Creationism in Crisis - Genetic Research is Showing How Humans Evolved as Part of the Primate Family Tree

Creationism in Crisis

Genetic Research is Showing How Humans Evolved as Part of the Primate Family Tree

Baboon in western Tanzania, here at Mahale Mountains National Park, have received genetic input from three lineages.

Photo: Yvonne de Jong and Tom Butynski

Juvenile golden snubnosed monkey at Shennongjia National Park, Central China.

Photo: Julia Ostner

Deutsches Primatenzentrum: Genomes of 233 primate species sequenced

If their dupes understood them, a number of papers published recently in a special 'Primate Genomes' edition of science would be giving creationist cult leaders panic attacks, because they all show how deeply embedded the Theory of Evolution is in modern biology as the explanation for the observable evidence, and it also shows how human evolution fits completely into the science of primate evolution.

The papers are the result of studies by a large international team of researchers including scientists from the German Primate Center - Leibniz Institute for Primate Research, (Deutsches Primatenzentrum - DPZ). These studies analysed the genomes of 809 individuals from 233 primate species, generating the most complete catalog of genomic information about our closest relatives to date.

It shows, amongst other things that, like the modern humans species, Homo sapiens, which is the result of several periods of diversification then ingression of genes from related species by interbreeding, such as that between H. sapiens, Neanderthals, Denisovans and others inside and outside Africa, some modern baboons also had an ingression of genes from related species.

As the DPZ news release explains:

Researchers from 24 countries have analyzed the genomes of 809 individuals from 233 primate species, generating the most complete catalog of genomic information about our closest relatives to date. The project, which consists of a series of studies in which researchers from the German Primate Center - Leibniz Institute for Primate Research (DPZ) were also involved, provides new insights into the evolution of primates, including humans, and their diversity. In baboons, for example, hybridization and gene flow between different species occurred in the past and is still ongoing in several regions of their range. This makes baboons a good model for the evolution of early human lineages within and outside Africa. In addition, using a specially designed AI algorithm, the genomic data enable new insights into the genetic causes of human diseases (Science, Special Issue).

Primates show great genetic diversity that varies between species and geographic regions.

Studying this diversity is crucial also for understanding human evolution, the causes of human diseases, and for preserving our closest relatives.

Christian Roos, co-author of the first paper
Gene Bank of Primates and Primate Genetics Laboratory
German Primate Center
Leibniz Institute for Primate Research, Göttingen, Germany.

Led by researchers from Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Spain, Baylor College of Medicine, USA, and Illumina Inc, USA, the genomes of 809 individuals from 233 primate species have been sequenced. This covers nearly half of the extant primate species and increases the number of available primate genomes fourfold.

New insights into primate evolution and the uniqueness of humans

The comparative analyses provide fundamental information on the genetic diversity and evolutionary history of primates and important insights into what distinguishes humans from other primates. The genomic data have halved the number of genomic variants thought to occur exclusively in humans.

This makes it easier to look for mutations that we do not share with other primates and that could therefore be the basis for the traits that make us human.

Dietmar Zinner, co-author of of the first paper
Cognitive Ethology Laboratory
Germany Primate Center
Leibniz Institute for Primate Research, Göttingen, Germany.

One of the studies looks more closely at baboon evolution and finds that there have been several, previously unknown episodes of hybridization and gene flow between baboon species.

We found that baboons from western Tanzania are the first nonhuman primates to have received input from three genetic lineages

Dr Liye Zhang, co-author of of the second papers
Primate Genetics Laboratory
German Primate Center
Leibniz Institute for Primate Research, Göttingen, Germany

These results suggest that the genetic structure of the baboon population and its history of genetic exchange between species is more complex than previously thought and show that baboons make a good model for similar processes in the evolution of early human lineages in and outside Africa.

Dietmar Zinner.

Species conservation with the help of genome data

High genetic diversity enables species to better adapt to changing environmental conditions and pathogens. Especially in small populations, there is a risk of inbreeding and thus a reduction in genetic diversity. Already, 63 percent of all primate species are threatened with extinction, and the analysis of genetic diversity provides information which species most urgently need to be protected, at least from a genetic point of view.

We found particularly low genetic diversity in the golden snub-nosed monkey of China and the aye-aye in Madagascar.

Christian Roos.

Rare mutations can increase disease risk

One of the limitations in human and clinical genetics is that it is currently not possible to identify among hundreds of thousands of mutations those that cause disease. To date, the genetic causes of many common diseases, such as diabetes and heart disease, are unknown, due either to a lack of genetic information or to the large number of genetic and other factors involved. By comparing the primate genomes, 4.3 million mutations have now been identified that may alter protein function and thus lead to disease in humans. Six percent of the 4.3 million mutations identified are, however, common in primates and are therefore considered to potentially have little impact on human disease because they are tolerated in these animals. Thanks to the PrimateAI-3D deep-learning algorithm developed by Illumina Inc, disease-causing mutations can now be better identified.

It's a kind of ChatGPT for genetics that uses genome sequences instead of human language.

Kyle K.-H. Farh, co-corresponding author of the second paper
Vice director of the AI group Artificial Intelligence Lab, Illumina Inc., San Diego, CA, USA.

References:

1. Kuderna, LFK, et al.: A global catalog of whole-genome diversity from 233 primate species. Science. May, 2023.
2. Sørensen, E, et al.: Genome-wide coancestry reveals details of ancient and recent male-driven reticulation in baboons. Science. May 2023.
3. Gao, H, et al.: The landscape of tolerated genetic variation in humans and primates. Science. May 2023.
4. Wu, H, et al.: Hybrid origin of a primate, the gray snub-nosed monkey. Science. May 2023.
5. Shao, Y, et al.: Phylogenomic analyses provide insights into primate evolution. Science. May 2023.

Imagine you're a leader of a creationist anti-science cult, like Ken Ham or Ray Comfort. Your income stream depends on you continuing to fool scientifically illiterate simpletons with the counter-factual, childish notion that Earth is only a few thousand years old and all living species are descended from a handful of survivors from a global genocide, who were themselves all created without ancestors; all made by a supernatural magician who holds you in special high regard.

And you're faced with this sort of scientific evidence of the fraudulent nature of the product you're selling!

How on Earth are you going to prevent your dupes discovering the truth and finding out that they've been fooled by a self-aggrandizing fraud, with an eye on the bottom line of the balance sheet?

Luckily you don't need to, because you can rely on your willing dupes either ignoring the science or not understanding it if they read it, and being conditioned to dismiss anything that might threaten their arrogant belief in their own self-importance, so major pieces of research like this will be waved aside.

So, just keep telling your cult that all the scientists are part of a Satanic conspiracy, and, if you continue to believe it, and keep sending the money, you'll qualify for an especially wonderful prize after you're dead (when it'll be too late to ask for your money and your life back).

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