New study of birds breaks Darwinian tree of life

The tree of life is a concept Charles Darwin in his the origin of species (1859) to explain the relations of all forms of life. Since then, the concept has evolved significantly, but has not ruled out. Even a recent study of birds is known as the Assembly of the advance of research of the tree of life project.

The genome project of birds in five years, carried out by the field Museum, has taken DNA samples from all the groups main birds still live today. The study was published in science on June 27, 2008 version of LEGO in ScienceDaily.

The results of the study were surprising. According to ScienceDaily, "the scientific names of dozens of birds will have to change, and textbooks of biology and birding field guides will have to be revised". Contrary to what was supposed, hawks, for example, they are not related to hawks or Eagles. Sushma Reddy, fellow postdoctoral fellow in the Museum field and one of the three authors of the study, said, "looks can be deceiving." "Birds that look and act similar are not necessarily related... much of the classification of birds and the conventional wisdom in the evolutionary relationships of birds is a mistake."

The tree of life Darwin was largely based on the premise that species that both have to be closely linked. Some previous comments have already questioned this point of view, that as Carl Wieland for example has pointed out, the now-defunct Tasmanian Wolf (Thylacinus cynocephalus) was a marsupial, but it seemed the Wolf is a placential and The Flying Phalanger (Petaurus) live in Australia and New Guinea is a marsupial that is seen as the flying squirrel. The Darwinian explanation for this phenomenon is convergent evolution, in other words, different species are believed to they have evolved independently the same traits. However, this does not seem to be based on facts, but the obvious purpose of this view is to preserve the theory of the evolution of the extinction.

The new study avian suggests that when it comes to birds, the tree of life is in danger of extinction. It has to be drastically re-dibujados just to keep it alive.

Joel Kontinen is a translator and novelist now living in Finland. Their training includes a master's degree in translation and a BA in Bible and Theology studies. It likes to keep updated on news from the science and often comments on creation/evolution issues and origins.