Here is a direct quote to me personally: "As a research fellow in molecular biology at one of our nation's most prominent universities I get to 'mingle' with some of the greatest scientist's in our nation, at work, seminar's,etc. I can say this much, the vast majority (95%) regard the hypothesis of evolution as laughable and within their inner circles is regarded with contempt. It is something of an in-house joke that so many people across the world have been taken in by this non-science and is illustrative of how 'science' can be used to manipulate thinking. The fact is that the general public is not very scientifically savvy...."
What?! Do you mean somebody said that as "a direct quote" to you personally?
Well that settles things. What an odd claim (95% regard the hypothesis...).
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Aside from that inanity....
There's new info in 2009 about "accelerated mutation rates," but this below is all I could find quickly. I'll try to get the newer stuff--essentially a new mechanism for generating mutations--which is active only in humans and a few other higher primates.
but until then... I found this....
http://www.genetics.org/cgi/content/full/162/4/1825Genetics, Vol. 162, 1825-1835, December 2002
Accelerated Protein Evolution and Origins of Human-Specific Features: FOXP2 as an Example
Genes responsible for human-specific phenotypes may have been under altered selective pressures in human evolution and thus exhibit changes in substitution rate and pattern at the protein sequence level. Using comparative analysis of human, chimpanzee, and mouse protein sequences, we identified two genes (PRM2 and FOXP2) with significantly enhanced evolutionary rates in the hominid lineage. PRM2 is a histone-like protein essential to spermatogenesis and was previously reported to be a likely target of sexual selection in humans and chimpanzees. FOXP2 is a transcription factor involved in speech and language development. Human FOXP2 experienced a >60-fold increase in substitution rate and incorporated two fixed amino acid changes in a broadly defined transcription suppression domain. A survey of a diverse group of placental mammals reveals the uniqueness of the human FOXP2 sequence and a population genetic analysis indicates possible adaptive selection behind the accelerated evolution.
