Tag: Tree of Life
Phylogenetic Conflicts Turn Ant Genus into “Motley Assortment of Unrelated Species”
Yet another example showing that the methods of phylogenetic reconstruction — used to bolster common descent — often yield results at variance with the evidence.
New York Times: "We are Sarcopterygian Fish," If You Ignore Contrary Data
The article highlights a recent paper in Nature reporting on the sequencing of the genome of the coelacanth, a famous fish often called a “living fossil.”
Bothersome Bats and Other Pests Disturb the “Tree of Life”
A recent paper in the journal Biological Reviews of the Cambridge Philosophical Society offers some striking comments about the prevalence of discordance among phylogenetic trees.
Common Ancestry: Wikipedia vs. the Data
Consider a recent paper in Annual Review of Genetics which observes that huge percentages of eukaryotic genes tell conflicting stories about common descent.
Nature Article Finds MicroRNAs are “Tearing Apart Traditional Ideas about the Animal Family Tree”
Debates will continue about the best way to reconstruct evolutionary trees. But perhaps there’s a more fundamental problem.