Predictions Made By Evolution

[ApostateDave]

Answers in Genesis, "A true science must make predictions. Evolution only describes what happened in the past, so it is not predictive." ¹

 

The problem: Evolution has made predictions--which have since remarkably been true. for example [2]

• Darwin predicted, based on homologies with African apes, that human ancestors arose in Africa. That prediction has been supported by fossil and genetic evidence (Ingman et al. 2000).
  
• Theory predicted that organisms in heterogeneous and rapidly changing environments should have higher mutation rates. This has been found in the case of bacteria infecting the lungs of chronic cystic fibrosis patients (Oliver et al. 2000).
  
• Predator-prey dynamics are altered in predictable ways by evolution of the prey (Yoshida et al. 2003).
  
• Ernst Mayr predicted in 1954 that speciation should be accompanied with faster genetic evolution. A phylogenetic analysis has supported this prediction (Webster et al. 2003).
  
• Several authors predicted characteristics of the ancestor of craniates. On the basis of a detailed study, they found the fossil Haikouella "fit these predictions closely" (Mallatt and Chen 2003).
  
• Evolution predicts that different sets of character data should still give the same phylogenetic trees. This has been confirmed informally myriad times and quantitatively, with different protein sequences, by Penny et al. (1982).
  
• Insect wings evolved from gills, with an intermediate stage of skimming on the water surface. Since the primitive surface-skimming condition is widespread among stoneflies, J. H. Marden predicted that stoneflies would likely retain other primitive traits, too. This prediction led to the discovery in stoneflies of functional hemocyanin, used for oxygen transport in other arthropods but never before found in insects (Hagner-Holler et al. 2004; Marden 2005).
  

These facts show me that evolution is indeed true. Christians, do you have any thoughts?

 

Notes

 

1. http://www.answersingenesis.org/docs2002/0228not_science.asp

2. http://www.talkorigins.org/indexcc/CA/CA210.html

[freeasabird]

I think you've barely scratched the surface. You can add the following, just off the top of my head:

• Darwin's orchid
  
• large stores of recently found cetacean fossils, better illustrating the evolution of whales and dolphins
  
• Human chromosome #2, detailing the fusion of 2 primate chromosomes, which explains why most primates have 48 chromosomes but we have 46.
  
• More: http://chem.tufts.edu/AnswersInScience/evo_science.html
  
• Yet more: http://whatdoesthesciencesay.wordpress.com/2010/11/11/predictions-of-evolution/