Xanthippa's Chamberpot

Well, that about wraps it up for evolution denials…

From Wired.com:

‘An evolutionary transition that took several billion years to occur in nature has happened in a laboratory, and it needed just 60 days.

Under artificial pressure to become larger, single-celled yeast became multicellular creatures. That crucial step is responsible for life’s progression beyond algae and bacteria, and while the latest work doesn’t duplicate prehistoric transitions, it could help reveal the principles guiding them.’

Check out the full article – it includes photos.

What is interesting about this is that the ‘evolutionary pressure’ applied to the yeast was nothing other than selective breeding:  the simplest, time-tested method we have been applying in agriculture for millenia.

It also demonstrates, once and for all, that selective breeding resulting from evolutionary pressures is sufficient to cause ‘macro-evolution’ because what we have seen here is undeniably the emergence of a new species from an old one:  the emergence of multicellular yeast from single-cell yeast!

For your reference, here is the citation:

‘“Experimental evolution of multicellularity.” By William C. Ratcliff, R. Ford Denison, Mark Borrello, and Michael Travisano. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Jan. 17, 2012.‘

P.S.

I wonder how many religious leaders (of all the creationist religions which also deny evolution:  i.e. Islam,  some Christian sects plus other, smaller religions) who had claimed this was impossible will step up and admit their error.  Now that their beliefs have been demonstrably falsified, they have no choice but to change their beliefs or admit that their faith is at odds with reality.