http://www.evolutionnews.org/2011/09/richard_lenskis_long_term_evol051051.html Contra Venema, this example hardly shows the Darwinian evolution of a "new function," especially since E. coli already had the ability to uptake and metabolize citrate. Venema claims that CSI has arisen, but if we don't even know what mechanisms were involved in this change, how does he know that it is new CSI?
"how does he know that it is new CSI?" Well,possibly because no E.coli had ever shown the ability before. And there were 12 lines that were being monitored, but only one of them actually managed to start doing something that, according to your source, it was already capable of doing. And it took 30,000 generations (from 1988 to 2008) for it to figure out how to use its already built in ability. That sounds to me something like a whole new evolutionary change. It doesn't sound like something that could be expected to occur in the general population on a regular basis.
So gentle readers we see how creationists jump on evolutionary changes that have been shown to occur and try to trivialize major changes. Some of their explanations for things that are easily shown, such as the geological record showing that species that were plentiful in lower strata are completely missing in later strata. And that species that are plentiful in later strata are completely missing in earlier strata. That one takes some really exotic rationalization.
Bill Gill
