Fascinating results are coming to light on a bear genome project that has been studied for several years. Conducted by scientists at the Senckenburg Research Institute and the Natural History Museum, the project sequenced the entire genome ensemble from four main groups that make up most of the bear species known to humans, including the brown bear, polar bear, sun bear, sloth bear, black bear, and giant panda.
These genes were cross-examined to search for any clues linking to evolution and climate change, but the researchers found a different surprise. They discovered that entirely separate bear species can cross-breed fertile offspring, and the practice is quite common in the wild. Polar bears even have a history linked to breeding with Southeast Asian sun bears despite notable geographical differences.
This discovery baffles evolutionary theorists, but creationists are pleased with the project’s findings. Many of them believe that God created the first generation of animals with two genes for each trait to give the appearance of having parents, so a polar bear breeding with a sun bear is plausible.
This complex gene pool at the start would develop a staggering variety of diverse features in just one generation, eliminating the need for the enormous time lapse often described with evolution. The extraordinary breeding could also occur among species before land masses became separated by the flood described in the Book of Genesis.
Interbreeding: A Result of Climate Change?
The bear genome project was initiated to explore the theory of evolution in a scenario of impending climate change. When researchers in the science community noted the breeding of hybrid polar-grizzly bears in zoos, they took a closer look at their gene pools in the wild. The grizzlies and polar bears are geographically accessible, and a hypothesis was made suggesting that the wild hybrids could be the result of bears adapting to climate change with rising sea levels and shrinking habitats.
But the complete results from the gene mapping told a different story, as the hybrids, also known as ‘cappuccino bears,’ have already been producing in the wild for centuries regardless of the global climate conditions.
What’s more, bear hybrids like cappuccinos are not only fertile but also strong in genetic diversity. This encouraging fact ensures greater chances for ursine species to survive and keep going strong for many years to come. Other wild animal hybrids such as the Savannah-domestic felines and the coyote-gray wolf have also demonstrated fertile offspring. This scientific evidence further points out the credibility of a Gene-type creation of animals.
Redefining the Definition of the ‘Species Origin’
The bear genome project is the very first time scientists are able to look into the actual genomes of an entire animal species. But with the excitement of these historic findings also arise questions that are causing researchers to second-guess about evolution and the very definition of a species itself. With so many diversities to follow from the start, how does one identify the origin of species in Darwinism?
“Darwin tried to answer this question long before anyone had the tools to directly answer it, so it is a really exciting time to be doing this sort of research because we’re getting those answers now for the first time,” Dr. Nathaniel Jeanson stated to World News Service. Jeanson is a creationist scientist holding a Ph.D. from Harvard University and is the author of “Answers to Genesis.”
“We have to ask ourselves: Does the species concept still hold true, given there is evidence of gene flow not only in bears, but also in other animals?” stated Professor Axel Janke of the Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Center in Frankfurt, Germany.
While the answer is up in the air for many in the science community, the pending question is not surprising to many creationists. Staying true to the first three chapters described in Genesis, they believe that the planet earth is only 6,000 years old and that God created the animals according to their kinds in His infinite wisdom… and the findings from the bear genome project allow this concept to be quite feasible.
What can be said, then, from these findings? Is earth’s creation in Genesis simply a myth, or does it mean something more? The revealing of more clues in scientific research – and what we believe in the end – will determine the deciding factor for ourselves.
~ Christian Patriot Daily
