Science blog: Vestigial Organs
One argument that evolutionists used during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries was the existence of “vestigial organs”, organs that supposedly had been of use to our animal ancestors but served no purpose in our bodies. One problem with that argument is that most monkeys and apes have no appendix. Another problem is that there ARE NO vestigial organs in the human body; the claim that these organs were vestigial was based on ignorance of their purpose and a desire to substantiate Darwin’s theories. Now I believe in freedom of thought so if you want to believe in evolution then go ahead, I am just saying that science should be self-correcting and when new information is discovered then the textbooks need to be rewritten. Functions for the so-called vestigial organs have been discovered by scientific research. For example: The appendix is part of the immune system, it provides protection from some infections and diseases. It also serves as a repository for symbiotic bacteria that help in digestive functions and maintaining balance in our digestive tracts. The coccyx or tailbone serves as an anchor for the muscles that control sexual, reproductive and waste elimination functions. The tonsils also serve in an immunity capacity. And now I will boldly go forth into territory that most creationists fear to tread: nipples. The function of female nipples is obvious: that is where the milk comes out during breastfeeding. But in both genders they are also erogenous zones or erotogenically sensitive to stimulation. Their purpose is to enhance the enjoyment of the sexual experience. There should be no shame in discussing sex in a scientific manner. I do believe that God created sex for both reproductive reasons and for affection and intimacy within marriage between a man and woman. I will not pass judgment on how you live your lives, that is between you and God. But I do believe that sex is for marriage. Basically men’s nipples are “wife candy”, women’s nipples are “milk faucets” and their nipples and areolas are “husband candy”. On children both boys and girls they are simply decorative and once a child is old enough to bathe themselves that area of their bodies should be off limits to contact by others. I speculate that the foreskin on the penis was intended to differentiate between God’s chosen people (the Jews) and the people that they were chosen to be a blessing to (gentiles, goyim). There has also been speculation of vestigial or useless organs in some animals. In the book “Our Amazing World of Nature” published by the Reader’s Digest, in a chapter entitled “That Astounding Creator-Nature” by Jean George (based on the tone of the article the author was evidently an evolutionist) the author mentions three examples: a speedometer built into the ankle of reindeer composed of a tendon that snaps back and forth over a bone in the animal’s foot “noisily tapping out the speed of it’s gait”. The author also mentions a nose on the stomach of the scorpion and the featherlike tongue of the South American toucan. This book was published in 1969 and I have not heard any other mentions of this information in any other scientific sources either evolutionist or creationist. If any research has been done indicating uses for those functions or parts in these animals I would like to hear of it. Whether evolutionist or creationist scientists should try to keep up with the latest research. It does appear that all parts of our bodies do have a definite purpose and that does indicate intelligent design and deliberate creation. And that also applies to the bodies of animals, plants and microbes.
Well, it it difficult if not impossible to show that some structure has no possible function because it is an argument from ignorance, just as “this structure could not possibly have evolved” is. Luckily, it is not necessary. As Darwin says, “An organ serving for two purposes, may become rudimentary or utterly aborted for one, even the more important purpose, and remain perfectly efficient for the other.” The appendix may have some minor function today, but it is still a vestigial cecum. It is not essential to us, but it was to some herbivorous ancestors. Vestiges of ancestors are everywhere. Look at chromosome 2 in humans; all other great apes have 24 pairs of chromosomes, while humans have 23. It was conjectured that human chr 2 was formed from the fusion of two ancestral chromosomes. Sure enough, if you compare human and chimp genomes, there are two chimp chromosomes that line up perfectly to human chr 2. Human chr 2 even has telomeres (end structures) in the middle! Either it is a fusion of ancestral chromosomes or god is a deceiver. Davo
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The toucan tongue does seem to have some function. It is an adaptation to the way it swallows food, by tossing it in the air and down its throat. The tongue apparently helps expand the throat. It’s a good example of one organ being co-opted to do something else. See, for example, Ballistic food transport in toucans Baussar et al, Journal of Experimental Zoology Part A: Ecological Genetics and Physiology Volume 311A, Issue 7, August 2009. But in some related birds, the tongue does not appear to be involved. Maybe in some millions of years, it will diminish or disappear like the eyes of some cave creatures. And what do you make of leg bones in whales? Some modern whales still have them, forming a nice transitional sequence with fossil whales that had functional legs. They certainly seem vestigial. Vestigial organs are everywhere. Davo
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oh, here’s another nice quote: “The vermiform appendage–in which some recent medical writers have vainly endeavoured to find a utility–is the shrunken remainder of a large and normal intestine of a remote ancestor. This interpretation of it would stand even if it were found to have a certain use in the human body. Vestigial organs are sometimes pressed into a secondary use when their original function has been lost.” Joseph McCabe The Story of Evolution (1912), p. 264 Davo
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The appendix is not vestigial in the least, it’s function is significant and necessary, it is true that we can live without it,but people who get their appendix removed lose eight years off of their life expencancy,
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Whales don’t have vestigial legs, those bones are part of the cetacean reproductive system, it is an assumption that they are vestiges of legs.
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It makes more sense to me that God created all organs to function for specific reasons and science will discover the functions of all of these organs in time. The extreme complexity of DNA with it’s double helix structure is prima facie evidence for Intelligent design.
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I know that evolutionists (some of them anyway) are trying to claim that abiogenesis is not part of the theory, which is ludicrous as it is the foundation of the concept, without it the whole concept is meaningless. The whole concept of chemicals in a primordial soup self-assembling into amino acids, then protien chains, etc. whether by chance ,
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natural selection or the laws of physics is just plain unrealistic. None of us knows for sure how life began but in the real world complex order only happens through intelligent design and deliberate effort.
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Curious Dave, your insistance that the appendix is a vestigial cecum is based on assumptions that cannot be proven by the scientific method, like much of what passes for science today. If it cannot be verified by observation or experimentation then it is more assumption than fact.
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