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Evolution Professor: The Recurrent Laryngeal Nerve and ALUs

Cornelius Hunter
May 17, 2014
Intelligent Design
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In his recent debate with Paul Nelson, evolutionist Joel Velasco appealed to several evidences in making his case for evolution. In my previous posts I examined Velasco’s claims about the nested hierarchy and ORFans (hereand here). Here I will examine two more of Velasco’s evidences: the recurrent laryngeal nerve and a common genomic element known as an ALU.  Read more

Comments
fryether, Is this the Dawkins reddit video? Richard Dawkins Demonstrates Laryngeal Nerve of the Giraffe - video http://www.frequency.com/video/richard-dawkins-demonstrates-laryngeal/451226/-/4-1085 If so, Dr. Hunter you will get a kick out of it. Darwinian theology within the first 30 seconds: ,,,atheists have their theology, which is basically: "God, if he existed, wouldn't do it this way (because) if I were God, I wouldn't (do it that way)." - David Klinghoffer http://www.evolutionnews.org/2014/05/creationists_th085691.html bornagain77
"There are, according to Wiedersheim, no less than 180 vestigial structures in the human body, sufficient to make of a man a veritable walking museum of antiquities." -Horatio Newman, Scopes Trial, 1925
And why would God create so many vestigial organs? Or Junk DNA? -Q Querius
I'd tell you to post this response on reddit, because Dawkins video made the front page today, but there is no point. You'd get down-voted to oblivion. fryether
The larynx is innervated through a direct path by the superior laryngeal nerve and also the very indirect route via the recurrent laryngeal nerve (RLN). But the RLN still innervates the heart, esophagus, and trachea all along its path anyway. Engineers recognize redundancy as a Good Thing and a guard against failure. But why not just two connections along the same path? Lessons from aviation provide a harsh explanation. Consider United Airlines Flight 232, a DC10 with three separate, redundant hydralic systems--except all of them met together in the tail of the plane where a piece of shrapnel penetrated all three at the same time, leading to a loss of hydraulic fluid and the death of 111 out of 296 on board. Likewise Japan Airlines Flight 123 had all four of its hydraulic systems severed at the same time, leading to the death of 524 and becoming the deadliest airline crash in history. Many evolutionary biologists don't understand sound engineering principles. JoeCoder

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