“Gaps”. That’s the buzzword that opponents of science like to use to try to indicate a flaw in a theory, such as the theory of evolution. They argue that a gap is fatal to a theory, and that invalidates the theory.
In truth, a gap – a region that cannot be explained by a scientific theory – points only to either that there is simply data missing (theories are constructed from data), or that the theory cannot be yet applied to that area and requires more work. The danger of using gaps to argue a point is that, if and when the gap is filled, your argument collapses. At the very least, the argument begins to look incredible.
Today, another gap was filled. The theory of evolution proposes that the diversity of lifeforms on Earth are the result of descent from one form to another with modification. The modification is the result of biological forces that try to prolong the survival of the creature, whereby beneficial changes (mutations) in the organism which allow to to have advantages over other lifeforms or the environment are passed on. This can happen slowly over time, or rapidly.
All living things can trace their lineages back to common ancestors. As lifeforms branch in the tree of life, the branchpoints are the common ancestors. For instance, a study of the relationships between limbed mammals reveals that ” . . . the earliest limbed animals existed in the late part of the Devonian period. That’s about 365 million years ago” [Lehrer04062006]. Today, the journal “Nature” published research by two scientistson several fossilized remains of a creature which appears to be the first observed links between land and sea animals. Crocodile like, it exhibits many more fish-like features than mammal-like. It also fill a crucial gap which has, like others, been used a a negative argument in favor of non-scientific theories of life.
While I await others who and scrutinize and determine the verity of this find, I am excited by the fact that yet again data has filled a hole in our picture of the world, and it is a bridge predicted by the theory of Evolution.
.. [Lehrer04062006] “http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/science/jan-june06/fossils_4-6.html”:http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/science/jan-june06/fossils_4-6.html
