Evolution comes out tops
2005-12-23 13:17
Washington - New breakthroughs in the workings of Darwinist evolution in flu genes, chimpanzees, and stickleback fish led the top ten discoveries in the science world in 2005.
In a year in which scientists and religious groups fought furiously over a pseudo-scientific challenge to accept explanations of evolution, Science magazine chose to lead its top ten with discoveries that "piled up new insights about evolution at the genetic level and the birth of species".
The magazine's top ten list came out on Thursday - two days after a United States court ruled it was unconstitutional for a Pennsylvania school to teach the "intelligent design" concept as an alternative to Darwin's theory of natural selection as the driving force of evolution.
Advanced by religious conservatives and a handful of scientists, intelligent design postulates that nature and biological structures are so complicated they must have been designed by an unidentified intelligent being, rather than evolving by chance.
Understanding evolution better
At the top of Science magazine's ten breakthroughs is the mapping of the chimpanzee genome, unveiled by researchers in October.
Scientists are using the map alongside parts of the human genetic sequence, for a better understanding of the evolution of the human species.
The magazine also honoured the sequencing of the virus which caused the 1918 global flu pandemic, using in part influenza genes found preserved in permafrost.
Science magazine cited this development as particularly important, because the 1918 virus is believed to "have started as purely a bird virus".
Scientists and health officials around the world are currently studying the rapid spread of another bird flu strain which they fear could jump to humans.
A third genetic discovery noted by Science is the way the Alaskan stickleback fish lost its armour as it evolved from an oceanic, salt-water fish to a freshwater lake-dweller.
Investigating 'faulty wiring'
In astronomy, Science acknowledged the landing of the European spacecraft Huygens on Titan, the largest moon of Saturn, revealing a world shaped by heavy rains of liquid methane.
Also in the magazine's top ten list is a group of studies on "faulty wiring" in the brain, suggesting conditions like schizophrenia, Tourette syndrome and dyslexia arise from faulty wiring of the brain's neural circuits during foetal development.
Among other big stories of the year, Science singled out increasing evidence of global warming, including the melting of Arctic ice and altered bird migrations.
As "scientific evidence for climate change built up in 2005," the magazine said, "non-scientists seem to have listened".
- AFP