Embryology
From CreationWiki, the encyclopedia of creation science
(→Support for Darwinism) |
(→Support for Darwinism) |
||
| Line 5: | Line 5: | ||
== Support for Darwinism == | == Support for Darwinism == | ||
| - | Several decades before Darwin published the ''[[The Origin of Species]]'', a German embryologist Karl Ernst von Baer has shown that the embryos of some vertebrates looked very similar during some stages of development. It became known as ''von Baer's law''.<ref>Wells, Jonathan. The Politically Incorrect Guide to Darwinism and Intelligent Design, p.25-26. Regnery Publishing, Inc. 2006.</ref> After reading a summary of von Baer's law in 1842, Darwin concluded that embryonic resemblances were a very strong argument in favor of [[common descent]]. In The Origin of Species (1859) Darwin stated ''"Community of embryonic structure reveals community of descent"''<ref>[http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/bv.fcgi?rid=dbio.section.69 Evolutionary Embryology] Developmental Biology, 6th Edition. by Scott F. Gilbert. 2000. by Sinauer Associates.</ref>, and in a 1860 letter to Asa Gray stated that ''"embryology is to me by far the strongest single class of facts in favour of change of forms"''.<ref>[http://charles-darwin.classic-literature.co.uk/the-life-and-letters-of-charles-darwin-volume-ii/ebook-page-61.asp The Life and Letters of Charles Darwin] Volume II, Page 61.</ref> | + | Several decades before Darwin published the ''[[The Origin of Species]]'', a German embryologist Karl Ernst von Baer has shown that the embryos of some vertebrates looked very similar during some stages of development. It became known as ''von Baer's law''.<ref>Wells, Jonathan. The Politically Incorrect Guide to Darwinism and Intelligent Design, p.25-26. Regnery Publishing, Inc. 2006.</ref> After reading a summary of von Baer's law in 1842, Darwin concluded that embryonic resemblances were a very strong argument in favor of [[common descent]]. In The Origin of Species (1859) Darwin stated ''"Community of embryonic structure reveals community of descent"''<ref>[http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/bv.fcgi?rid=dbio.section.69 Evolutionary Embryology] Developmental Biology, 6th Edition. by Scott F. Gilbert. 2000. by Sinauer Associates.</ref>, and in a 1860 letter to [[Asa Gray]] stated that ''"embryology is to me by far the strongest single class of facts in favour of change of forms"''.<ref>[http://charles-darwin.classic-literature.co.uk/the-life-and-letters-of-charles-darwin-volume-ii/ebook-page-61.asp The Life and Letters of Charles Darwin] Volume II, Page 61.</ref> |
The theory of [[recapitulation]] was a subsequent attempt to apply embryology in support of [[Darwinism]], which was first put forth in 1866 by [[Ernst Haeckel]] using the phrase ''ontogeny recapitulates phylogeny''. Haeckel suggested that ''gill slits'' and a tail could be seen during embryo development in organisms that did not possess them as adults - structures which were later identified to be merely the pharyngeal pouches and the [[vertebral column]]. It was asserted that these organism must have possessed these structures during their evolutionary history, and were lost in adult stages due to [[natural selection]]. He ultimately theorized that organisms progress through their evolutionary history during [[embryo]] development - a theory that became known as the ''[[Biogenetic law]]''. | The theory of [[recapitulation]] was a subsequent attempt to apply embryology in support of [[Darwinism]], which was first put forth in 1866 by [[Ernst Haeckel]] using the phrase ''ontogeny recapitulates phylogeny''. Haeckel suggested that ''gill slits'' and a tail could be seen during embryo development in organisms that did not possess them as adults - structures which were later identified to be merely the pharyngeal pouches and the [[vertebral column]]. It was asserted that these organism must have possessed these structures during their evolutionary history, and were lost in adult stages due to [[natural selection]]. He ultimately theorized that organisms progress through their evolutionary history during [[embryo]] development - a theory that became known as the ''[[Biogenetic law]]''. | ||
Revision as of 19:37, 24 June 2009
Embryology is the branch of developmental biology that studies the earliest stage of life known as the embryo. An embryologist is a person who studies the beginning and early growth of sexually reproducing organisms, namely plants and animals. This life science specialty focuses on embryogenesis (the formation and development of embryos).
Contents |
Developmental stages
Support for Darwinism
Several decades before Darwin published the The Origin of Species, a German embryologist Karl Ernst von Baer has shown that the embryos of some vertebrates looked very similar during some stages of development. It became known as von Baer's law.[1] After reading a summary of von Baer's law in 1842, Darwin concluded that embryonic resemblances were a very strong argument in favor of common descent. In The Origin of Species (1859) Darwin stated "Community of embryonic structure reveals community of descent"[2], and in a 1860 letter to Asa Gray stated that "embryology is to me by far the strongest single class of facts in favour of change of forms".[3]
The theory of recapitulation was a subsequent attempt to apply embryology in support of Darwinism, which was first put forth in 1866 by Ernst Haeckel using the phrase ontogeny recapitulates phylogeny. Haeckel suggested that gill slits and a tail could be seen during embryo development in organisms that did not possess them as adults - structures which were later identified to be merely the pharyngeal pouches and the vertebral column. It was asserted that these organism must have possessed these structures during their evolutionary history, and were lost in adult stages due to natural selection. He ultimately theorized that organisms progress through their evolutionary history during embryo development - a theory that became known as the Biogenetic law.
In an attempt to prove his theory true, Haeckel committed one of the most infamous examples of scientific fraud. In 1868 Haeckel published the series embryos shown in the picture at right with various living things placed side by side in the attempt to give the impression that there was significant similarity among them. However, only months following the publication of these engravings, L. Rütimeyer, professor of zoology and comparative anatomy at the University of Basel, showed it to be fraudulent. Despite this exposure, Haeckel’s embryo comparisons appeared in textbooks for many years.[4]
According to William Ballard (a well known elder developmental biologist).
| “ | Before the pharyngula stage we can only say that the embryos of different species within a single taxonomic class are more alike than their parents. Only by semantic tricks and subjective selection of evidence can we claim that “gastrulas” of shark, salmon, frog, and bird are more alike than their adults.[5] | ” |
Similarities that exist during embryo development continue to be us as support for Darwinian principle of common descent.
The view is summarized in the following quote from Prentice Hall Biology (2008).
| “ | In their early stages of development, chickens, turtles, and rats look similar, providing evidence that they shared a common ancestry.[6] | ” |
 Browse |
References
- ↑ Wells, Jonathan. The Politically Incorrect Guide to Darwinism and Intelligent Design, p.25-26. Regnery Publishing, Inc. 2006.
- ↑ Evolutionary Embryology Developmental Biology, 6th Edition. by Scott F. Gilbert. 2000. by Sinauer Associates.
- ↑ The Life and Letters of Charles Darwin Volume II, Page 61.
- ↑ Batten, D., Catchpoole, D., Sarfati, J., Wieland, C. The Creation Answers Book, p.113-114. Creation Book Publishers. 2007.
- ↑ Ballard WW (1976) Problems of gastrulation: real and verbal. Bioscience 26(1):36-39.
- ↑ Prentice Hall Biology. 2008. p385. Kenneth Miller & Joseph Levine.
External links
Creationist
- Embryology Rejects the Lie of Evolution Chapter 35 of The Miracle Of Human Creation by Harun Yahya.
Secualar
- Embryology by Encarta MSN
See Also
- Haeckel falsified his embryo pictures (Talk.Origins) Response to Talk.Origins argument
- Qur'an describes human embryology accurately (Talk.Origins) Response to Talk.Origins argument
- Recapitulation
- Embryo
- Sexual Reproduction
- Fetus
| |||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||
