Yes indeed, Life is complicated. To make the Connection between Whole Foods, Whole People, and Whole Planet, the Rudolf-Rudi Connection supports Mendel’s Laws of Inheritance and rejects Darwin’s Theory of Evolution by Natural Selection.
Mendel’s Laws of Inheritance vs Human Evolution. The Concept of Whole Mendelism
The origin of Man, or the Beginning of Man as a new form of Life may have a basis that lies outside operation of natural causes. Mendelism, ‘The Theory of Heredity’ formulated by Gregor Mendel provides insights to the problem of man’s origin. On the basis of Mendelism, it can be said that man did not descend from Primates and is not truly related to other members of Hominid Family. Man’s relationship with other zoological species has to be explained on the basis of reproductive history and inheritance of biological traits.
I coined the phrase “Whole Mendelism” #WholeMendelism to claim that man had arrived on planet Earth due to a special act of creation. There are no natural conditions, no natural factors, no natural mechanisms, no natural processes and no natural causes to transform any of previously existing members of Hominid Family to establish the reality of Anatomically Modern Man. To make the transition from an old species to a new species which is often called Evolution or Darwinism, the breeding interactions of species involved must operate according to the Laws of Inheritance discovered by Gregor Johann Mendel, the Father of Genetics. In this article, I would like to describe the Laws of Inheritance and the problems that I encounter to verify Darwinism while using the Mendelian Principles of Heredity and Variation. For example, if evolutionary biologists or anthropologists claim that the anatomically modern human species or its immediate ancestral species had reproduced with archaic hominids such as Neanderthals, the human genome has to include one complete ‘Haploid’ set of chromosomes normally occurring in the mature germ cell called egg or sperm which means 22 chromosomes (Autosomes), and 1 X or Y chromosome (Sex chromosome) derived exclusively from Neanderthal genome. Secondly, human population must include a few members that can be clearly identified as Neanderthal.
The Origin and Extinction of Species:
It will be interesting to note that a vast majority of species found on Earth have emerged suddenly and have disappeared suddenly. For example, Cambrian, first geologic Period in the Paleozoic Era witnessed sudden emergence of a great variety of marine animals especially trilobites and brachiopods about 600 million years ago. This “Explosion of Life” is aptly named ‘Cambrian Explosion’. Similarly, towards the end of Cretaceous Period, third geologic Period of the Mesozoic Era and the beginning of Tertiary Period of the Cenozoic Era, about 65 million years ago, a global extinction event called K-T Event was responsible for eliminating approximately 80 percent of all species of animals. Dinosaurs which reached maximum development became extinct while new forms of life appeared with new hereditary traits.
In Darwinism, new species arise when, among the varieties of an existing species, certain intermediate forms become extinct, and the other circumstances are such that the surviving varieties now become more sharply separated from one another in type, and are able to reproduce their kind, and , in the course of many generations of interbreeding, also tend to breed true. This ‘Theory of Evolution’ is not consistent with Mendel’s Laws of Inheritance and Variation. The Unit Character called ‘GENE’ conserves its identity during the process of reproduction which could be either ‘Inbreeding’, or ‘Interbreeding’. A species is always known by its reproductive history for the Unit Characters or Genes get propagated to the next generation during both inbreeding and interbreeding process.
MENDEL’S LAWS OF INHERITANCE vs HUMAN EVOLUTION: GREGOR JOHANN MENDEL (1822-1884), THE FATHER OF GENETICS. AT THE AUGUSTINIAN MONASTERY IN BRNO (1843-1868), HE CONDUCTED OVER 29,000 BREEDING EXPERIMENTS CHIEFLY ON GARDEN PEAS (PISUM SATIVUM).
Gregor Johann Mendel (1822-1884), Austrian monk is noted for his experimental work on Heredity. At the Augustinian monastery in Brno (1843-1868) he conducted experiments chiefly on Garden Peas (Pisum sativum) using a controlled pollination technique and a careful statistical analysis of his results. He produced the first accurate and scientific explanation of ‘Hybridization’.
Some evolutionary geneticists and evolutionary anthropology scholars have shared opinions claiming that the ‘hybridization’ of unknown, ancestral Homo sapiens with other species of the genus Homo such as Neanderthals, and Denisova hominids may have resulted in production of anatomically modern humans (Homo sapiens, sapiens). Their views on blending of hereditary factors is not supported by Mendel’s classic experiments in Hybridization. According to Mendel, inheritance is particulate. Distinct genetic factors combine to produce a certain somatic result without losing their separate identities. They can therefore be reassorted and enter into new genetic combinations in the next generation. The hypothesis of Hybridized Anatomically Modern (HAM) humans is fundamentally inconsistent with the Laws of Inheritance discovered by Mendel. If modern man is a product of Hybridization, the present, surviving human population would include a few surviving members of Neanderthals, Denisova, and other ancestral hominids who successfully reproduced with an unknown, ancestral Homo sapiens species which got transformed into ‘HAM’ humans.
The Law of Biogenesis and the Law of Natural Generation:
The term ‘Generation’ means to produce offspring. The term ‘Propagation’ means to transmit hereditary characteristics by reproduction. The Law of Biogenesis states the Principle that living organisms originate only from other living organisms closely similar to themselves. It is ‘The Law of Like Generating Like’. A species always breeds true to its own species. Its members always generate organisms which are classified as belonging to the same species, however much they vary among themselves as individuals within the group. The sub-groups, the races, or varieties of species are able to breed with one another, but diverse species cannot interbreed. By the Law of Natural Generation, offspring will always be of the same species as the parent organism. Hence, species is self-perpetuating and maintain stability of all other groupings like the genera, phyla, and families which remain as fixed from generation to generation. In Plant and Animal Kingdom, a species distinguishes itself by its ability to maintain its stability from generation to generation. The Mendelian System of Heredity states that an inherited characteristic is determined by the combination of two hereditary units (now called genes), one from each of the parental reproductive cells or gametes (Sperm and Egg Cell). The term genome describes the complete haploid set of chromosomes of a sexually reproducing organism normally occurring in mature germ cell called egg or sperm. This number of chromosomes is characteristic of each species. Every human being arrives on planet Earth with an original, unique, distinctive, and one of its own kind of genome that has never, ever existed in the past, and would never exist again in the future. Sexual reproduction is a creative process which involves a type of cell division called ‘MEIOSIS’ that results in production of Sperm or Egg Cell. Fertilization of egg cell by sperm always creates a new kind of genome while the number of chromosomes (Diploid set) that is the chief attribute of species is held constant.
The Origin or the Beginning of Anatomically Modern Humans:
To explain the Origin of Man, The Beginning of Man on the basis of Darwinism, it demands the presence of two, identical, rare, mutant individuals (a male, and a female) to produce offspring and to establish an entirely new, modern human population in all geographical regions of the Old World. About 10, 000 years ago, modern humans may have shared the planet with a few surviving members of Neanderthals and other hominid species. Techniques of DNA extraction and genomic sequencing have advanced and find application in the understanding of the genus Homo. The claims about Hybridization of archaic humans such as Neanderthals with Homo sapiens finds support from DNA studies of the current, members of human population as compared to DNA sequences extracted from Neanderthal fossils. But those shared genetic traits are not of major significance and do not account for the morphological appearance of either Neanderthal or modern man. At the same time, it may be noted that 30 – 35, 000 years ago, Neanderthals disappeared from the fossil record. Similarly, Hominid Denisova, discovered in Altai Mountains, Southern Siberia lived 41, 000 years ago. Homo sapiens floresiensis (Flores Man) of Indonesia suddenly disappeared 12, 000 years ago. Hominid Red Deer Man discovered in China lived 14.5 to 11.5 thousand years ago. To make a credible claim about interbreeding between Neanderthals and Homo sapiens, we need to demonstrate the presence of traits characteristic of Homo sapiens in the DNA extracted from Neanderthal fossil specimens. It will be correct to claim that from Holocene Epoch or Series, approximately for the last 10, 000 years, modern humans constitute the only surviving members of the Hominid Family found on planet Earth.
Charles Darwin uses the term species to signify “a set of individuals closely resembling each other” – a class of plants or animals having certain characteristics. The French naturalist George Louis Leclerc Comte de Buffon (1707-1788) in his monumental compendium on Natural History (Histoire Naturelle General et Particuliere, 44 Volumes, 1749-1804) described man as a zoological species. Buffon determined species not by their physical appearances but by their reproductive history. Two individual animals or plants are of the same species if they can produce fertile offspring. According to Buffon, a species is known only through the history of its propagation. Buffon opened the way to development of Paleontology to discover lost species. The status of the Anatomically Modern Humans as a distinct species is verified as human populations consist of members that are genetically similar, interbreeding or potentially interbreeding individuals that share the same collection of inherited characteristics, whose combination is unique to our species. Diverse species cannot interbreed. Organisms different in species cannot reproduce productively and if crossbred, like the horse and the ass, they produce a sterile hybrid like the mule. Hybrid is the term for the offspring of a cross between two different subspecies or species. In Genetics, hybrid is the term for the offspring of parents differing in any genetic characteristic.Interbreeding or Hybridization means to produce offspring by crossing two individuals of unlike genetic constitution. The offspring of different races, varieties, species, etc., are called ‘hybrids’. If Neanderthal is one of the parents of Anatomically Modern Humans, identity of the second Hominid parent has to be ascertained, and the characteristics of that parent are accounted for using Mendel’s Laws of Inheritance. The social and cultural behavior of the Anatomically Modern Man consistently displays a tendency that prefers and encourages ‘inbreeding’. The prevailing social and cultural norms of human society in general tend to oppose sexual behavior that may be identified as interbreeding. In selection of a mate for breeding, the anatomically modern man prefers an individual who closely resembles the members of his/her own stock.
The concept of Hybridized Anatomically Modern (HAM) humans cannot be verified in the absence of any surviving members of Neanderthal, Denisova, or other Hominid population with whom modern man may have reproduced about 10, 000 years ago.
Mendel’s Laws of Inheritance:
Mendel demonstrated the inheritance patterns through breeding experimentations. He discovered in 1866 hereditary factors or “genes” whose existence he deduced without seeing them. Mendel’s statistical analysis of his data provided the mathematical basis for modern Genetics. There are four principles of hereditary phenomenon discovered and formulated by Mendel:
1. The Law of Independent Unit Characters which states that characters such as height, color, etc., are inherited separately as Units,
2. The Law of Segregation which states that body cells and primordial germ cells contain pairs of such Unit Characters and that when gametes (Sperm or Egg Cell) are produced, each gamete receives only one member of each such pair,
3. The Law of Dominance which states that in every individual there is a pair of determining factors for each Unit Character, one from each parent, if these factors are different (heterozygous), one Character (the Dominant) appears in the organism, the other (Recessive) being latent; the Recessive Character can appear in the organism only when the Dominant is absent; hence in all crossbred generations, Unit Characters are shown in varying combinations, each appearing in a definite proportion of the total number of offspring, and
4. The Law of Independent Assortment which states that any one pair of Characters is inherited independently, not withstanding the simultaneous transmission of other traits. This Law is modified by the discovery of Linkage and Pleiotropy. Linkage describes the tendency of some genes to remain together and act as a Unit or Linkage Group. In Inheritance, the Linkage Group of genes are generally found in the same chromosome. Pleiotropy is the condition in which a single gene exerts simultaneous effects on more than one character in the offspring.
About Genetics and the Constancy of Genetic Code:
Genetics is an important aspect of many areas of Biology. Genetics helps in the study and identification of specific types of organisms; research in Molecular Genetics involves studies on chemical structure and functions of genes at molecular level; Cyto Genetics studies location of genetic material in cells and the role of genes in cell division; Developmental Genetics studies the genetic function in embryological phenomena; Behavior Genetics studies the role of gene in regulating behavior; Population Genetics studies genetics in relation to the “evolutionary” process. Medical Genetics involves application of genetic principles to the practice of Medicine such as the study of inheritance of diseases in families. Genetic factors cause many health disorders affecting man. Some human diseases are entirely genetic in origin and environmental factors play little if any part. This group of genetic disorders includes chromosomal abnormalities, and so-called “Unifactorial Disorders” which are due to single gene defects or Mendelian factors. There are over 3 thousand of such unifactorial disorders. The mode of inheritance of such disorders is straight forward and follows Mendelian Principles. Mendel’s Laws of Inheritance have their practical applications in Medical Genetics. However, the use of Mendel’s Principles in Population Genetics to verify The Theory of Evolution is highly controversial because of the speculative postulates about transformation of old species into a new species. Several single-celled Blue-Green algae, plankton, microbes, viruses, protozoans, insects, crocodiles, turtles, sharks and other organisms are known to be existing upon Earth from billions to several millions of years. The unchanging genetic code in all past and present members of these long-lived species permit the genes to have the same effects on their carriers from generation to generation. Because of constancy of the genetic code, we can identify existence of individual species which maintain their species-specific traits as per Mendelian Principles. There are numerous kinds of longest living species on Earth and their identification is possible because of their genetic codes have essentially remained unchanged.
While describing Genetics as the area of Biology concerned with the study of inheritance, the process by which certain characteristics or traits of organisms are handed down from parent to offspring, I would like to suggest that a creative mechanism, a creative process or a creative operation could be at work when Genetics accounts for variations in similar or related animals and plants. I would like to emphasize the fact of all organisms existing as Individuals with Individuality. In Nature, living things have no choice other than that of existence as Individuals with Individuality. Even a mob of genetically identical (“CLONES”) colony of bacteria of E. coli are experimentally proved to behave as Individuals with Individuality.
In higher organisms with cells that contain a Nucleus, the genetic material called DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) is carried by structures known as Chromosomes in the Nucleus, and the cytoplasmic structures known as Mitochondria. The genetic material called RNA (ribonucleic acid) is found in the Nucleolus (present inside the Nucleus) and structures called Ribosomes found in the Cytoplasm.
The Ribosomes are the sites of protein synthesis present in the Cytoplasm. DNA interacts with ‘transfer RNA’ (t-RNA), ‘Messenger RNA’ (m-RNA), and Ribosomal RNA in the process of protein synthesis. The Chromosome is divided into Units called Genes. Each Gene is responsible for a particular trait and hence Gene is the Unit of inheritance. The term ‘allele’ describes either of a pair of genes at the same position on both members of a pair of chromosomes and conveying traits that are inherited by Mendelian Laws.There could be small chemical differences in genes that are expressed as different versions of the same trait (‘alleles’). Each gene is responsible for the manufacture of a particular protein which is involved in the development of a trait associated with it. Each chromosome of each species of higher organisms has a definite number and arrangement of genes which govern the structure and functions of the cells. It is important to note that, while genes are located inside the Nucleus of the cell, the actual protein synthesis occurs in structures called Ribosomes present in the Cytoplasm outside the Nucleus. While we appreciate the role of genes as Units of Inheritance, we should give equal importance to the Living Substance, the Living Material, or the Living Matter called Cytoplasm that is found inside the living cells, outside the Nucleus of the cell. There are basically three classes of Genes: 1. Structural genes which determine the sequences of amino acids that go to makeup proteins or the smaller chain of molecules known as polypeptides, 2. Coding genes which specify molecules that function in the processes involved in protein synthesis, and 3. Regulatory genes which are called Noncoding genes for they act solely as “Recognition” sites for enzymes and other proteins involved in controlling protein synthesis.
The Genetic Code and the Role of Mutations:
MENDEL’S LAWS OF INHERITANCE vs HUMAN EVOLUTION: GENETIC CODE DESCRIBES THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE COMPOSITION OF DNA AND THAT OF PROTEINS PRODUCED BY GENES.
The Genetic Code describes the relationship between composition of DNA and that of proteins produced by genes. Genetic Code is the chemical equation by which hereditary information is translated from genes into proteins. Changes in the genetic code are called Mutations. Mutations can cause a change in protein synthesis. In higher organisms, when mutation involves the germ-line cells that eventually develop into sperm or egg cells, the mutation and its consequence of altered protein synthesis is inherited by offspring. A mutation can be minor and relatively insignificant, or it can cause serious deformity or metabolic deficiency in the organism. Most mutations tend to be harmful. Fortunately, a typical gene in higher organisms is segmented and the entire genetic information of a gene is not contained in a single, unbroken strand of DNA molecule. The value of having the genetic code in segments is to reduce the chances of mutations causing harmful changes in protein synthesis. Certain self-repair mechanisms also exist to deal with the damage done to DNA. Very often, the damaged DNA is repaired or the cell carrying the damaged DNA is killed and destroyed. For this reason, it is important to recognize the simple fact of DNA damage associated with mutations irrespective of its cause. The Theory of Evolution proposes that random, unguided, and apparently purposeless mutations lead to gradual changes in a species and eventually lead to its descent as a new species. As per the Theory of Evolution, mutations may bring about three kinds of changes; 1. Changes in the morphological appearance of an organism, 2. Changes in the skeletal and other anatomical structures of an organism, and 3. Changes in the behavior displayed by an organism.
In higher organisms, the cells are differentiated to perform special functions. For example, muscle cells have ability of contraction. This physiological function of contraction is easily demonstrated by applying an electrical stimulus to muscle as done in Muscle Twitch in Frog Experiment. Animals have different abilities of locomotion; some crawl or creep, or slide on a surface, some swim, or move in water, some fly or glide in air, and others walk, run, climb, and swing in a variety of amazing manners. Whatever may be the mode of locomotion, all animal muscle cells display the same physiological function of contraction. While the physiology remains the same, the muscles of each animal species display individualistic functional characteristics. For mutations are random, unguided, and purposeless, they cannot account for guided, sequential and purposeful nature of muscle contractions which have several creative applications in the natural world.
MENDEL’S LAWS OF INHERITANCE vs HUMAN EVOLUTION: WHAT IS GENETIC DRIFT? CAN IT ACCOUNT FOR THE ARRIVAL OF THE ANATOMICALLY MODERN HUMANS? CAN WE EXPLAIN MAN AS A PRODUCT OF HYBRIDIZATION AND THE PHENOMENON CALLED GENETIC DRIFT?
In ‘Evolution’ the term ‘Genetic Drift is used to describe a random change in gene frequency within a small population, resulting in mutations which regardless of their adaptive value, become fixed within the group. Variations in diet, variations in physical activity, variations in reproductive behavior, and variations in external environmental conditions may contribute to minor variations in ‘allele’ frequencies without transforming an old species into a new species.
MENDEL’S LAWS OF INHERITANCE AND THE MISSING LINK:
The above image reveals a fundamental problem faced by Darwinism when it attempts to account for Human Evolution. No extinct or living species is able to bridge the gap between modern man (Homo sapiens, sapiens) and his nearest allies among Hominid Family and other Primates such as Chimpanzee and Gorilla.
MENDEL’S LAWS OF INHERITANCE vs HUMAN EVOLUTION : SAHELANTHROPUS TCHADENSIS NICKNAMED “TOUMAI.”
NATURAL HISTORY OF HOMINID FAMILY:
Senckenberg Natural History Museum, Frankfurt, Germany prepared replicas of Hominid species using the fossils discovered at different geographical locations. Sahelanthropus tchadensis lived 6.8 million years ago. It is one of the oldest Hominid specimens, found in 2003 in Djurab desert in Chad, Africa.
Australopithecus afarensis discovered in Afar region of Ethiopia, Africa in 1975. This Hominid lived 3.2 million years ago.
Australopithecus africanus ,this Hominid replica nicknamed “Mrs Ples” lived 2.5 million years ago. Discovered in 1947, at Sterfontein, South Africa.
Paranthropus aethiopicus lived 2.5 million years ago. Discovered near Lake Turkana in Kenya, Africa, in 1985.
Paranthropus boisei, nicknamed “Zinz” lived 1.8 million years ago. Discovered in 1959 in the Olduvai Gorge of Tanzania, Africa.
Homo Rudolfensis lived about 1.8 million years ago. Discovered in 1972 in Koobi Fora, Kenya, Africa.
“TURKANA BOY” Homo ergaster lived about 1.5 million years ago. Initially thought to be an important “missing link” in Human Evolution.
In Africa, Homo ergaster and Homo erectus are viewed as relatives and thought to be the ancestral forms of later Hominids such as Homo heidelbergensis, Homo neanderthalensis, and Homo sapiens. But, African Homo erectus is not related to Asian species of Homo erectus like Java Man, and Peking Man.
Homo erectus of Africa had prominent brow ridges, projecting face, and a brain volume of about a litre as compared to modern man’s average brain volume of about 1,360 cubic centimetres. Some evolutionary biologists suggested that Homo erectus migrated to Asia, and Southern Europe.
Homo heidelbergensis or Homo rhodesiensis. This replica is made from the fossils found in Sima de los Huesos, Spain in 1993. He lived about 500,000 to 350,000 years ago. Fossils also found in other places like Italy, France, and Greece. Homo sapiens may have appeared 300,000 years ago. Heidelbergensis could be the ancestor of Neanderthals which is often described as a subspecies of Sapiens species.
Homo erectus lived 1, 500, 000 to 300, 000 years ago. Homo erectus discovered in Republic of Georgia, China, and Indonesia lived until about 70,000 years ago.
Pithecanthropus, “JAVA MAN” discovered in 1891 could be the first to use fire. He used stone tools and belongs to the Lower Pleistocene Period.
It could be of interest to note that Rhodesian Man (Heidelberg Man – Germany) had a large, thick skull, a sloping forehead, a chinless jaw, a brain larger than that of modern man. The height was about five feet (152 cm) or slightly over.
Sinanthropus, Homo erectus pekinensis, or PEKING MAN belonged to the Middle Pleistocene.
Homo sapiens neanderthalensis lived 56,000 years ago. The above is the replica nicknamed “OLD MAN OF LA CHAPELLE” found near La Chapelle aux-Saints in France in 1908.
Homo sapiens floresiensis, the FLORES MAN discovered in Liang Bua Cave, Flores, Indonesia in 2003. Lived about 18,000 years ago.
The above is a replica of Homo sapiens found in a cave in Israel in 1969. He lived between 100,000 to 90, 000 years ago. It is important to note that it is not representative of true, modern humans called Homo sapiens, sapiens.
Homo sapiens idaltu lived about 160, 000 years ago in Pleistocene Period (Middle Paleolithic), in Ethiopia, Africa, may mark the origin of anatomically modern Homo sapiens, making distinction between Homo erectus species and Homo sapiens species. They were at the threshold of modern anatomy but not fully modern humans.
Homo sapiens Red Deer represents “Red Deer Cave” people who lived 11, 500 to 14, 500 years ago in Maludong, Yunnan Province, Southern China. Red Deer Man had high domed braincase, small eyebrow ridges, lower jaw ended in a prominent chin, with a body less muscular than those of earlier Hominids.
THE ORIGIN OF MAN – MONOGENISM vs POLYGENISM:
The term “RACE” is used to describe any of the different varieties or populations of human beings distinguished by physical traits such as hair, eyes, skin color, shape of body, head, facial features, and blood groups. These characteristics are transmitted by heredity but they are highly variable; not every member of a race will exhibit all distinguishing traits. It is apparent to claim that races arose in response to inbreeding. Across majority of human cultures prevalent in Old World, inbreeding is the established cultural norm. In his ‘Systema Naturae'(1735) Carolus Linnaeus, Swedish botanist, gave a very precise description of man placing him among the Mammals in the order of Primates along the apes and the bat. Linnaeus presented a summary of the diverse varieties of human species. He described varieties such as The Asian, The African, and The European. Linnaeus created a system of classification that depended only on external characteristics to place objects into a rational set of categories.
MENDEL’S LAWS OF INHERITANCE vs HUMAN EVOLUTION: HUMAN VARIETIES OR RACES AROSE IN RESPONSE TO INBREEDING. CAROLUS LINNAEUS DESCRIBED HUMAN VARIETIES SUCH AS THE ASIAN, THE AFRICAN, AND THE EUROPEAN.
The French naturalist George Louis Leclerc comte de Buffon in his monumental compendium on Natural History (Histoire Naturelle general et particuliere, 44 volumes, 1749-1804) described man as a zoological species. Buffon determined species not by their physical appearances but by their reproductive history. He held the view that a species is known only through the history of its propagation. Buffon claimed that it is absurd to use the same principles for classifying living and nonliving things. Most important, apes and other animals lack the ability to speak. Buffon saw the rise of human intelligence as a product of development of an articulated language. For animals may lack the ability to attach meaning to their articulated sounds, human language can be used as a basis to define human species and its varieties. Monogenism is the theory that all human beings are descended from a single pair of ancestors. Polygenism is the theory that each race of people has descended from distinct, ultimate ancestors and hence asserts that races are created separately. If anatomically modern humans are products of interbreeding between different Hominid Family members, it would be difficult to suggest that hybridized humans stopped interbreeding and preferred inbreeding to establish the races or varieties that can be observed today. Johann Friedrich Blumenbach (1752-1840), Father of Physical Anthropology known for his work ‘De Generis Humani Varietate Nativa (1775-76), did his research in measurement of craniums. He divided mankind into five great families – Caucasian, Mongolian, Malayan, and Ethiopian. Physical anthropologists initially described three primary divisions of people, 1. Caucasoid, 2. Mongoloid, and 3. Negroid. Thomas Huxley in his paper titled “On the Geographical Distribution of the Chief Modifications of Mankind” (1870) described racial varieties such as 1. Bushmen, 2. Africoid, 3. Negritoes, 4. Melanochroi, 5. Australoids, 6. Xanthochroi, 7. Polynesians, 8. Mongoloids A, B, & C, and 9. Esquimaux. Today, some anthropologists entirely reject the concept of “RACE.” The apparent variations among members of human population have to be explained using Mendel’s Laws of Inheritance which alone can account for breeding behavioral patterns.
MENDEL’S LAWS OF INHERITANCE: JOHANN FRIEDRICH BLUMENBACH (1752-1840), FATHER OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY DIVIDED MANKIND INTO FIVE GREAT FAMILIES – CAUCASIAN, MONGOLIAN, MALAYAN, AND ETHIOPIAN .
CHARLES DARWIN – DARWINISM – THE ORIGIN OF SPECIES (1859):
Charles Darwin claims that new species originate in the course of time. In his view, one species is transformed into another as a product of ‘Natural Selection’ of randomly produced genetic mutations. He formulated an opinion about the factors or circumstances under which some forms of life cease to have the status of species or become extinct. Darwin states, “The Origin of Species, like their extinction, is entirely a natural process which requires no factors other than those at work everyday in the life, death, and breeding of plants and animals.” To make transition from an old species to a new species, certain intermediate forms become extinct combined with the survival of one or more of the extreme varieties. Darwin further attests, “If my theory be true, numberless intermediate varieties, linking closely together all the species of the same group, must assuredly have existed, but the very process of natural selection constantly tends as has been so often remarked to exterminate the parent forms and the intermediate links.” As per Darwin’s analysis, anatomically modern human species may have to be viewed as a variety of one of the Hominid species that simply survived while this ancestral species and all other Hominid species perished towards the end of Pleistocene (Ice Age).
Darwin’s theory of ‘The Origin of Species’ depends on causes that can be divided into two sets of factors:
1. Mechanism of Survival that includes causes or factors which determine the extinction or survival of organisms, and with their survival, their opportunities for mating and reproduction, and
2. Mechanism of Heredity that includes causes or factors which determine transmission of characteristics from one generation to another and variation of offspring from their ancestors and from each other.
In Darwin’s estimate, the factors of ‘Natural Selection’ operate on genetic variations that cause a range of differences within a group. At the same time it may be noted that the variations generated in the breeding process are never enough to change the basic criteria applied in identification of any given species. For perpetuation of group characteristics in organisms which manage to survive and reproduce, inheritance of ancestral traits is of utmost importance. Darwin’s view on blending of hereditary factors is not supported by Mendel’s classic experiments in Hybridization. According to Mendel, inheritance is particulate. Distinct genetic factors combine to produce a certain somatic result without losing their separate identities. They can therefore be reassorted and enter into new genetic combinations in the next generation. If anatomically modern human species appeared suddenly due to abrupt mutations in a single generation of as yet unknown Hominid species, it will not validate Darwin’s view that new forms of life arise gradually as the result of a continuous accumulation of slight and imperceptible variations. According to Darwin, environment acts as a selective agency and it acts upon variations produced entirely by causes operating in the breeding process. During the period of the Great Ice Age, Pleistocene Series or Epoch, 1.8 million to 10, 000 years ago, 28 percent of Earth’s land area was covered by ice. Continental glaciers covered much of N. North America and NW Europe. Holocene Epoch or Series that began 10, 000 years ago witnessed a dramatic change in land area that is covered by ice. Now, about 10 percent of land area is covered by ice and continental glaciers are restricted to Antarctica and Greenland. In other words, areas of Earth’s surface have become more hospitable for all kinds of Hominid population. There was no geographical catastrophe and there was no environmental change of cataclysmic proportion with serious consequences for the survival of any variety of Hominid species. To adapt to changed environment was easy, food supply became abundant and there is nothing to suggest that Hominid Family members were preying upon one another in a bitter struggle of existence.
Comparative Anatomy will demolish Darwinism:
According to Geologic Time Chart which records the physical nature and history of planet Earth, we are living in the Cenozoic Era the beginning of which was marked by the K-T extinction. Most of the major and minor extinction events were the result of causes that are not natural to Earth or terrestrial factors. The exposure of living things to consequences such as collisions with asteroids, comets, or exposure to ionizing radiation do not belong to a category of circumstances that can be called ‘natural’. I would prefer to use the term ‘supernatural’ to describe extinction events initiated by extraterrestrial factors. The origin, the beginning, appearance of anatomically modern man during Holocene Epoch or Series has no natural cause. No natural condition, no natural factor, no natural mechanism, no natural process and no natural event can alter the shape and size of man’s cranium. Inbreeding, or interbreeding do not change genes, the Units of Inheritance. The sudden, and abrupt change in man’s form and morphological appearance is not due to imperceptible changes and genetic variations that accumulated over a prolonged period of time. If skeletal structures undergo a change due to mutations caused by external factors like climate, physical activity, diet, and opportunities for breeding or reproductive behavior, the skeletal structures of all members of the diverse Hominid Family living at that time have to register a change that affects the germ cells and gets propagated to their offspring as stated by Mendel’s Laws of Inheritance. If a natural condition, a natural factor, or a natural cause can account for a mutation in anatomically modern human, I would like to examine the evidence for its operation in other members of Hominid Family such as Neanderthal who lived at the same time.
Cro-Magnon Man lived 40, 000 to 35, 000 years ago. He was discovered in southwestern France in 1868. His height was about 6 feet (180 Cms), had high forehead, short and wide face, developed prominent chin, and large brain. His brain capacity of 1600 cubic centimetres is larger than the average 1,360 cubic centimetres for anatomically modern human species. He belonged to upper paleolithic culture of Old Stone Age whereas anatomically modern human species had established its presence in the Mesolithic Period or Middle Stone Age at the end of the last glacial era about 10, 000 years ago. Anatomically modern human species developed a culture that included gradual domestication of plants and animals, formation of settled communities, use of the bow, development of delicate stone ‘Microliths’, and pottery.
The Origin of Human Species – The Origin of Human Language:
In my view, Human Speech (spoken and written) is the criteria by which the difference between anatomically modern man and other members of Hominid Family is made. Human Language is one of the principal characteristics of the specifically human world. Language is the peculiar possession of human beings. While Neanderthal, and Cro-Magnon Man share certain anatomical and physiological traits possessed by the zoological species identified as human beings, they were not true representatives of Homo sapiens, sapiens. In the use of ‘Precision Grip’, both Neanderthal and Cro-Magnon Man fall short of the status called ‘human’. Paleolithic art, paintings, and drawings are not the same as human writing.
The reproductive history of modern man does not support Darwinism and its assumptions about breeding . To identify and to recognize man as a zoological species, the use of morphological appearance as yardstick is inadequate. I coined the phrase ‘Whole Linguistics’ to use Human Language as the chief characteristic of human species. Whole Linguistics involves three entities, namely 1. A Language User, 2. A Language Interpreter and 3. A Language Creator. It introduces a concept about the Creative Beginning of Man and his Language.
Human Identity, Individuality, and the Major Histocompatibility Complex:
All said and done, man has no choice about the nature of his physical existence in natural world. Each man without any choice exists as an Individual with Individuality. Man deploys protein molecules called antigens to identify ‘self’ and ‘non-self’. The antigens causing the immune response that results in rejection of a tissue allograft are known as ‘Major Histocompatibility Antigens’ (HLA). In man, the Major Histocompatibility Complex (MHC) is the HLA cluster on Chromosome 6. As MHC antigens were originally described on human Leukocytes (White Blood Cells), they are still referred to as Human Leukocyte Antigens (HLA). The role of MHC is not limited to transplantation rejection as the proteins encoded in this region are involved in many aspects of immunological recognition and immunity response. The HLA antigens are remarkable for the extensive degree of genetic polymorphism which makes variability between individuals very great . Even among members of human population, most unrelated persons possess different HLA . This antigenic specificity established at molecular level is the evidence for a creative process, a creative mechanism, and a creative principle which determines the Subjective and Objective Physical Reality of Man’s Status in Nature.
THE PROOF OF PUDDING IS IN THE EATING:
Greek philosophers Plato and Aristotle introduced notion of Form, Nature, or Essence. Plants and animals are derived from seeds that already contain within them the Form, Nature, or Essence of the species from which they were derived and into which they would subsequently develop. To exist as a thing of a given kind, there could be an innate tendency to strive to develop into a perfect example of itself to fulfill its nature and to realize its full potential. In a purposive or teological view of the natural world, each natural thing by its intrinsic nature strives to realize its own ideal Form or Essence. Darwinism proposes a view that explains development of a natural thing in a “mechanistic” and nonpurposive manner. If a new form of life is a product of unguided, random, and purposeless genetic mutations, it will be hard to explain and account for its Form, Nature, and Essence.
All living things define their existence using about 20 Amino Acids. Protein Synthesis involves unique and creative ways of arranging these amino acids into chains called polypeptides. Protein Synthesis is a creative process for the product created by one species has ability to impart unique sensory experience in an unrelated species. Man can distinguish plant and animal proteins by using his organs of sense perception. The creative aspect of protein synthesis is in the taste, smell, flavor, color, texture, and palatability of plant and animal proteins. Man further improves palatability of proteins he consumes by refining his culinary skills.To refute the concept called ‘DARWINISM’, the Proof or Verification is in Eating Sweet Garden Peas and recognizing them from their color, taste, smell, flavor, texture, and palatability. Plants and animals do not use sensory functions like vision, olfaction, and taste in protein synthesis. The sensory experience of man is possible for living things exist with an innate tendency to express their Form, Nature, and Essence. I am asking my readers to contemplate upon supernatural circumstances that may define Form, Nature, and Essence of living things that are not explained by a study of their genes and genetic code.
Rudolf is reborn as Rudi to describe the spiritual connection between the Cell and its Energy Provider
Rudi acknowledges his German heritage at Whole Foods when he discovered the spiritual connection between man, food, and Providence. Whole Foods, Whole People, and Whole Planet are connected by a material substance called Protoplasm or Cytoplasm, a divine plan to provide nourishment to Life.
The Rudolf and Rudi Connection at Whole Foods, Ann Arbor can be best described as the concept of Whole Spirituality, the three dimensional spiritual relationship between the multicellular human organism, food, and the Divine Providence.
SPIRITUALISM – THE CELL THEORY OF SPIRITUALITY:
In Biology, cell is the basic or fundamental unit of structure, function, and organization in all living things or it is the building block of life. Let me begin with my respectful tribute to some of the people who contributed to ‘The Cell Theory’, one of the foundations of Biological Sciences. Cells were first observed in the 17th century shortly after the discovery of the microscope. Robert Hooke, british curator of instruments at The Royal Society of London, during 1665 coined the word cell. Dutch microscopist Antonie Van Leeuwenhoek (1632-1723) made over 247 microscopes and examined microorganisms and tissue samples. He gave the first complete descriptions of bacteria, protozoa (which he called animalcules), spermatozoa, and striped muscle. He also studied capillary circulation and observed Red Blood Cells.
Improvements in microscopy during early 19th century permitted closer observation and the significance of cells had received better understanding. Matthias Jakob Schleiden (1838), german botanist, Theodor Schwann (1839), german physiologist, and Rudolf Virchow (1855), german pathologist, and others made important contributions to the Cell Theory that describes cell as the building block of all Life.
The Cell is the smallest unit in the living organism that is capable of carrying on the essential life processes of sustaining metabolism for producing energy and reproducing. Many simple, small, single-celled organisms like Protozoa perform all life functions. In higher, complex, bigger, multicellular organisms, groups of cells are structurally and functionally differentiated into specialized tissues and organ systems. Thus, the Cell Theory includes the following foundational principles of the Biological Sciences:
1. All living things are made up of cells. Cell is the most elementary or basic unit of Life.
2. Cell is a fundamental unit of structure, function, and organization in all living things including plants and animals.
3. Cells only rise from division of previously existing cells.
4. All cells are similar in composition, form, and function. All cells are basically the same in chemical composition (in spite of variations) in organisms of similar species. For example, all the solid tissues in the human body can be shown to consist largely of similar cells; differing it is true, but that are essentially similar to an Ovum.
5. The cells exhibit functional autonomy. The activity of an organism depends on the total activity of ‘INDEPENDENT’ cells.
6. Energy flow (metabolism and biochemistry) occurs within cells.
7. Cells contain hereditary, biological information (DNA) which is passed from cell to cell during cell division.
THE CELL THEORY OF SPIRITUALITY:
The basic or fundamental unit of life in the human organism is derived from the fertilized egg cell that eventually develops into a complete organism. The most significant feature of similarity between the cells of the human body is the presence of a soft, gelatinous, semi-fluid, granular material inside the cell. This substance known as Protoplasm or Cytoplasm, or Cytosol is similar to the ground substance found in the Ovum or the Egg Cell.
This viscous, translucent, colloidal substance is enclosed in a membrane called Cell Membrane, Plasma Membrane or Biological Membrane. A small spherical body called nucleus is embedded in the Protoplasm of the cell. The three essential features of any living cell in the human body are that of the presence of protoplasm, the nucleus, and the cell membrane.
PROTOPLASM – THE GROUND SUBSTANCE OF SPIRITUALISM AND SPIRITUALITY:
I seek the existence of Soul or Spirit in a substance that is basic to life activities, and in a material that is responsible for all living processes. I, therefore, propose that the understanding of the true or real nature of this ground substance of all living matter will help man to discover peace, harmony, and tranquility in all of his internal and external relationships while man exists in a physical environment as a member of a social group, social community, and Society. In this blog post, I would like to pay my respectful tribute to Jan Evangelista Purkinje and Hugo Von Mohl for their great contribution to the scientific understanding of the living substance, living material, and living matter.
Purkinje conducted his research on human vision at the University of Prague and later on, he served there as a Professor of Physiology (1850-69). He went to Germany and was appointed the Chair of Physiology and Pathology (1823-50) at the University of Breslau, Prussia. There Purkinje created the world’s first independent Department of Physiology (1839) and the first Physiological Laboratory (Physiological Institute, 1842). He is best known for his discovery of large nerve cells with many branching extensions found in the cortex of Cerebellum of the brain (Purkinje Cells, 1837). He discovered the fibrous tissue that conducts electrical impulses from the ‘pacemaker’ called Atrioventricular node or A-V node along the inside walls of the ventricles to all parts of the heart to help in Cardiac contractile function (Purkinje Fibers, 1839). In 1835, he invented and introduced the scientific term ‘Protoplasm’ to describe the ground substance found inside young animal embryo cells. He discovered the sweat glands of the skin (1833); he discovered the nine configuration groups of Fingerprints used in biometric identification of man (1823); he described the germinal vesicle or nucleus of the unripe ovum that now bears his name (1825), and he noted the protein digesting power of pancreatic extracts (1836).
Hugo Von Mohl named the granular, colloidal material that made up the main substance of the plant cell as “Protoplasm” in 1846. Purkinje invented the word, but Hugo gave more clarity, understanding, and knowing the nature of this ground substance. He viewed cell as an “elementary organ” and in Physiology he explained Protoplasm as an organ of Motion or Movement, Nutrition, and Reproduction. It is the preliminary material in cellular generation. He was the first to propose that new cells are formed by division of preexisting cells and he had observed this process of Cell Division in the algal cells of Conferva glomerata. His observations are very important to understand the Cell Theory that explains cells as the basic building blocks of Life. He was the first to investigate the phenomenon of the stomatal openings in leaves.
Protoplasm is a complex, viscous, translucent solution of such materials as salts and simple sugars with other molecules, mostly proteins and fats, in a colloidal state, that is dispersed but not dissolved in one another. Carbon, Hydrogen, Oxygen, and Nitrogen constitute more than 90 percent of Protoplasm.
It exhibits properties such as Protoplasmic Streaming or Cytoplasmic Streaming or Motion that is called “Amoeboid Movement.” It has the intrinsic power to change its shape and position. It has the power of Nutrition by which it can attract and obtain the materials necessary for its growth and maintenance from surrounding matter/environment.
The living functions such as Nutrition, Cellular Respiration, and Reproduction performed by Cytoplasm involve acquiring, processing, retaining, and using information to perform tasks in a sequential manner for a predetermined purpose and hence describe Consciousness, Memory, and Intelligence.
The terms Soul and Spirit belong to the materialistic realm where the Physical Reality of man’s biological existence is established. I have not yet discovered any good reason to use the terms Soul and Spirit as a metaphysical or transcendental Reality.
The Inheritance of Cytoplasmic Membrane or Cell or Plasma Membrane:
The Functions of Cytoplasmic Membrane or Cell Membrane or Biological Membrane:
1. Protection: It protects the cell from its surroundings or extracellular environment. Plant cell possess wall over the plasma membrane for extra protection and support.
2. Holding cell contents: Plasma membranes hold the semi fluid protoplasmic contents of the cell intact; thus keeping the individuality of the cell.
3. Selective Permeability: Cell membrane allows only selected or specific substances to enter into the cell and are impermeable to others.
- Gases like O2 and CO2 can diffuse rapidly in solution through membranes.
- Small compounds like H2O and methane can easily pass through where as sugars, amino acids and charged ions are transported with the help of transport proteins.
- The size of the molecules which can pass through the plasma membrane is 1-15 A0. This property is responsible for keeping a cell ‘as a cell’, an individual unit.
4. Shape: It maintains form and shape of the cell. It serves as site of anchorage or attachment of the cytoskeleton; thus providing shape to the cell (especially in animal cells without cell wall).
5. Organelles: Cell membrane delimits or covers all sub-cellular structures or organelles like nucleus, mitochondria, plastids, Golgi apparatus, endoplasmic reticulum, microbodies etc. thus protecting them form the surroundings and also helps in maintaining a constant internal environment.
6. Compartmentalization: Cell membrane separate the cells from their external environment and cell organelle from cytosol. It help the cells and their organelles to have their own microenvironments, structural and functional individuality.
7. Cell Recognition: With the help of glycolipids and glycoproteins on its surface, cell membranes are able to differentiate similar cells from dissimilar ones, foreign substances and cells own materials. Cell recognition is useful for tissue formation and defence against microbes.
8. Antigens: Cell membranes possess antigens which determine blood grouping, immune response, acceptance or rejection of a transplant (graft rejection by MHC’s on plasma membrane).
9. Microvilli: They are microscopic finger like projections of plasma membrane present on some cells like intestinal epithelial cells, which are involved in a wide variety of functions, including increasing surface area for absorption, secretion, cellular adhesion etc.
10. Sheaths of cilia and flagella: Cilia and flagella are projections from the cell; made up of microtubules which are covered by an extension of the plasma membrane.
11. Cytoplasmic bridges in plasmodesmata and gap junctions: Plasmodesmata in plant cells and gap junctions in animal cells; meant for intercellular transport and communication, form cytoplasmic bridges between adjacent cells through plasma membrane.
12. Endocytosis and Exocytosis: Bulk intake of materials or endocytosis occurs through development of membrane vesicles or invagination and engulfing by plasma membrane.
Exocytosis: It is reverse of endocytosis that provides for releasing waste products and secretory materials ot of the cells with the help of plasma membrane.
13. Impulse transmission in neurons: The transmission of a nerve impulse along a neuron from one end to the other occurs as a result of electrical changes across the plasma membrane of the neuron
14. Cell metabolism: Cell membranes control cell metabolism through selective permeability and retentivity of substances in a cell.
15. Electron transport chain in bacteria: In bacteria; Electron transport chain is located in cell membrane.
16. Osmosis through cell membrane: It is movement of solvent molecules (generally water) from the region of less concentrated solution to the region of high concentrated solution through a semi permeable membrane. Here the semi permeable membrane that helps in osmosis is the cell membrane. Eg: Root cells take up water from the soil by osmosis
17. Carrier proteins for active transport: They occur in the cell membranes and control active transport of substances. Example, GLUT1 is a named carrier protein found in almost all animal cell membranes that transports glucose across the bilayer or plasma membrane.
18. Plasma Membrane enzymes: Many enzymes are present on the plasma membrane with wide variety of catalytic activity. Example: Red blood cell plasma membranes contain a number of enzymes such as ATPases, anion transport protein, glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase, protein kinases, adenylate cyclase, acetylcholinesterase.
19. Cell Membrane Receptors: Receptor on the plasma membrane performs signal transduction, converting an extracellular signal into an intra-cellular signal. Membrane possess receptors for hormones, neurotransmitters, antibodies and several other biochemicals.
20. Plasma membrane assisted Cell movements: Undulation and pseudopodia are cell membrane phenomenon involved in cell movement. Amoeba, macrophages and WBCs move with the helps of temporary organelles like pseudopodia. Pseudopods are temporary cytoplasmic projections of the cell membrane in certain unicellular protists such as Amoeba. Some mammalian cells such as fibroblasts can move over a solid surface by wave like undulations of the plasma membrane.
The Ground Substance of Spiritualism and Spirituality. The vital characteristics, the animating principles of Protoplasm could be known by observing Amoeba proteus. The Living Substance works as an organ of Motion or Movement, as an organ of Nutrition, and as an organ of Reproduction to generate new cells which have a life span of their own. In these physiological functions, I describe the characteristics such as Cognition, Consciousness, Memory, and Intelligence as spiritual attributes of Life as they bring functional unity and harmony in the interactions between different parts of the same individual organism while it exists in an environment as a member of a biological community.
THE SPIRITUALITY OF SUBSTANCE, FUNCTION, ORGANIZATION, ACTION, AND INTERACTIONS:
To establish the biological existence of the human organism, I add the concept of Spiritualism and Spirituality to the Cell Theory.
The Single Fertilized Egg Cell has ground substance that is of Spiritual nature and the Spiritualism and Spirituality consists of the following functional, and organizational characteristics:
1. The Cell is Conscious of its own existence and knows its internal condition and knows it external environment.
2. The Cell is intelligent and it has the cognitive abilities like perception and memory to acquire information, to retain information, to recall information, and to use information in the performance of its complex tasks in a sequential manner.
3. The Cell has the ability to show characteristics such as mutual cooperation, mutual tolerance, and display functional subordination and subservience while being independent.
4. The Cell grows, divides, and develops into a complete organism while it acquires substances and energy from an external environment. The power of Protoplasm/Cytoplasm to attract matter found in its external environment is called Nutrition. The Cell continuously transforms matter to build matter of its own kind for its own benefit to sustain its existence with its own identity and individuality. The Organism represents a social group or a biological community of Cells. The Spiritual nature of Protoplasm/Cytoplasm brings this functional harmony and unity in the Social Group or Biotic Community of Cells by bringing together its Essence and Existence.
5. The Cell Theory is incomplete for it does not describe the conditioned nature of the Cell’s existence. The Cell represents a Living System that is thermodynamically unstable. It requires a constant supply of matter and energy from its external environment to sustain its living functions. The concept of Whole Spirituality formulates the connection between the Cell and its external source of matter and energy.
The theoretical claims about Spirit and Soul, the religious and philosophical doctrines of Spiritualism and Spirituality must be verified using the Cell Theory that defines the human organism. To describe Soul or Spirit as nonmaterial or immaterial Self will not help man to know the real or true man.
Simon Cyrene
Whole Foods, Whole People, and Whole Planet come together in a Wholesome Relationship as God is the Energy Provider, the Original Source of Matter and Energy for Life.
The Rudolf-Rudi doctrine of Spiritualism 