BRENT: A new study has found a microorganism that has never changed during the past two billion years. Published in the latest issue of the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the research has provided strong evidence to prove the veracity of Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution.
According to professor of earth, planetary and space sciences at the University of California in Los Angeles, J. William Schopf, evolution is known as a way to help organisms acclimatize to a changing environment, but no changes in the environment means no evolution.
The research team conducted the study on specimens of sulfur eating bacteria off the coast of Western Australia in the muddy sediments on the ocean floor. They found that there was no oxygen or light. Besides, sediments also remained undisturbed because of absence of any waves.
The researchers held a comparison between the microbes and a set of fossils preserved in rocks found in Western Australia’s coastal waters that date back to 2.3 billion years. They found that both the samples appeared similar without any change induced in the modern microorganism from the ancient one.
“Researchers say these microscopic organisms are an example of ‘extreme evolutionary stasis’ and represent the greatest lack of evolution ever seen. They may also, paradoxically, prove that Darwin’s theory of evolution is true”, said Schopf.
Schopf added that changes in the physical and biological environment give rise to evolution, but it is also true that in the absence of changes in the physical and biological environment, no evolution comes into play.
