Vision Ion Gateway in 600 Million Year Old Hydra

Researchers from the University of California, Santa Barbra's Department of Ecology have determined that the hydra, a tiny sea creature, uses ion gateways to detect light in a similar way to that of humans. Hydra are tiny creatures that belong to the same evolutionary phylum jelly fish. These creatures have been in existence since the Pre-Cambrian era of 600 million years ago (according to evolutionary dating methods).

There are many genes that are responsible for vision in vertebrate animals and humans one of which is the gene osprin. Osprin is responsible for creating the ion channel which is used for light sensitivity. From this discovery researchers at UCSB concluded that this "Illustrates how all organisms - humans included - are a complex mix of ancient and new characteristics."

Is this a fact, or is this a belief?

Science only deals with subjects that can be tested, studied, or observed (such as researching the genes that are responsible for vision). This means that science alone cannot determine how the object being tested originated.

The logic used to explain the origin of vision could be as follows,

Since humans and hydra have similar genes that are used to create light sensitive pathways:

a. Humans and hydra had a common ancestor.

b. Humans and hydra had independently evolved this characteristic.

c. Humans and hydra were both designed and built to see a similar range of the electromagnetic spectrum.

Conclusions a. or b. could not have been reached without a presupposition that vertical evolution (molecules to man) is true. Today we do not observe large amounts of new and more complex information being added to any genome. To assume that it happened in the past even once requires a leap of faith. Assuming it happened multiple times in the past independently with the same result requires a vast leap of faith.

The only reason we can learn anything about the world around us is because in the beginning God created a universe that runs in a continuously orderly fashion. From this order we can use science to show how it is impossible for genes to pop into existence all by themselves.

Adapted from materials provided by

UCSB - http://www.ia.ucsb.edu/pa/display.aspx?pkey=2199