And the Lord God formed man out of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and the man became a living being.
Genesis 2:7
And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall on Adam, and he slept; and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh in its place. Then the rib which the Lord God had taken from the man he made into a woman, and He brought her to the man.
Your genome is like an encyclopedia (almost literally).
And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall on Adam, and he slept; and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh in its place. Then the rib which the Lord God had taken from the man he made into a woman, and He brought her to the man.
Genesis 2:21–22
These simple statements have profound implications.
---They put a limit on the amount of diversity we should find in people living today.
---The Bible clearly says the human race started out with two people only.
Q: But how different were these two people?
A: There is an intriguing possibility that Eve was a clone of Adam.
The science of cloning involves taking DNA from an organism and using it to manufacture an almost perfect copy of the original.
*Here, God is taking a piece of flesh, with cells, organelles, and, importantly, Adam’s DNA, and using it to manufacture a woman.
Of course, she could not be a perfect clone, because she was a girl!
These simple statements have profound implications.
---They put a limit on the amount of diversity we should find in people living today.
---The Bible clearly says the human race started out with two people only.
Q: But how different were these two people?
A: There is an intriguing possibility that Eve was a clone of Adam.
*Here, God is taking a piece of flesh, with cells, organelles, and, importantly, Adam’s DNA, and using it to manufacture a woman.
Of course, she could not be a perfect clone, because she was a girl!
Q: But what if God had taken Adam’s genome and used it to manufacture Eve?
A: All he would have had to do was to leave out Adam’s Y chromosome and double his X chromosome and, voilá, instant woman!
I do not know if Eve was genetically identical to Adam. The only reason I bring this up is because we have two possibilities in our Biblical model of human genetic history:
A: All he would have had to do was to leave out Adam’s Y chromosome and double his X chromosome and, voilá, instant woman!
I do not know if Eve was genetically identical to Adam. The only reason I bring this up is because we have two possibilities in our Biblical model of human genetic history:
*one original genome
*or two.
Your genome is like an encyclopedia (almost literally).
And, like an encyclopedia, the genome is broken down into volumes, called chromosomes, but you have two copies of each volume (with the exception of the X and Y chromosomes; women have two Xs but men have one X and one Y).
Imagine comparing two duplicate volumes side by side and finding that one word in a particular sentence is spelled differently in each volume (perhaps “color” vs “colour”).
*Can you see that if Eve was a clone of Adam, there would have been, at most, two possible variants at any point in the genome?
*If Eve was not a clone, however, there would have been, at most, four possible variants at any point in the genome (because each of the original chromosomes came in four copies).
Imagine comparing two duplicate volumes side by side and finding that one word in a particular sentence is spelled differently in each volume (perhaps “color” vs “colour”).
*Can you see that if Eve was a clone of Adam, there would have been, at most, two possible variants at any point in the genome?
*If Eve was not a clone, however, there would have been, at most, four possible variants at any point in the genome (because each of the original chromosomes came in four copies).
*This still allows for a lot of diversity overall, but it restricts the variation at any one spot to 2, 3, or 4 original readings.
Q: Does this fit the evidence?
A: Absolutely! Most variable places in the genome come in two versions and these versions are spread out across the world. There are some highly variable places that seem to contradict this, but most of these are due to mutations that occurred in the different subpopulations after Babel.
*There are indications, however, that Eve may not have been a clone.
The ABO blood group is a textbook example of a gene with more than two versions.
Q: Does this fit the evidence?
A: Absolutely! Most variable places in the genome come in two versions and these versions are spread out across the world. There are some highly variable places that seem to contradict this, but most of these are due to mutations that occurred in the different subpopulations after Babel.
*There are indications, however, that Eve may not have been a clone.
There are three main versions of the blood type gene (A, B, and O). However, many, but not all, people with type O blood carry something that looks very much like a mutant A (the mutation prevents the manufacturing of the type A trait on the outside of cells).
*So here is a gene with more than two versions, but one of the main versions is clearly a mutation. This is true for many other genes, although, as usual, there are exceptions.
The important take home point is that essentially all of the genetic variation among people today could have been carried within two people, if you discount mutations that occurred after our dispersion across the globe. This is a surprise to many."
*So here is a gene with more than two versions, but one of the main versions is clearly a mutation. This is true for many other genes, although, as usual, there are exceptions.
The important take home point is that essentially all of the genetic variation among people today could have been carried within two people, if you discount mutations that occurred after our dispersion across the globe. This is a surprise to many."
CMI
