Re: black holes and intelligent design

From: Franz Heymann (notfranz.heymann_at_btopenworld.com)
Date: 03/01/05 

Date: Tue, 1 Mar 2005 20:48:04 +0000 (UTC)

"Gregory L. Hansen" <glhansen@steel.ucs.indiana.edu> wrote in message
news:d0223h$6fc$2@rainier.uits.indiana.edu...
> In article <d01drf$qd9$1@sparta.btinternet.com>,
> Franz Heymann <franz.heymann@btopenworld.com> wrote:
> >
> >"robert j. kolker" <nowhere@nowhere.net> wrote in message
> >news:38hr3mF5mb9anU4@individual.net...
> >>
> >>
> >> Paul J Gans wrote:
> >>
> >> >
> >> > Of course, if you don't believe in evolution, you are
> >> > rather stumped by all this.
> >>
> >> I think you have conflated the terms mutations and evolution. Has
> >> mutation in the various viruses produced a new species of virus?
>
> Are two different strains of influenza considered different species?

I don't know the basis on which one can even formulate the question,
since the definition of a species, as far as I know, is that is it the
set of living beings which can interbreed freely. Actually, I think
the strict definition is in terms of negatives, namely that two living
organsims belong to different species if they can not interbreed.

Now, where is the seat of the "inter" in the case of the replication
of viruses?

> >In the fullness of time it might
> >It is primarily mutation which provides new genetic material for
> >evolution to work on.
> >Incidentally, I am not sure of the usage of the word "species" in
> >relation to viruses. The word has to do with the capability of
> >interbreeding, and viruses don't indulge in the pleasures of the
> >flesh.
>
> Bacteria do, and gene transfer is more of a driving force in their
> evolution than mutations are.

{:-)) 

-- 
Franz
"The great tragedy of science -- the slaying of a beautiful hypothesis
by an ugly fact."
T.H. Huxley

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