The Bajau: natural selection at work

[DogmaHunter]

The Bajau are a people living in south east asia. They live on water, in either boats or in houses teetering on stilts above the waters and they have lived like this for at least 1000 years. Probably longer.

They spend some 60% of their time in the sea.
They have a remarkable talent of being able to dive to great depths using a single breath of air and in some cases are capable of staying under water for as long as 13 minutes.

Their unique capability comes down to a single thing: a heavily enlarged spleen, which means that they are able to conserve a lot more oxygen in their blood then your average human.

Research has been able to pinpoint the genetics (and mutations) responsible for this unique trait.

The Bajau's Ability to Hold Breath Comes Down to Enlarged Spleens | Inverse


A remarkable example of evolution at work.
And yet another fact for creationists to handwave away, no doubt.

 

[Ancient of Days]

13,230 posts and you still haven't convinced us of anything, check.

 

[DogmaHunter]

13,230 posts and you still haven't convinced us of anything, check.

I also won't convince you after 50.000 posts. Or 150.000.

To quote Dr Gregory House "you can't reason someone out of a position that he didn't reason himself into".

Meanwhile, the facts are what they are.
So, just like I concluded my OP, just another fact that creationists can handwave away. Just like you did here. You didn't even address the OP. Instead, you just made a snark comment about me and my post count.

Very telling.

Do yo have something to say about the topic?
If not, I'm sure there are other threads here that you can go and derail.

 

[tas8831]

13,230 posts and you still haven't convinced us of anything, check.

Why are you proud of that? I see more actual information in any 1 of Dogma's posts than in 50 posts by creationists.

 

[theQuincunx5]

The Bajau are a people living in south east asia. They live on water, in either boats or in houses teetering on stilts above the waters and they have lived like this for at least 1000 years. Probably longer.

They spend some 60% of their time in the sea.
They have a remarkable talent of being able to dive to great depths using a single breath of air and in some cases are capable of staying under water for as long as 13 minutes.

Their unique capability comes down to a single thing: a heavily enlarged spleen, which means that they are able to conserve a lot more oxygen in their blood then your average human.

Research has been able to pinpoint the genetics (and mutations) responsible for this unique trait.

The Bajau's Ability to Hold Breath Comes Down to Enlarged Spleens | Inverse


A remarkable example of evolution at work.
And yet another fact for creationists to handwave away, no doubt.

As amazing as this is, you do realize that the standard creationist response will be: But they aren't a different species from the rest of us.

It's like saying I don't believe I can drive to Portland. But I can drive halfway there to Salem. But since that's not Portland it means I can't drive to Portland. I can only drive to Salem. Alas I'm stuck.

 

[Jjmcubbin]

13,230 posts and you still haven't convinced us of anything, check.

Wow, I've never seen a student that dumb.

 

[FrumiousBandersnatch]

The Bajau's Ability to Hold Breath Comes Down to Enlarged Spleens | Inverse

A remarkable example of evolution at work.
And yet another fact for creationists to handwave away, no doubt.

At the other end of the vertical scale, there is the mutation that allows Tibetans to thrive at high altitude:

"the authors say: "EPAS1 may therefore represent the strongest instance of natural selection documented in a human population, and variation at this gene appears to have had important consequences for human survival and/or reproduction in the Tibetan region."​

More recently, mutations have been found in Nepalese sherpas that help them make better use of oxygen and change fat metabolism.

Evolution at work.

 

[Ophiolite]

13,230 posts and you still haven't convinced us of anything, check.

Which aspect of Dogma Hunter's post do you dispute?
1. The Bajau people have enlarged spleens.
2. This enlargement has a genetic origin, not an environmental one.
3. The genes responsible arose through mutation.
4. The enlarged spleens are beneficial to the Bajau lifestyle.

I am interested to learn if you find fault with any of these and if so, why? Thank you in advance.

 

[DogmaHunter]

Just an observation....

A thread filled with nonsense about imaginary car-animals and "self-replicating watches", grows to 119 pages, with an army of creationists trying to be clever.

In this thread..... The only creationist response after 3 days, was a snark comment that didn't even address the OP.


Interesting.

 

[tas8831]

Just an observation....

A thread filled with nonsense about imaginary car-animals and "self-replicating watches", grows to 119 pages, with an army of creationists trying to be clever.

In this thread..... The only creationist response after 3 days, was a snark comment that didn't even address the OP.


Interesting.

That is, sadly, the norm on most of these forums. An objective observer would draw certain conclusions.

 

[OldWiseGuy]

At the other end of the vertical scale, there is the mutation that allows Tibetans to thrive at high altitude:

"the authors say: "EPAS1 may therefore represent the strongest instance of natural selection documented in a human population, and variation at this gene appears to have had important consequences for human survival and/or reproduction in the Tibetan region."​

More recently, mutations have been found in Nepalese sherpas that help them make better use of oxygen and change fat metabolism.

Evolution at work.

That's adaptation (like muscles getting bigger by lifting weights). Evolution as we understand it is one specie changing into a completely different one i.e. fish into raccoon for example.

 

[DogmaHunter]

That's adaptation (like muscles getting bigger by lifting weights). Evolution as we understand it is one specie changing into a completely different one i.e. fish into raccoon for example.

"we" being creationists.
Indeed, that's how YOU understand it.

And we keep telling you, that your understanding is wrong.

Evolution is change in populations over generations.

Yes, the result of which is eventually speciation. But not from one species into a "completely different" species. Cats don't evolve into dogs. Cats evolve into sub-species of cats. Which remain cats.

Just like we remained apes, mammals, vertebrates,.....

Speciation is a vertical process.

 

[OldWiseGuy]

"we" being creationists.
Indeed, that's how YOU understand it.

And we keep telling you, that your understanding is wrong.

Evolution is change in populations over generations.

Yes, the result of which is eventually speciation. But not from one species into a "completely different" species. Cats don't evolve into dogs. Cats evolve into sub-species of cats. Which remain cats.

Just like we remained apes, mammals, vertebrates,.....

Speciation is a vertical process.

I thought the common ancestor was nothing at all like what it evolved into. For example grass and elephants have the same common ancestor, don't they?

 

[DogmaHunter]

I thought the common ancestor was nothing at all like what it evolved into. For example grass and elephants have the same common ancestor, don't they?

They are both Eukaryotes

Eukaryote - Wikipedia

Also, about your previous comment, I missed something which I thought was rather sneaky:

That's adaptation (like muscles getting bigger by lifting weights). Evolution as we understand it is one specie changing into a completely different one i.e. fish into raccoon for example.

That is, off course, not at all the same thing. And it further shows how terrible your understanding of evolution is.

Evolution is about change cross generation. About traits that are inherited by offspring.
Doing body building, is not going to affect the muscle size of your children.

Having genetic mutations which benefit you in environments like living on the water like the Bajau, or at high altitudes like Tibetans, is a completely different story.

That's what this thread is about....... the genetic underpinnings, and their origins, of the unique abilities of the Bajau (and Tibetans and alike).​