posted on Oct, 29 2007 @ 03:00 PM
I don't see the implications that prove the existance of intelligent design in the original post. In fact, to the contrary I see a good supportive
argument for the theories of natural selection and genetic diversity. That is, saying we have been given the best biological mechanisms to survive
suggests that we have evolved through a system by which the most favorable phenotypes have continually been represented. Humans are really no
different than any other currently living species on Earth in that each one has the distinct ability to lose certain unfavorable traits in favor of
ones which represent the best advantage for the species as a whole. Take the example of bacterial antibiotic resistance as a case in point whereby
greater genetic divergence occurs with each reproductive cycle, and thus creating better mutations during cellular division. Exposure to a certain
antibiotic element will eliminate the the less genetic divergent members of the group, but those that are better equipped to survive (ie. those
genetically furthest from the original organism) will continue to populate further and render the antibiotic useless.
I use this rather brief description of bacterial resistance to show that although it may appear an organism is best equipped to handle an environment,
it is only because of environmental changes that the organism itself will change. The same can be said for any organism which can be affected by an
environment that remains in a constantly changing state. Viruses, although not technically a living organism, also display a unique ability to
survive by mutating the structure of their own viral envelope proteins, RNA, or DNA to avoid their detection by potential predators. Sometimes this
works incredibly effective like in the case of HIV-1 where mutations do not alter it's genome in a negative way. Sometimes, however, it can affect
the virus in the aforementioned negative way...such as with the Picornavirus and Coronavirus. Picornaviruses or Coronaviruses, such as which cause
the common cold, have an inheritably weak transcription process so that mutations result in loss of important genetic material needed for replication.
This reduces their survival rate to only a few weeks at best, whereas viruses with more efficient processes such as HIV, Hepatitis C, etc. can
survive and adapt much more vigorously.
The same can be said for humans in that "random chance", or what I would call "natural adaptation" is largely based on environmental factors.