Romans 1:22
"Nebraska-led study of mountaineering mice sheds light on evolutionary adaptation (7 Nov 2024, University of Nebraska). *Sigh*.
Q: Why do they call this an “evolutionary” adaptation and not just an adaptation?
They started with deer mice;
they ended with deer mice of the same species.
Both young-earth creationists and intelligent design advocates accept change within the family level, claiming it is designed into created kinds so that they can continue thriving when the environment changes. That is not Darwinism.
Q: Why does he call these “evolved” changes?
---They could be designed changes.
Bautista and team took deer mice up in the mountains and measured their ability to cope with the lowered oxygen levels and cold. The ones who normally lived at higher elevations did better:
Q: Any genetic data to support this?
---The press release says that “the highland mice have a genetic advantage that helps suppress thickening of the right ventricle of the heart,” but the paper in PNAS does not ascribe this to Darwinian natural selection of chance mutations. It says of the highland mice “local selection and/or genetic drift play important roles in shaping transcriptomic variation in high-altitude mice.”
Q: Well, which is it?
"Bautista said the findings show how adaptation to local conditions
can allow a widely distributed species like the deer mouse to thrive in diverse environments.
It highlights how evolved changes specific to populations help shape their flexibility,” Bautista said. “Ultimately, it is these changes that influence their ability to survive within different habitats.”
Q: Why does he call these “evolved” changes?
---They could be designed changes.
Bautista and team took deer mice up in the mountains and measured their ability to cope with the lowered oxygen levels and cold. The ones who normally lived at higher elevations did better:
"Data showed that the highland and lowland deer mouse cousins do not share a general ability to acclimate to hypoxia (low oxygen conditions). As the simulated elevations rose above 4,000 meters, the homefield advantage of the highland mice quickly became apparent. As oxygen levels dropped, the highland mice were better able to regulate body temperature than their lowland counterparts owing to more efficient breathing and circulatory oxygen-transport.
The results show us that the highlanders and lowlanders do not share a generalized ability to acclimatize to changing environmental conditions,” Bautista said. “Rather, the mice living at higher elevations share evolved ways to acclimatize to low oxygen conditions that are distinct from those of the lowland prairie mice.”
Q: Any genetic data to support this?
---The press release says that “the highland mice have a genetic advantage that helps suppress thickening of the right ventricle of the heart,” but the paper in PNAS does not ascribe this to Darwinian natural selection of chance mutations. It says of the highland mice “local selection and/or genetic drift play important roles in shaping transcriptomic variation in high-altitude mice.”
Q: Well, which is it?
---This either-or causation gives them an out: maybe it was natural selection, or maybe it was genetic drift." CEH