கண் வடிவமைப்பு: கிறிஸ்துவத்துக்கு வேட்டு!

கிறிஸ்துவர்கள், கண்ணின் வடிவமைப்பு மிகவும் சிக்கலானதாக இருப்பதால், 5000 வருடங்களுக்கு முன்னால், ஒரே நேரத்தில் யாஹ்வே தெய்வம் களிமண்ணை எடுத்து கண்ணாக உருவாக்கியது என்று பேசிக்கொண்டிருக்கிறார்கள்.

ஆனால், சமீபத்தில் 400 மில்லியன் வருடங்களுக்கு முன்னால் வாழ்ந்த ஒரு மீனின் படிவத்தை ஆராய்ந்து பார்த்ததில், அதன் கண்ணின் வடிவமைப்பு தனியாக வித்தியாசமான முறையில் பரிணாமத்தால் உருவாகியுள்ளது தெரிகிறது.

'Eye ancestor' debunks ID nonsense
December 13, 2007 - 11:18AM

An Australian scientist has gone one step further in debunking intelligent design (ID) by discovering evidence of an evolutionary forerunner to the modern eye.

Dr Gavin Young from the Australian National University discovered the evidence while analysing the fossilised remains of 400-million-year-old Devonian Placoderms - jawed ancestors of modern fish that were protected by thick bony armour.

Unlike all modern vertebrates, Dr Young discovered that the placoderms had a different arrangement of muscles and nerves supporting the eyeball, evidence of an intermediate stage in the evolution between jawless and jawed vertebrates.

Proponents of intelligent design claim that something so complex as the modern eye could not have evolved on its own in stages and must have been designed by an intelligent being, but Dr Young believes these fossils show that is not the case.

"The fossil record has something to say about the evolution of the eye as here we have a superb example showing that the complexity of the eye goes back 400 million years and when we look in detail we find an intermediate stage between the jawed and jawless fish," he said.

"The whole argument is, can you evolve something as complex as an eye from a series of small steps, and this fills in a major gap in the evolutionary sequence that has led to the eyes of all living species."

There has been great tension between scientists who label ID "dressed up creationism" and proponents of intelligent design who believe their theory should be taught alongside evolution in schools.

Dr Young said that part of the trouble in tracing the evolution of the eye was that soft tissues don't tend to fossilise, but the eye cavities in these 400 million-year-old fossil fish were lined with a delicate layer of very thin bone that preserved the positions of the nerves and muscles in perfect detail.

Dr Young said that the arrangement of these early placoderms eyes is different from all modern vertebrates in the pattern of nerves and tiny muscles used for rotating each eyeball.

"This is the first definite fossil evidence demonstrating an intermediate stage in the evolution of our most complex sensory organ, these extinct placoderms had the eyeball still connected to the braincase by cartilage, as in modern sharks, and a primitive eye muscle arrangement that is halfway between the living jawed fish and the group with no jaws," Dr Young said.

Dr Young says that the area around Wee Jasper and Lake Burrinjuck in NSW is world famous for the unique preservation of these very primitive early fishes.

"The ancient limestone reefs exposed around Lake Burrinjuck in New South Wales have produced exceptionally well preserved placoderm specimens with braincase intact," Dr Young said.

© 2007 AAP