The Catholic Church has made some rather bold and surprising moves lately, beginning with the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI, and leading to recent remarks by the new pope, Francis. It's obvious the Church is trying to step in a new direction, but will it actually work? In short, no. Before I explain why I would first like to propose a theory (obviously not in the scientific sense of the word.)
The resignation of Pope Benedict was not a willful one. Forced may be too strong a word to use, but that's basically what I believe it came down to. The Catholic Church was, and still is, at a crisis point. (This part is no theory at all.) They realized this, and decided they needed to fix it. So what do they do? They 'force' the old, conservative, and controversial Benedict out, under the guise of physical inability. (When has this ever stopped them before?) They elect a new pope. A fresh start. Someone they can use to push their new agenda in an attempt to appeal to a wider audience and newer generations. It is also not a theory, but fact, that the Catholic Church is losing numbers in staggering amounts, hence the crisis point. They elect a pope who encompasses many of the problems and attacks the Church faces. With more and more young adults studying the sciences, the Church tries to appeal to them by choosing a chemist. Facing accusations of hypocrisy when it comes to helping the poor while they amass more wealth, they choose a man who willfully lived in poverty and helped the poor. Once the pope was in he began making some surprising remarks. An example is his remark that atheists, despite rejecting God, can still be considered good people, an obvious appeal to the growing non religious. Francis's latest quote regarded homosexuals, in which he stated "If someone is gay and he searches for the Lord and has good will, who am I to judge." Now this is not a new teaching in the Church, but it has been an issue the Church has remained quite mute on... until now. The Church has recognized the growing support for gay rights and has realized its effect on Church support. So to appeal to the new generation they start anew with a pope who can put out a new message.
As I said, this is a theory. It is a fact, however, that the Church is at a crisis point. It is also fact that they have realized this and are working to fix it, to bolster its support and numbers. So why won't it work? Because they fail to realize the real reason for their downfall. And this one cannot be fixed.
Though the Church is losing members to other denominations and faiths, the main threat they face is the fast growing non religious population. It is the fastest growing group in the developed world, specifically among high school and college students, the next generation. The Catholic Church has obviously realized this, and as stated before, has made obvious attempts to confront this. They believe the main reason people are turning away from the Church is because of differences with the Church's social stances and appearances, such as with the numerous sex abuse scandals, the hypocrisy of wealth, views on women, and views on gay marriage. Society is becoming more liberal while the Church remains stuck in the past. This is what the Church believes is the problem and why people are increasingly becoming non religious. Though their reasons they face opposition are very true, their reasons for the growing irreligious are wrong. The Church fails to realize that the discourse is not with its social standpoints, but with its dogma and the very idea of a god.
With more young adults becoming interested in the sciences, and the wealth of knowledge now readily available through the Internet, rational and scientific thought are becoming much more common. People are seeing the logical and ethical fallacies associated with God, religion, and the Bible. They see the incompatibility of science with the idea of a god. Contrary to what many claim, science and religion are not compatible. You cannot put forth fact based and evidenced laws and theories, and then say 'see all these rules based on logic, well a magical man in the sky made them.' It defies reason. And a growing number of people are realizing this. These are the reasons most people are becoming non religious. This is the Catholic Church's biggest threat, and since they certainly cannot abandon God, the Bible, or their dogma, it is one they can do absolutely nothing about.
Wednesday, July 31, 2013
Friday, July 12, 2013
Humans and Evolutionary Interbreeding
Ever since the Human Genome Project was completed, scientists have realized how close we actually are to other organisms. It was no surprise that the animals we shared the most DNA with, were closer to us on the evolutionary tree. These of course, are the primates, like Chimpanzees, Gorillas, and Orangutans. Since the completion of the Human Genome Project in 2003 scientists have discovered even more about human genetics and our origins. One of the most surprising aspects of our genome, that has shaped us over the years, is interbreeding. Scientists have only recently found out how much interbreeding has actually distinguished us from other organisms and how important it has been to our survival.
The first case of interbreeding occurred nearly 9 million years ago, shortly after the split between chimpanzees and humans. When the Human Genome Project was done, scientists discovered that there was only a 1.5% difference between the two. Even our structural proteins were nearly identical. In fact, human and chimpanzees have identical blood. Scientists realized that there were too many similarities to account for a split nearly 9 million years ago. Scientists hypothesized that humans and chimps must have interbred after the split. They knew that signs of interbreeding, or hybridization, would show on the X chromosome. By looking at the Human Genome research they found that the newest genes did in fact occur on the X chromosome. Scientists were able to reason that, even though we split with chimpanzees nearly 9 million years ago, we continued to interbreed with them until approximately 5.4 million years ago.
An even more groundbreaking discovery came more recently when researchers began decoding the DNA of Neanderthals. Since Neanderthals had already been out of Africa for nearly 200,000 years, scientists had never thought interbreeding had taken place. However, they found that not only was Neanderthal DNA less than 0.5% different than human DNA, but also that most modern Europeans and Asians have about 3% Neanderthal DNA in them. Neanderthal DNA did not occur in Africans. This meant that when modern humans emerged from Africa they encountered Neanderthals from the east and interbred. This interbreeding has been confirmed several times since, after Neanderthal-Human hybrids have been found. Scientists have used this evidence to explain genetic disorders and diseases that are characteristic to only certain ethnic groups. For example, scientists found that men with Neanderthal DNA were much less likely to contract prostate cancer. This could explain why it is much more prevalent in African men. Scientists found that Neanderthals, and other hominids like Denisovans, had stronger immune systems. They had been out of Africa for nearly 200,000 years already and had undergone significant DNA evolution. Interbreeding with them allowed homo sapiens to be better suited for the new environment.
Perhaps it was these superior traits that attracted homo sapiens to Neanderthals. After studying Neanderthal fossils and DNA it became clear just how much better Neanderthals were than humans. Their brains were one-fifth larger, they were taller, stronger, and most likely smarter. They were even better looking. Their high cheekbones, strong features, and facial structure are similar to what we find in the supermodels of today. Scientists found that Neanderthals were even the first blondes. It is no wonder homo sapiens desired to interbreed with them. It's a good thing too, because their genes made us stronger as a species.
One may wonder why such a strong and intelligent species like homo neanderthalensis died out, and a weak, new species like homo sapiens thrived. The answer of course lies in the genome of the Neanderthal. Anthropologists extracted a gene that modified the chemical make-up of certain parts of the brain that affected personality and thought. They found that Neanderthals were most likely too cautious and conservative. They resisted change and therefore could not adapt well over time. This eventually led to their downfall. This resistance to change was perhaps caused by a shorter development period. By looking at fossils of their teeth, researchers found that Neanderthals matured faster and had shorter life cycles. This could have hindered development of portions of the brain. They eventually lost out in the competition with homo sapiens.
Another, much smaller group that interbred with modern humans were the Denisovans. They were a much more recent branch on the evolutionary tree and were located in the far east and Siberia. Denisovan DNA only appeared in modern Pacific Islanders, like those from New Guinea, the Philippines, and Australian Aborigines. It was present by over 5% in some peoples. This meant that interbreeding was more common and more recent than with Neanderthals. The vast range of those with the genes also showed the large movements of the Denisovans.
Scientists are just recently starting to shed light on the interbreeding that occurred thousands of years ago. As they find more and do more research they continue to open the door to a possibly new field of study. By looking for traces of interbreeding they can learn more about our origins, find health trends, and learn about ancient species. By looking at our past of interbreeding scientists can learn more about who we are as homo sapiens- as humans.
The first case of interbreeding occurred nearly 9 million years ago, shortly after the split between chimpanzees and humans. When the Human Genome Project was done, scientists discovered that there was only a 1.5% difference between the two. Even our structural proteins were nearly identical. In fact, human and chimpanzees have identical blood. Scientists realized that there were too many similarities to account for a split nearly 9 million years ago. Scientists hypothesized that humans and chimps must have interbred after the split. They knew that signs of interbreeding, or hybridization, would show on the X chromosome. By looking at the Human Genome research they found that the newest genes did in fact occur on the X chromosome. Scientists were able to reason that, even though we split with chimpanzees nearly 9 million years ago, we continued to interbreed with them until approximately 5.4 million years ago.
An even more groundbreaking discovery came more recently when researchers began decoding the DNA of Neanderthals. Since Neanderthals had already been out of Africa for nearly 200,000 years, scientists had never thought interbreeding had taken place. However, they found that not only was Neanderthal DNA less than 0.5% different than human DNA, but also that most modern Europeans and Asians have about 3% Neanderthal DNA in them. Neanderthal DNA did not occur in Africans. This meant that when modern humans emerged from Africa they encountered Neanderthals from the east and interbred. This interbreeding has been confirmed several times since, after Neanderthal-Human hybrids have been found. Scientists have used this evidence to explain genetic disorders and diseases that are characteristic to only certain ethnic groups. For example, scientists found that men with Neanderthal DNA were much less likely to contract prostate cancer. This could explain why it is much more prevalent in African men. Scientists found that Neanderthals, and other hominids like Denisovans, had stronger immune systems. They had been out of Africa for nearly 200,000 years already and had undergone significant DNA evolution. Interbreeding with them allowed homo sapiens to be better suited for the new environment.
Perhaps it was these superior traits that attracted homo sapiens to Neanderthals. After studying Neanderthal fossils and DNA it became clear just how much better Neanderthals were than humans. Their brains were one-fifth larger, they were taller, stronger, and most likely smarter. They were even better looking. Their high cheekbones, strong features, and facial structure are similar to what we find in the supermodels of today. Scientists found that Neanderthals were even the first blondes. It is no wonder homo sapiens desired to interbreed with them. It's a good thing too, because their genes made us stronger as a species.
One may wonder why such a strong and intelligent species like homo neanderthalensis died out, and a weak, new species like homo sapiens thrived. The answer of course lies in the genome of the Neanderthal. Anthropologists extracted a gene that modified the chemical make-up of certain parts of the brain that affected personality and thought. They found that Neanderthals were most likely too cautious and conservative. They resisted change and therefore could not adapt well over time. This eventually led to their downfall. This resistance to change was perhaps caused by a shorter development period. By looking at fossils of their teeth, researchers found that Neanderthals matured faster and had shorter life cycles. This could have hindered development of portions of the brain. They eventually lost out in the competition with homo sapiens.
Another, much smaller group that interbred with modern humans were the Denisovans. They were a much more recent branch on the evolutionary tree and were located in the far east and Siberia. Denisovan DNA only appeared in modern Pacific Islanders, like those from New Guinea, the Philippines, and Australian Aborigines. It was present by over 5% in some peoples. This meant that interbreeding was more common and more recent than with Neanderthals. The vast range of those with the genes also showed the large movements of the Denisovans.
Scientists are just recently starting to shed light on the interbreeding that occurred thousands of years ago. As they find more and do more research they continue to open the door to a possibly new field of study. By looking for traces of interbreeding they can learn more about our origins, find health trends, and learn about ancient species. By looking at our past of interbreeding scientists can learn more about who we are as homo sapiens- as humans.
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