Relics of Eden: The Powerful Evidence of Evolution in Human DNA [Englisch] [Taschenbuch]

Shubin's excellent work Your Inner Fish looks at human evolution from the perspective of paleontology and anatomy: how structures such as hearing and vision developed. Shubin shows how genetic material is such that implanting a mouse gene that triggers the growth of an eye into a fruitfly can trigger the growth of an eye--a fruitfly eye. So the basic building blocks help establish evolution. Fairbanks comes at human evolution from a different angle--genes and DNA. Where Shubin was out in the Canadian Arctic searching for fossil evidence, Fairbanks could work in a lab.

Fairbanks' interests lie in the DNA evidence: comparing human DNA with that of chimpanzees, orangutangs, and other animals. You'll gain a good understanding of transpons, retroelements, and pseudogenes, and how these can be used to analyze evolutionary processes: the evidence is as solid as fingerprints. The DNA makeup of the immediate common ancestor of both humans and chimpanzees, for example, can be deduced. Another interesting point that Fairbanks talks about is the using the diversity of current human DNA to determine human origins. The greatest diversity in the DNA of any species is at the point of origin. As people brought seeds, for example, to a new part of the world, they were bring mostly one strain--little diversity in the DNA. The greatest human diversity is in Africa: you can gather DNA and do not have to be in the field in Olduvai Gorge (the DNA work backs up Leakey's discoveries and work). Native American DNA matches most closely with Asians: this is further evidence for the land bridge and migration from Asia.

There are lots of diagrams of genes, DNA, and chromosomes to supplement a very well-written text. Fairbanks' work is a fine scientific complement to the field work of the Shubins, Leakeys, and others, and he makes a very compelling case.

The debate over evolution in revanchist religious circles has been rabid and ribald ever since Darwin published "On the Origin of Species" in 1859. Currently, bibliolatrous neocreationists and Intelligent Design ideologues have contrived superficially plausible - to scientific illiterates at least - and generously funded PR campaigns (not science), that sophistically portray evolution as little more than moribund malarkey, desperately maintained by a vast and shadowy scientific omerta. Nothing could be further from the truth.

In "Relics of Eden: The Powerful Evidence of Human Evolution in DNA" author Daniel J. Fairbanks unleashes an avalanche of data from the Human Genome Project, and other studies, that leave biblical creationists and c-design-proponentsists (of Dover vs. Kitzmiller infamy) without a fig leaf to cower behind.

"Relics" exclusively utilizes molecular evidence in lieu of fossils and fearlessly addresses the major controversy raging on the origins front of the talibanesque culture war - human evolution and our relationship to other primates - as expressed in the DNA of every person on earth. These relics are millions of non-coding segments of DNA, snippets of our genome that eloquently document common descent with uncommon clarity and incontrovertible evidence.

From chromosomal fusion and pseudogenes to retroelements and transposons the scientific reality of evolution is discussed in articulate, accurate and engaging prose alongside carefully designed illustrations that emphasize and illuminate key points.

Specifics include detailed treatments of how human chromosome 2 resulted from the fusion of two separate chromosomes (corresponding to chimpanzee chromosomes 2A and 2B) after the lineage leading to modern humans split from the one leading to contemporary chimpanzees.

A through discussion of transposable elements, also known as transposons and retroelements (aka 'jumping genes'), such as Alu elements, HERV-K, CMT1A, and GULO provide exacting confirmation of human evolution and our ancestral affiliation with other primates.

Pseudogenes (including unitary pseudogenes, duplication pseudogenes and retropseudogenes) are covered next. Comparisons of pseudogene sequences across species reveal a consistent pattern. Human pseudogenes are most similar to those in chimpanzee DNA, and are highly similar to those of other primates. Species as divergent as rodents and humans also display some degree of ancient pseudogene similarity - additional evidence of our shared evolutionary history with kindred primates, and more distantly related mammals.

"Solving the Trichotomy" (Chapter 4) addresses the evolutionary relationship between humans, chimpanzees and gorillas. Mitochondrial and nuclear DNA sequences both show that humans and chimpanzees are more closely related to each other than either is to gorillas. Genome-wide comparison of the human and chimpanzee genomes spectacularly confirms that the genes, chromosomes, transposable elements, and pseudogenes of humans and chimpanzees are strikingly similar. As Fairbanks notes:

"Although the molecular differences constitute only a fraction of the two genomes, they are not trivial. They represent some of the most powerful evidence of common ancestry because they are fully consistent with known mechanisms of chromosome rearrangement, generation of recent transposable elements and pseudogenes, and the effects of natural selection we expect to observe in certain genes and their regulatory regions. The comparison is massive, including thousands of genes and pseudogenes, millions of transposable elements, and billions of base pairs in DNA."

Human mitochondrial DNA diversity, X-chromosome diversity, Y-chromosome diversity, and diversity of DNA sequences in all chromosomes unambiguously reveals that the cradle of humanity (the 'Eden' title reference) is located in sub-Saharan Africa, and also tracks subsequent migrations across the entire globe - initially to the Middle East and Asia, then Europe, Australia, and the Americas.

Three appendices allow readers to delve into these, and other topics, in additional detail. A comprehensive glossary and bibliography are also provided. Fairbanks has written a book that is simultaneously accessible and scientifically sophisticated - a wonderful achievement.

In the final chapter Fairbanks confronts Americans who "...still claim that evolution is a 'theory in crisis,' unsupported by solid evidence, and one that should be abandoned." He addresses "the ongoing assault on science by highly organized and well-funded groups whose political objectives are to cast doubt on the reality of evolution and to restrict or dilute it in the science curricula of public schools."

As a person of faith Fairbanks appeals to co-religionists to disavow the false dichotomy erected by fundamentalists between science (especially evolution) and religion. His spirituality is nourished by wonder and excited by exploration, not shackled by superstition or held captive by fear.

Huckabee huckleberries should embrace, not eviscerate, Fairbanks - he has written one of the most insightful popular works on human evolution in recent memory - and boldly demonstrates that scientific integrity needn't be sacrificed to religious dogma.

Other titles you might enjoy include The Last Human: A Guide to Twenty-Two Species of Extinct Humans (reviewed seperately) by G. J. Sawyer, Your Inner Fish: A Journey into the 3.5-Billion-Year History of the Human Body (reviewed seperately) by Neil Shuban, Evolution: What the Fossils Say and Why It Matters by Donald J. Prothero, and The Age of Everything: How Science Explores the Past by Matthew Hedman.

Whether Bible-believing Christians are comfortable with it or not, biological evolution is an issue that is not going away anytime soon. As the very strong case for common descent settles down upon conservative and fundamental Christianity in the coming years, many will be deeply troubled by it's implications. To dismiss the issue as inconsequential ignores the impact it will have on the faith of many. The head-in-the-sand approach of many believers who refuse to study the question, choosing to hold on to their long-held beliefs strikes me as dangerous. For this reason, I am suggesting to my friends who wish to be informed on this subject this book, Relics of Eden by Daniel J. Fairbanks.

Fairbanks, writing from his perspective as a research geneticist, lays out in layman's language some of the basic building blocks for reconstructing the history of life on our planet from DNA. He proceeds to give the reader an overview of what DNA tells us about the interrelatedness of species. I found the book easy to read, and informative. Some of the early chapters (as he develops the building blocks of genetic understanding) are somewhat technical. But the payoff comes as he demonstrates how these bits of information are used to paint a remarkably consistent picture of our past.

The principle of common descent is no longer deniable in the face of DNA evidence. Either humans share a common ancestry with all living things, or the Creator went to a great deal of trouble to make it look that way, right down to the tiniest details of our DNA. If evolution did not happen, then the Creator is a trickster and a deceiver, and all science is rendered meaningless. Relics of Eden powerfully confirms this understanding (Fairbanks describes the mounting evidence as "spectacular"). But the trail of DNA science does not stop there. Comparative DNA is like an accurate time clock, giving us strong clues regarding the "when" of various evolutionary events. This growing treasure trove of information is also being used to reconstruct the great human migrations across our planet, and to do so with a precision which has never been possible for the anthropologist before. And perhaps most significantly, DNA science today is able to trace the history and development of various diseases, and offer up new ways of combating them. It is ironic that so many who resist what DNA is telling us about the history of life on our planet are more than ready to accept the great medical advancements of our day which are based upon the same science. Modern medical science is built upon the evolutionary model.

The final two chapters consist of an appeal to both sides of what Fairbanks characterizes as a false dichotomy: that somehow faith and reason cannot co-exist. Without detailing his own beliefs, Fairbanks makes it clear that he is a man of faith who believes in God as Creator. He appeals to those who choose to perpetuate psuedo-scientific creationism and Intelligent Design to reexamine the evidence, and lay down their battle-axes. I say, "Amen!"