24Nov 2023 by Post

Fossil Friday: Cambrian Bryozoa Come and Go

bilaterians, body plans, Bryozoa, Cambrian animals, Cambrian Explosion, Carboniferous strata, chordates, Evolution, evolutionary biology, Fossil Friday, fossil record, great Ordovician biodiversification event, green algae, inkblots, invertebrates, lophophore, Lower Cambrian, Lower Ordovician, metazoans, microCT, Middle Pennsylvanian, molecular clock studies, moss animals, Nevada, Ohio, paleontology, phosphatic fossils, Pywackia baileyi, South China, tentacles
This is a field that often has more in common with the interpretation of inkblots in Rorschach tests than with hard science. Source
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02Dec 2022 by Post

Let’s Help “Professor Dave” Understand the Precambrian

Anabarites, bilaterians, Burgess Shale, Cambrian Explosion, Cambrotubulus, Carboniferous, Cloudina, Conotubus, Dave Farina, Dickinsonia, Ediacaran, embryos, Evolution, Fortunian, fossils, Gaojiashania, Intelligent Design, Kimberella, Mongolia, Namacalathus, Namapoikia, paleontology, Permian, Precambrian animals, Professor Dave, Protohertzina, Richard Dawkins, Stephen Meyer, Tommotian, Trilobozoa, wormworld
We have much to teach the non-professor, and I trust that he is grateful for the education being rendered to him here. Source
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01Dec 2022 by Post

“Lying on the Internet”? Debunking Dave Farina on Stephen Meyer

acritarchs, Avalon Assemblage, bilaterians, body plans, Cambrian Explosion, Carl Zimmer, Caveasphaera, China, Cladonia chlorophaea, Cloudina, cnidarians, Darwin's Doubt, Dave Farina, demosponges, Dickinsonia, Doushantuo fossils, embryos, Eumetazoa, Evolution, fossils, Gregory Retallack, Haootia quadriformis, Helicoforamina, homology, Ikaria, Intelligent Design, Internet, Joe Botting, Kimberella, Lantianella, Megasphaera, Metazoa, microfossils, Nama Assemblage, Namacalathus, New York Times, paleontology, Precambrian animals, Professor Dave, Spiralicellula, sponges, Stephen Jay Gould, Stephen Meyer, straw man, Tribrachidium, Vernanimalcula, White Sea assemblage, Xiuningella, Yilingia, YouTubers
A lot of nonsense gets published in peer-reviewed journals and it needs expertise to separate the wheat from the chaff. Farina lacks any expertise to do this. Source
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13Jul 2022 by Post

On Cambrian Explosion, Biology Journal’s Special Issue Betrays Cause for Darwin Doubts

bilaterians, biology, Cambrian Explosion, Cambrian News, Casey Luskin, Charles Darwin, Charles Marshall, citrate, Current Biology, David Klinghoffer, Debating Darwin's Doubt, Ediacaran Period, Evolution, Florian Maderspacher, gene regulatory networks, Graham Budd, Hervé Philippe, Intelligent Design, James Valentine, Maximilian Telford, phenotypes, Precambrian, Richard Lenski, Stephen Meyer, The Information Enigma, Uppsala University, Vernanimalcula
The strength of a theory can be gauged by how well it stands up to attacks and how well it incorporates new evidence. Source
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21Oct 2020 by Post

Scientific Paper Reaffirms New Genes Required for Cambrian Explosion

arthropods, bilateral symmetry, bilaterians, body plans, Cambrian animals, Cambrian Explosion, Cambrian News, Darwin's Doubt, ecological factors, eLife, Evolution, Evolution News, evolutionary biology, fossil record, genes, genetic information, Günter Bechly, Intelligent Design, Nature Communications, orthology, oxygenation, paleontology, Precambrian, Stephen Meyer
The notion that many genes would be required for the Cambrian explosion may seem unsurprising — what is surprising is that anyone would challenge the idea. Source
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07Sep 2020 by Post

Kimberella — Conflicting Evidence from Taphonomy

ammonium chloride, animals, bilaterians, bivariate analysis, bottom waters, Burgess Shale, Cambrian Explosion, Cambrian News, Chengjiang, death-masks, Ediacaran Period, Evolution, feeding traces, fossil record, hyporeliefs, Kimberella, Kimberella series, Konservat Lagerstätten, latex casts, limpets, Maotianshan Shales, motility, Precambrian strata, taphonomy, trace fossils
The fossilization of Kimberella specimens was most likely based on rapid burial with sand during storm events. Source
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