Why Darwin rejected intelligent design.

Natural Theology is constructed around the analogy of a watchmaker, a metaphor borrowed from previous advocates of the design doctrine. Imagine, Paley suggests, that you are walking across a heath and suddenly encounter a watch lying on the ground. After close inspection of the watch, you would be compelled to conclude that such an intricate device could not have been constructed otherwise in order for it to work. It is only reasonable to assume “that the watch must have had a maker; that there must have existed, at some time and at some place or other, an artifi cer or artifi cers who formed it for the purpose which we fi nd it actually to answer; who comprehended its construction, and designed its use” (1802:3–4). In the case of living organisms Paley continued, the evidence for design is even stronger “in a degree which exceeds all computation” (1802:19), and he concluded: “The marks of design are too strong to be got over. Design must have had a designer. That designer must have been a person. That person is GOD” (1802:473). The efforts by Ray, Paley, and others to unite natural history with theology were among the inducements that inclined Darwin, at the age of eighteen, to look favourably on a career in the church. Sent by his father two years earlier to study medicine at Edinburgh University, Darwin had found himself uninspired by this profession and revolted by the sight of operations, which at that time were conducted without the benefi t of anesthesia. Worried that his son might turn into “an idle sporting man,” Darwin’s.

El Viaje / The voyage

Las exploraciones hidrográficas y geográficas siempre han sido necesarias para Inglaterra, muy consciente de su condición insular. El marino Robert Fitz Roy participa en dos de ellas incorporando a Charles Darwin en la segunda, quien a los 22 años era bachiller en Teología, Filosofía y Artes en Cambridge. Además se había preparado en geología e historia natural. Gran observador y capaz de llegar a conclusiones generales desde los detalles visibles. Ése viaje duró casi 5 años, tanto por mar como por las exploraciones por tierra que efectúo Darwin. Reconoció el bosque húmedo, los glaciares y fue testigo de erupciones volcánicas, maremotos y terremotos. En las Islas Galápagos hizo sus observaciones zoológicas que dieron base a sus postulados sobre el origen de las especies y la supervivencia de las más aptas. De vuelta en Inglaterra sus observaciones serán maduradas por él y sus seguidores, por décadas, tarea que continúa en la actualidad.

Hydrographical and geographic knowledge have been essential for England, an insular nation. Robert Fitz Roy took part in two voyages as a seaman. In the second, Charles Darwin, aged 22, joined the expedition. He had received a degree in Theology, Philosophy and Arts at Cambridge. He had also studied Geology and Natural History. Darwin was a keen observer, capable of drawing conclusions from details. The voyage and explorations lasted nearly 5 years. He examined the rainforest and glaciers and witnessed volcanic eruptions, earthquakes and tsunamis. At the Galapagos Islands, he made his most important zoological observations, which became the essence of his proposal on the origin of species and natural selection. Back in England, he and other scientists continued improving his ideas, a task yet to be completed.

Identification of Trapa L. plants along middle-low reaches of Changjiang River by analyzing their DNA sequences / 中草药

Object To analyze the rDNA ITS sequences between wi ld plants and cultivars of Trapa L. and study the utility in p hylogenesis and identification of these two groups. Methods The ITS gene fragments were PCR amplified and sequenced. The rDNA ITS regions w ere analyzed by means of the software of Clustal and Mega 2.0. Result s The rDNA sequences of 234-236 bp ITS1, 220-221 bp ITS2 gene fragment , and 5.8 S rDNA for 164 bp evenly were obtained from ten populations of Trapa L. The intraspecific substitution varies from 0.22% to 2. 94%. The variable sites are 16 while informative sites are six. The phylogenet ic tree based on ITS data was set up by NJ method. Conclusion ITS sequence is a pretty good molecular marker which can identify wild plants of Trapa L. from their cultivars. Diversity of ITS in differen t populations is less at intraspecific level. It is infered that the plants of Trapa L. may be derived from the same population of one species .