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Loudmouth

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Thats the point the bacteria already had antibiotic resistance 30,000 years ago so how can it have developed resistance in modern times as evolution states which is suppose to show a new function being evolved.

Antibiotics have been around for millions, if not hundreds of millions of years. Are you really not aware of this?

Where do you think we got penicillin from? Streptomycin? We got them from fungi. Species have been producing antibiotics for a long time, so it makes sense that bacteria had evolved defenses against those antibiotics well before humans harvested those chemicals from fungi.
 
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Its funny when something found in ancient ground it is used to verify evolution and no questions are asked about the age and time lines matching up when it all supports evolution.
But that is not what happens, stevevw. Any evidence that is against or for evolution is evaluated by scientists. As in the paper you have cited!
The Paradox of the “Ancient” (250 million year old) Bacterium Which Contains “Modern” Protein-Coding Genes
This paper as you missed addressing:
  1. does not state that any 250 million old bacteria are modern.
  2. indicates that isolate 2-9-3 might be considered a strain of S. marismortui.
  3. ends by asking the question of whether the isolate could be modern and the answer is inconclusive.
8 July 2016 stevevw: Morphology showing that bacteria looked similar to their ancient ancestors does not mean that they were genetically identical.

"The Cambrian explosion over 500 million years ago is another example of early life having modern body plans..." is true but irrelevant. Evolution happens within body plans and creates new body plans, e.g. the ones that evolved during and after the Cambrian explosion.

There is no evidence that "Bacteria have been much the same since day 1" for a start because they did not exist on "day 1", 4.5 billion years ago.
  • Age of the Earth: "The age of the Earth is 4.54 ± 0.05 billion years (4.54 × 109 years ± 1%).[1][2][3][4]"
  • Abiogenesis: "It is thought to have occurred on Earth between 3.8 and 4.1[11] billion years ago...".
  • Bacteria: "The ancestors of modern bacteria were unicellular microorganisms that were the first forms of life to appear on Earth, about 4 billion years ago. For about 3 billion years, most organisms were microscopic, and bacteria and archaea were the dominant forms of life.[19][20]"
The evidence is that species of bacteria have looked the same for a long time.
 
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Thats the point the bacteria already had antibiotic resistance 30,000 years ago so how can it have developed resistance in modern times as evolution states...
That is not what is in that paper, stevevw.
The paper is that one isolate already had antibiotic resistance 30,000 years ago to a few (three) natural antibiotics. That may have been new in 2002 (14 years ago) but is well known and established science today.
This is what antimicrobial resistance is:
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is when a microbe evolves to become more or fully resistant to antimicrobials which previously could treat it.[2][3] This broader term also covers antibiotic resistance, which applies to bacteria and antibiotics.[3] Resistance arises through one of three ways: natural resistance in certain types of bacteria; genetic mutation; or by one species acquiring resistance from another.[4] Resistance can appear spontaneously due to random mutations; or more commonly following gradual buildup over time, and because of misuse of antibiotics or antimicrobials.[5] Resistant microbes are increasingly difficult to treat, requiring alternative medications or higher doses—which may be more costly or more toxic. Microbes resistant to multiple antimicrobials are called multidrug resistant (MDR); or sometimes superbugs.[6] Antimicrobial resistance is on the rise with millions of deaths every year.[7] A few infections are now completely untreatable due to resistance. All classes of microbes develop resistance (fungi, antifungal resistance; viruses, antiviral resistance; protozoa, antiprotozoal resistance; bacteria, antibiotic resistance).

Evolutionary theory predicts that if a population of bacteria has some individuals with natural resistance to an antibiotic then increasing exposure to the antibiotic will increase the % of individuals with that resistance. This is the natural selection part of "Darwinism". That will increase the possibility of people being infected with bacteria resistant to that antibiotic which is what is observed.
stevevw: You have cited sources confirming evolutionary theory.
 
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stevevw

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Those bacteria do not contradict evolution.
Why is that

None of which contradicts evolution. We would expect complex codes to be around 250 million years ago if evolution is true. The first signs of bacterial life are seen over 3 billion years ago in the fossil record. This means there were over 2.5 billion years for complex codes to evolve.

That is 2.5 billion years after the first life emerged. Again, not a problem.
The point is the codes are pretty similar to modern ones. That means there was little evolution between those times. It can also mean that those complex codes were around early and have remained pretty much the same and if anything have become less complex and less fit.

Evolution doesn't say that life must go from simple to complex. It only says that life will go from less fit to more fit.
I thought the first life according to evolution was simple singled celled life and then it became more complex in multi celled life. That then became more complex as time went on from simple sea life to land animals which required larger brains. But the claim about life becoming more fit is under question as well as it seems the opposite has happen.
 
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KCfromNC

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The point is the codes are pretty similar to modern ones. That means there was little evolution between those times.

Some numbers would be helpful for your case here. "pretty similar" and "little evolution" are vague enough that you're not really saying anything here.

It can also mean that those complex codes were around early and have remained pretty much the same and if anything have become less complex and less fit.

Anything's possible. Too bad the evidence doesn't fit with your hypothetical.

I thought the first life according to evolution was simple singled celled life and then it became more complex in multi celled life. That then became more complex as time went on from simple sea life to land animals which required larger brains.

Required? You need to get away from thinking that there's some magical plan that makes our current situation the end goal.

Sure, if you're looking at a point where life is as simple as it can be or it wouldn't be life than you're naturally going to end up with more complexity (or at least the same) - assuming life doesn't die out completely. But we're way past that point now so evolution can produce more or less complex creatures and not run up against that hard limit.

But the claim about life becoming more fit is under question as well as it seems the opposite has happen.

Evidence for this claim? How many land mammals were there 2 billion years ago?
 
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stevevw

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But that is not what happens, stevevw. Any evidence that is against or for evolution is evaluated by scientists. As in the paper you have cited!
The Paradox of the “Ancient” (250 million year old) Bacterium Which Contains “Modern” Protein-Coding Genes
This paper as you missed addressing:
  1. does not state that any 250 million old bacteria are modern.
  2. indicates that isolate 2-9-3 might be considered a strain of S. marismortui.
  3. ends by asking the question of whether the isolate could be modern and the answer is inconclusive.
  1. Yes and I addressed that by posting some more evidence to show that ancient bacteria has been found that is similar to modern ones, which you havnt addressed.
8 July 2016 stevevw
: Morphology showing that bacteria looked similar to their ancient ancestors does not mean that they were genetically identical.
The new articles I included stated that the bacteria was similar in its DNA as well.

"The Cambrian explosion over 500 million years ago is another example of early life having modern body plans..." is true but irrelevant. Evolution happens within body plans and creates new body plans, e.g. the ones that evolved during and after the Cambrian explosion.
Except in evolutionary terms the Cambrian explosion was sudden. Most of the complex body plans we see today appeared suddenly without much trace of where they came from. If you want to use the fossil record for evidence here is an example of how the gradual transitions as missing in a big way. Not just before the Cambrian period but also after wards. there are many examples of the sudden appearance of complex forms without any trace of transitionals leading up to them or continuing after them.

There is no evidence that "Bacteria have been much the same since day 1" for a start because they did not exist on "day 1", 4.5 billion years ago
  • Age of the Earth: "The age of the Earth is 4.54 ± 0.05 billion years (4.54 × 109 years ± 1%).[1][2][3][4]"
  • Abiogenesis: "It is thought to have occurred on Earth between 3.8 and 4.1[11] billion years ago...".
  • Bacteria: "The ancestors of modern bacteria were unicellular microorganisms that were the first forms of life to appear on Earth, about 4 billion years ago. For about 3 billion years, most organisms were microscopic, and bacteria and archaea were the dominant forms of life.[19][20]"
  • There is no evidence for the evolution of bacteria from day one, two or millions of years later as well.
The evidence is that species of bacteria have looked the same for a long time.
So what are you saying here. How do you tell a species of bacteria and especially how do you tell it evolved through darwinian evolution when it has a tremendous ability to gain genetic material through HGT that doesn't require evolution through random mutations and natural selection.[/quote]
 
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stevevw

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That is not what is in that paper, stevevw.
The paper is that one isolate already had antibiotic resistance 30,000 years ago to a few (three) natural antibiotics. That may have been new in 2002 (14 years ago) but is well known and established science today.
This is what antimicrobial resistance is:

Evolutionary theory predicts that if a population of bacteria has some individuals with natural resistance to an antibiotic then increasing exposure to the antibiotic will increase the % of individuals with that resistance. This is the natural selection part of "Darwinism". That will increase the possibility of people being infected with bacteria resistant to that antibiotic which is what is observed.
stevevw: You have cited sources confirming evolutionary theory.[/QUOTE]I thought evolution claimed that the ability for bacteria to evolve resistance to antibiotics in the last century was proof that evolution had evolved a beneficial mutation which gave a new function in bacteria. Considering that these papers are stating that the ability to resist antibiotics happened well before modern antibiotics came about in the 1940s this shows that evolution didn't create any new beneficial function of info. It was already there and had been probably for thousands of years.
Resistance to antibiotics is ancient
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/08/110831155334.htm

As I stated earlier that the example of resistance to antibiotics in bacteria is one of the continued examples held up as proving evolution works is now shown to be an existing ability for bacteria and not something evolution created. Considering that this is one of very few examples for evolution it begins to bring into question what evolution can and cant do if at all. The list of 229 examples of evolution which you supplied and now are ignoring as they dont prove evolution either and in fact disprove evolution. When we closely look at what actually is happening we see that either the ability is already there and there is a loss of info and/or fitness or life is switching on or off existing genetic ability.

The mechanisms for how life changes over time keeps things much the same by repairing errors which are mutations. The benefits are usually life tolerating those errors for a time. But overall gradually mutations will cause a fitness loss and not a gain and that is what we are seeing. So life has always had a lot of genetic ability and it is just the tinkering with that ability that allows life to change. Life can share genetic info and the environment acts as a conduit for connection all life together as one big organism.

This supports the idea that life is made up of unique and specific structures/codes that have been around since early times and that a random and blind process cannot create these structures.

The protein folds as platonic forms: new support for the pre-Darwinian conception of evolution by natural law.

However, in the case of one class of very important organic forms-the basic protein folds-advances in protein chemistry since the early 1970s have revealed that they represent a finite set of natural forms, determined by a number of generative constructional rules, like those which govern the formation of atoms or crystals, in which functional adaptations are clearly secondary modifications of primary "givens of physics." The folds are evidently determined by natural law, not natural selection, and are "lawful forms" in the Platonic and pre-Darwinian sense of the word, which are bound to occur everywhere in the universe where the same 20 amino acids are used for their construction.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12419661
 
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Loudmouth

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Why is that

Conservation of less derived features is entirely within the possible outcomes of evolution.

The point is the codes are pretty similar to modern ones. That means there was little evolution between those times.

And? The theory of evolution does not state that all lineages must have the same amount of change through time.

It can also mean that those complex codes were around early and have remained pretty much the same and if anything have become less complex and less fit.

You haven't shown that this is the case, however.

I thought the first life according to evolution was simple singled celled life and then it became more complex in multi celled life.

The single celled life could have also become more complex.

What evolved is simply a matter of history. The theory of evolution does not require lineages to become more complex. If complexity increases fitness, then it will be selected for. If a simpler morphology or physiology increases fitness, then that is selected for. Parasites are a perfect example of lineages where complexity is lost because of selective pressures.

That then became more complex as time went on from simple sea life to land animals which required larger brains.

Bacteria don't have brains, and they are the most diverse and numerous group of organisms on the planet. Brains aren't required.
 
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FrumiousBandersnatch

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Resistance to antibiotics is ancient
We know.

Bacteria, fungi, & archaea have been in competition since they first emerged or diverged. The first antibiotics we discovered were natural, possibly ancient, products of evolution. The problem of antibiotic resistance is the result of human-driven enhanced selection of resistant strains by overuse and incomplete use of antibiotics, ancient and modern.
 
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stevevw

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Conservation of less derived features is entirely within the possible outcomes of evolution.
Not according to some scientists. Genetic drift would not guarantee that and it is more likely to encourage negative mutations. According to evolution its capable of almost anything. Thats where is begin to think that it is trying to account for what the evidence is really showing which is design and capabilities that are beyond what evolution can explain. So they have to start finding ways of accommodating what we see in life with new claims about what evolution can do. They are almost saying that evolution is God and capable of creating everything. Put it this way if God is the creator of life then evolution would have to account for things that are beyond its ability. An indication of this would be many claims that dont have support or explanations as to how it would be possible.

And? The theory of evolution does not state that all lineages must have the same amount of change through time.
It seems that when we find contradictions for evolution there is always a reason ie convergent evolution, ghost lineages, punctuated evolution, or conservation evolution over millions and millions of years. Its still evolution when its not evolution and its evolution no matter what the contradictions are. But if evolution is to be able to evolve all the complex variation that has ever existed and what we see today then it would sure need to be working at it most of the time to be able to achieve those levels.

You haven't shown that this is the case, however.
I have shown this in previous posts which I am sure you reviewed.

The following paper shows that protein folds are unique structures that are universal and have been much the same all along. They occupy a very small area of very big possible alternative forms which mean that they would take more time than what evolution claims to find those specific structures with random mutations and blind natural selection. There is no evidence that these structures evolved through gradual hit and miss evolution. The structures for building life are not receptive to changes and even small changes can affect their fitness. Any change would have to go through non functional sequences points which would render the attempt useless and lethal to life and therefore not selected for. It is doubtful that evolution could find the specific sequences through multi mutations in one go.
The protein folds as platonic forms: new support for the pre-Darwinian conception of evolution by natural law.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12419661

The following paper supports the idea that life has been complex from the beginning and any changes are adjustments and the switching on and off of that complexity.
Universal genome in the origin of metazoa: thoughts about evolution.
Recent advances in paleontology, genome analysis, genetics and embryology raise a number of questions about the origin of Animal Kingdom. These questions include, 1) seemingly simultaneous appearance of diverse Metazoan phyla in Cambrian period, (2) similarities of genomes among Metazoan phyla of diverse complexity, (3) seemingly excessive complexity of genomes of lower taxons and (4) similar genetic switches of functionally similar but non-homologous developmental programs. Here I propose an experimentally testable hypothesis of Universal Genome that addresses these questions. According to this model, (a) the Universal Genome that encodes all major developmental programs essential for various phyla of Metazoa emerged in a unicellular or a primitive multicellular organism shortly before the Cambrian period; (b) The Metazoan phyla, all having similar genomes, are nonetheless so distinct because they utilize specific combinations of developmental programs. This model has two major predictions, first that a significant fraction of genetic information in lower taxons must be functionally useless but becomes useful in higher taxons, and second that one should be able to turn on in lower taxons some of the complex latent developmental programs, e.g., a program of eye development or antibody synthesis in sea urchin. An example of natural turning on of a complex latent program in a lower taxon is discussed.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed?...ez.Pubmed.Pubmed_ResultsPanel.Pubmed_RVDocSum

The single celled life could have also become more complex.
What evolved is simply a matter of history. The theory of evolution does not require lineages to become more complex. If complexity increases fitness, then it will be selected for. If a simpler morphology or physiology increases fitness, then that is selected for. Parasites are a perfect example of lineages where complexity is lost because of selective pressures.
This is a good example of the circular reasoning and assumption of those who support evolution. To say that single celled life could have become more complex doesn't mean anything. You need to explain how that is possible and show evidence for it. To assume it happens because you take something like a perceived benefit from natural selection and extend that to being able to create anything is a mighty big jump. To say that because we have complex life now proves evolution because it started from simple life is circular reasoning based on assumption.

Genetic entropy is based on most mutations having a slightly deleterious effect. Because the effect is so small they are not picked up and selected out and therefore build up in our genomes. That is what the evidence is showing. Humans for example are accumulating small deleterious mutations which are deteriorating our genomes.

Most mutations in the genes of the Salmonella bacterium have a surprisingly small negative impact on bacterial fitness.
http://www.physorg.com/news/20.....teria.html

High genomic deleterious mutation rates in hominids
Furthermore, the level of selective constraint in hominid protein-coding sequences is atypically (unusually) low. A large number of slightly deleterious mutations may therefore have become fixed in hominid lineages.

http://www.nature.com/nature/j.....344a0.html

the larger the expected benefit, the more negative the epistatic effect. Epistasis thus tended to produce diminishing returns with genotype fitness,
These results point us toward expecting to see the rate of a population’s fitness declining over time even with the continual addition of new beneficial mutations

http://science.sciencemag.org/content/332/6034/1190

Contamination of the genome by very slightly deleterious mutations: why have we not died 100 times over?
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0022519385701671


Bacteria don't have brains, and they are the most diverse and numerous group of organisms on the planet. Brains aren't required.
You were saying that evolution doesn't evolve from simple to complex. I was showing that evolution claims that life started with simple single celled life and then to multi celled life which included the evolution things like brains. One of the basic tenets of evolution is the gradual accumulation of more complex life through small step by step evolution. So every organ such as brains, hearts or eyes and systems such as nervous and respiratory systems was evolved from simple prototypes of what we have today. The eye for example started as a simple patch of skin according to evolution and gradually evolved bit by bit into more complex eyes. This is how evolution claims life could evolve otherwise they would have to account for how it could mutate complete brains, eyes and other body structures in one go. So evolution is largely based on the evolution of simple forms into complex ones.
 
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stevevw

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We know.

Bacteria, fungi, & archaea have been in competition since they first emerged or diverged. The first antibiotics we discovered were natural, possibly ancient, products of evolution. The problem of antibiotic resistance is the result of human-driven enhanced selection of resistant strains by overuse and incomplete use of antibiotics, ancient and modern.
So why do they use antibiotic resistance as an example of how evolution evolved a new function by stating that the use of antibiotics wasn't introduced until the 1900s just like they do with nylon digesting bacteria.
 
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stevevw

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Antibiotics have been around for millions, if not hundreds of millions of years. Are you really not aware of this?

Where do you think we got penicillin from? Streptomycin? We got them from fungi. Species have been producing antibiotics for a long time, so it makes sense that bacteria had evolved defenses against those antibiotics well before humans harvested those chemicals from fungi.
Then why do supporters of evolution say that antibiotic resistance in bacteria is an example of evolution in action.
 
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So why do they use antibiotic resistance as an example of how evolution evolved a new function by stating that the use of antibiotics wasn't introduced until the 1900s just like they do with nylon digesting bacteria.
I'm not aware of anyone who has claimed that penicillium mold did not produce penicillin prior to their discovery.

As for the implied question of why antibiotic resistance is cited more generally, it's because:

Antibiotic resistance has become widespread since the use of it has become common.

Antibiotic resistance has evolved in response to the creation of synthetic antibiotics

Antibiotic resistance has been shown to evolve in nonexistent strains in the laboratory.
 
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FrumiousBandersnatch

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So why do they use antibiotic resistance as an example of how evolution evolved a new function by stating that the use of antibiotics wasn't introduced until the 1900s just like they do with nylon digesting bacteria.
Antibiotic resistance is a useful example of evolution for public understanding because it's current, it's important, and it needs urgent attention.

The first antibiotics we discovered were the natural result of the ancient evolutionary arms race between fungi and bacteria, and yes, antibiotic resistance isn't new - some bacteria clearly evolved resistance to some antibiotics long before humans even evolved. But we found antibiotics that kill bacteria that are dangerous to us and so started new battles in this ancient evolutionary war. For those bacteria that have evolved resistance to the antibiotics we discovered and developed, that resistance is a new function - a function they have evolved that they didn't have before.

That you feel the need to ask such trivially obvious questions as the above speaks volumes on your actual understanding of all the stuff you post. Just sayin'.
 
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FrumiousBandersnatch

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You were saying that evolution doesn't evolve from simple to complex.
You've misunderstood. Evolution doesn't necessarily go from simple to complex (the vast bulk of biomass on the planet is unicellular). In the early days when there were only the very simplest life forms, greater complexity was the only route to go - becoming simpler was not an option. Once a greater range of complexity was established, it could go either way depending on the selection pressures. But, in general, there's an inverse correlation between numbers and complexity.
So evolution is largely based on the evolution of simple forms into complex ones.
No; evolution is based on heritable variation, selection, and reproduction. The development of complexity is a consequence of that. Complexity will arise if and only if it leads to success in the environment in question. But it's fairly obvious that, given a distribution of complexity, and all else being equal, in any given population evolution can result in reduced complexity, no change in complexity, or an increase of complexity. Therefore, over time and across multiple populations, we should expect to see an increase in maximum complexity (though the rate of change will reduce once diminishing returns set in). In practice, rapid environmental change favours the persistence of simple organisms with shorter life-cycles, and the most adaptable complex organisms (evolution generally follows adaptation).
 
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stevevw

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Antibiotic resistance is a useful example of evolution for public understanding because it's current, it's important, and it needs urgent attention.

The first antibiotics we discovered were the natural result of the ancient evolutionary arms race between fungi and bacteria, and yes, antibiotic resistance isn't new - some bacteria clearly evolved resistance to some antibiotics long before humans even evolved. But we found antibiotics that kill bacteria that are dangerous to us and so started new battles in this ancient evolutionary war. For those bacteria that have evolved resistance to the antibiotics we discovered and developed, that resistance is a new function - a function they have evolved that they didn't have before.

That you feel the need to ask such trivially obvious questions as the above speaks volumes on your actual understanding of all the stuff you post. Just sayin'.
So if bacteria had the ability to resist natural antibiotics then they would have had the basic genetic info to draw upon or modify to resist man made artificial antibiotics. So the ability wasn't evolved as a new function or the creation of new info. That was my point that the example of using antibiotic resistance to prove evolution is not a good one.
 
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stevevw

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You've misunderstood. Evolution doesn't necessarily go from simple to complex (the vast bulk of biomass on the planet is unicellular). In the early days when there were only the very simplest life forms, greater complexity was the only route to go - becoming simpler was not an option. Once a greater range of complexity was established, it could go either way depending on the selection pressures. But, in general, there's an inverse correlation between numbers and complexity.
So what was the selection pressure on the single celled life, a big scary bacteria or something, lol. I dont think evolution can even attempt to explain how a single celled organism could evolve into complex multi celled life. The amount of steps needed that require multiple components to happen at the same time is beyond evolution. Unless the required ability and info was there to begin with a random and blind process could find the right paths in billions of years.

Besides I have read that more complex life wouldn't naturally be the logical path that simple life would follow anyway as complex life is more likely to be more vulnerable to evolutionary processes because it needs to maintain that optimum level of complexity. Any mutations is a threat to keeping things the same. That is why single celled organism dominate and are so successful. An argument can be made that multi celled life is actually a down grade from single celled organism and less fit. Adaptation doesn't move towards complexity very well if at all.
No; evolution is based on heritable variation, selection, and reproduction. The development of complexity is a consequence of that. Complexity will arise if and only if it leads to success in the environment in question. But it's fairly obvious that, given a distribution of complexity, and all else being equal, in any given population evolution can result in reduced complexity, no change in complexity, or an increase of complexity. Therefore, over time and across multiple populations, we should expect to see an increase in maximum complexity (though the rate of change will reduce once diminishing returns set in). In practice, rapid environmental change favours the persistence of simple organisms with shorter life-cycles, and the most adaptable complex organisms (evolution generally follows adaptation).
As far as I understand from the papers I have posted adaptation is least likely to be responsible for variation and complexity. It is the non adaptive forces that are more likely to explain and cause life to change and vary.
 
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stevevw

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I'm not aware of anyone who has claimed that penicillium mold did not produce penicillin prior to their discovery.

As for the implied question of why antibiotic resistance is cited more generally, it's because:

Antibiotic resistance has become widespread since the use of it has become common.

Antibiotic resistance has evolved in response to the creation of synthetic antibiotics

Antibiotic resistance has been shown to evolve in nonexistent strains in the laboratory.
It is more to do with man made antibiotics and how bacteria has adapted to resist that. But I think because bacteria was already able to resist natural antibiotics that the ability to resist artificial ones would be based on some similar genetic ability. I dont think antibiotic resistance to man made antibiotic was entirely a new function for bacteria that was created in the 19th century.
 
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FrumiousBandersnatch

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So if bacteria had the ability to resist natural antibiotics then they would have had the basic genetic info to draw upon or modify to resist man made artificial antibiotics. So the ability wasn't evolved as a new function or the creation of new info. That was my point that the example of using antibiotic resistance to prove evolution is not a good one.
It's not that simple. Both natural and artificial antibiotics come in many different types and act in different ways. Some bacteria do have dormant genetic sequences for resistance to antibiotics they were once threatened by, and can reactivate them when the same threat returns - either by a genetic or epigenetic switch, or by mutation in the case of inactivation by genetic drift. But many synthetic antibiotics act in entirely new ways, and some bacteria do not appear to have used dormant mechanisms to resist unfamiliar natural antibiotics, and we've seen the evolution of resistance to them from scratch. When you can sequence the genome of both resistant and unresistant strains, it's possible to see what has changed.
 
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FrumiousBandersnatch

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So what was the selection pressure on the single celled life, a big scary bacteria or something, lol.
Seriously? selection pressure is anything that threatens the production of viable offspring. Other creatures are only a small part of it.
I dont think evolution can even attempt to explain how a single celled organism could evolve into complex multi celled life.
You could start by learning about the topic. Try Microbial Cooperation, and How Single-cell Organisms Evolved into Multicellular Ones.
The amount of steps needed that require multiple components to happen at the same time is beyond evolution. Unless the required ability and info was there to begin with a random and blind process could find the right paths in billions of years.
The argument from incredulity is also an argument from ignorance - both are fallacious.
Besides I have read that more complex life wouldn't naturally be the logical path that simple life would follow anyway as complex life is more likely to be more vulnerable to evolutionary processes because it needs to maintain that optimum level of complexity.
Evolution doesn't do what's logical, just what works at the time.
Any mutations is a threat to keeping things the same.
A mutation isn't a threat to keeping things the same, it changes things by definition. However, most mutations are neutral and a deleterious mutation quickly drops out of the gene pool, so it's not a threat to the population. Remember it's populations that evolve, not individuals.
That is why single celled organism dominate and are so successful. An argument can be made that multi celled life is actually a down grade from single celled organism and less fit.
Lol, you could look at it that way if you like, but look around you - do you see any multicellular organisms? it's over half a billion years since they first appeared, so they're doing OK for a 'downgrade' ;) I think you may have failed to grasp what fitness means [hint - it doesn't mean having more offspring or a larger population]
Adaptation doesn't move towards complexity very well if at all.
What, exactly do you mean by that? can you give some examples? citation? explanation in your own words?
As far as I understand from the papers I have posted adaptation is least likely to be responsible for variation and complexity.
Adaptation has two meanings in this context; the ability of an individual organism to cope with changes to its environment, i.e. to adapt; and traits that have evolved in a population as a result of changes to the environment. For the former, you would expect an individual's ability to change to be limited, and for it to be unable to change in complexity. The latter are examples of variation and often complexity. Posting papers and understanding them are not the same thing.
It is the non adaptive forces that are more likely to explain and cause life to change and vary.
What do you mean by 'non-adaptive forces'?
 
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