...Further research indicates other things as possibilities as well. (ns=natural selection, emphasis added)
"the environment, specifically the proteins/enzymes/chemicals of the plant life on the new Adriatic island has interacted with the genome to quickly bring about these changes. Considering Haldane’s Dilemna–much discussed here at UD–there have been simply too many changes that have occurred to the physiology of these lizards for NS to be invoked as the cause. Additionally, if NS “can” work this fast, then why aren’t we seeing the development of higher taxa of animals and plants right now?"
http://www.uncommondescent.com/intelligent-design/rapid-evolution-is-it-ns-or-the-environment-that-matters/ (http://www.uncommondescent.com/intelligent-design/rapid-evolution-is-it-ns-or-the-environment-that-matters/)
I would be very glad, if you wouldn't add that emphasis, as on uncommondescent.com there is no hint whatsoever that there was further research on whether proteins chemicals or whatever was involved.
The author of the article states very nicely that there was a discussion on his website about such possibilities - nothing more, nothing less.
I am saying that in this circumstance, the Environment effected the creature for the vast majority of the changes, and that NS had very little to do with it.
After having read the article on uncommondescent.com I understand what you wanted to say, but I think I can still write what confused me about this sentence.
The environment==natural selecion!
Natural selection isn't always deadly and natural selection doesn't always appear as the big big predator chewing on your calves. Even if it seems like there is no selection pressure on a small little island, the fact that the usual food isn't around makes it quite high. As I said, it might not be deadly, but it's enough if that lizard lady over there finds the lizard guy that is well nourished just that little bit more attractive (even though his jaw might be a little to big
).
Same with those cecal valves, we humans have different digestive possibilities as well, most of the asians and indians can't digest milk, we all can as babies, but with about 4-5 years the enzymes aren't produced anymore. In Europe the people were pretty ill-nourished and between 4000 and 6000 BC some "mutants" had a lactase production that didn't stop. -> They had much more available food and did reproduce faster. The same happened in Africa - with another mutation of the gene that regulates lactase production. And not only one! Some scientists have studied different blood samples from all over Africa and they found out that there were at least three independant mutations of the same gene.
So in the time of about 2000 years at least four mutations with the same effect happened.
Of course, the population of humans (even though not as big as today) was definitely bigger than that of those lizards on that island, but the timescale isn't even that wrong. Lizards can reproduce after one year, today a human generation is about 30y, (1875 it was at 37 years but i assume that 4000 BC a fifty year old man was old... very old, so let's just say 30 is a nice number to calculate with).
The lizards were on that island for 36y -> 36 generations, so in human timescale that would be 36*30= 1080y that's not few...
And as stated in the article: those ceval valves are known from other reptiles, why shouldn't they (like the lactase gene) be there... unused from most of the lizards as they don't need it.
Greetings...
@airframe: thanks for the great links, very interesting video, I'll watch the whole presentation now
