changes in the frequency of alleles in a population; only certain individuals survive a** natural disaster** (bottleneck effect), random migration/separation/isolation establish a new pop (founder effect)

Question 51

Explain Gene flow

Answer 51

transfer of alleles between populations of same species through interbreeding. Leads to increased genetic variation within a population and greater similarity between different populations.