Study: 90% of Species Have a Recent Origin

Hmmm . . . humans and animals arose at much the same time, and there are genetic boundaries. Sounds like what you’d expect to find based on the Genesis account of origins.

In an evolutionary worldview, which assumes an ancient age for many of the species we have today, the results of this study are shocking. Indeed, one of the researchers said, “The conclusion is very surprising . . . and I fought against it as hard as I could.” Evolution doesn’t expect the vast majority of our species to have arrived at the same time, nor does it expect species to have these clear genetic boundaries.

But this is what we’d expect in a biblical worldview—indeed it’s what creationists have been saying all along, although their timeframe of 100,000–200,000 years is inflated, due to evolutionary assumptions. Dr. Nathaniel Jeanson, who has a PhD from Harvard University in cell and developmental biology and is the author of the new book Replacing Darwin, says, “There's a great danger to the evolutionary model in this study in ways they don't quite realize yet.” He added,

1. The study suggests many, many species formed contemporaneously with modern human origins;
2. We know from mitochondrial DNA clocks that modern humans formed within the last 6,000 years;
3. Therefore, this study implies that many, many species formed within the last 6,000 years.

All of the original kinds were created by God during creation week, about 6,000 years ago. This means all the original kinds are the same age (including humans). This doesn’t mean all the species we have today are the same age; species are still forming today. These species are simply varieties within a created kind. But it does mean all the kinds have the same age, and we would expect most species to have a similar age since they have arisen in the past 4,350 years from the kinds that got off the ark after the global flood of Noah’s day.

And we also expect groups to be genetically distinct. God created each kind to reproduce according to its kind (Genesis 1:11, 12, 21, 24, 25). So each kind is an independent unit, created by God and unable to reproduce with other kinds.

Get More Answers on Answers News

I discussed this item on Answers News today with regular cohosts Bodie Hodge and Dr. Georgia Purdom. Answers News is our twice-weekly news program filmed live before a studio audience here at the Creation Museum and broadcast on my Facebook page and the Answers in Genesis Facebook page. We also discussed the following topics:

• What does “dinosaur dandruff” tell us?
• The oldest known lizard fossil changes the story . . . again.
• Will we kill all the aliens?
• And more!

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Thanks for stopping by and thanks for praying,
Ken

This item was written with the assistance of AiG’s research team.