What is your take on evolution/old age earth?

[lestatdark]

spdk1 said:

Smidlee said:

ManusJustus said:

Jirakon said:

Mutations do not create new genotypes. They can duplicate and play with them, but they still don't add new elements to it. And even if we use the data contained in the article mentioned in a previous post, these duplications that are assumed to add genotypes only happen a few times every million years

Duplications are one of the many ways genes are created and/or changed.

Of course that doesn't matter since we already learned from genetics that big differences are not due to genes. A human with spider genes will not become Spider-man that shoots web out his hand or his butt.

To be fair, scientists have taken flourexscent genes from coral and other things to make cats, mice, and other animals glow in the dark, so a guy with spider web secretions couldn't be that far away.  in fact some folks have made spider goats....here is a bad link, as I couldn't find a great source:

 

http://scienceray.com/biology/zoology/hybrid-spider-goats/

To cross genes or some genomic elements between species isn't something new, it has been used since classic genetic engineering. But going from expression single proteins to entire cell systems, it's a huge gap.

Fluorescent genes from corals being transplanted to mice and other animals have demonstrated that successful expression of proteins exclusive to other species is viable in large scale expression for a singular protein.

In the case of fluorescent mice, spermagonial zygotes have been pre-inserted with a vector containing cDNA which expresses for a GFP (Green Fluorescence Protein) under the expression control of chicken Beta-Actin promoters and cytomegalovirus enhancers. This affects almost the entire span of the mouse tissues, except the erythrocytes and hair. That's why, under excitation light, they appear as green. 

To actually create a system in which another living being secretes webs as spiders do would take an enormous effort and a massive number of cloning vectors, recombinant zygotes with a high survability rate and a very intrinsic knowledge of the needed promoters, operants and enhancers needed for each of the proteins required for such a system.  Not only that, new functional cells would need to be created, which can create the organs needed for such a system. It's an endeavor that current genetic engineering has probably few tools to even begin to ponder.