Darwin came from Essex (via Peru) says cat's DNA

From the Wollongong Herald

The DNA recovered from Charles Darwin's cat has proven that the 19th century naturalist was descended from South American Indians.

The aspirant Find-an-Ancestor Project uses the DNA from celebrity pets to map human origins. Tiddles, Charles Darwin's first tabby, is one of 30 exhumed ex-pets. "We'd never thought we'd find Tiddles, or any of the 10 cats Darwin owned during his life" says Prof. Trevor Bruce of the University of Ulladulla".

Research funded by the Geelong Anti-ageing Centre tested Tiddle's preserved DNA and discovered that Darwin's ancestors came from a small village in present-day Peru. From there they travelled directly to Essex, possibly via a land bridge made of ice, or by small raft, from France. "The evidence is astounding" says Prof. Bruce, "it is amazing how much information one can extrapolate from DNA".

Tests have led scientists to propose the 'Out of Anywhere hypothesis'. Prof. Bruce explains: "Look, it doesn't matter whose DNA you have, people just seem to originate anywhere. We had the late Liberace's budgie examined and found out that 'The Glitter Man' was descended from Eskimos".

Further research hopes to discover the centre of origin for all humans. Dr. Karen Hall hopes that this will herald a new hypothesis. "Palaeoanthropologists say that humans and apes originated in Africa. Show me one celebrity with a pet gorilla!"

You can participate in the Find-an-Ancestor Project by sending $120.00 for a 'detection kit'. The kit includes a swab and a shovel for extracting pet DNA.


Related Post: Charles Darwin's genetic history unlocked by DNA project

Thinking Exercise 1: Origins

Consider the following:

1
Centre of origin -----------------------------> Present Distribution


Ancestor -------------------------------------> Descendant


Plesiomorphy --------------------------------> Apomorphy

2
Each of these statements refers to a particular subject, namely an area, a taxon and a character-state. The arrow in each example indicates a transformation of some kind. For instance, taxa disperse away from a centre of origin; descendant taxa originate from ancestors and; plesiomorphic character-states transform into derived states.

3
The transformations are supported by dispersal ability, transitional fossils and plesiomorphic or apomorphic states respectively.

4
Finally, all three statements are assumed apriori to any data undergoing analysis and together form a synthesis, namely a taxon has an ancestor that dispersed from a single center of origin.

Problem 1 Dispersal ability

Just because an organism can disperse does not mean it has or will do so in the future. The seeds of alpine plants most likely are able to survive extended periods in salt water. Having this physiological tolerance to salt water does not mean for example that they have (or will) be transported from the Australian Alps, across the Tasman Sea and up into the New Zealand Alps. The same is true for rafting animals. A set number of animals are most likely able to survive extended periods rafting across seaways. Again, this does not mean that this is likely to occur.

Problem 2 Ancestors and Transitional Forms

Ancestors or transitional fossils are designated rather than real. Archaeopteryx was at one time a descendant. Since its demise in the Jurassic, it has become an ancestor and a transitional fossil without actually changing form. Transitional fossils, like ancestors, are simply terms assigned to designated forms.

Problem 3 Plesiomorphic and Apomorphic

Character-states, like transitional fossils and ancestors, are designated to be either plesiomorphic or apomorphic. The states themselves are fixed in time and space. An ancestor has plesiomorphic traits whereas a descendant has apomorphic states. The states may have a transitional form.

Qualifiers

Centers of origin, ancestors, transitional forms, apomorphic and plesimorphic character-states are all artificial designations. We have no objective or empirical way of knowing where an area is a center of origin, whether a fossil is an ancestor or whether a trait is apomorphic. These designations, however, are essential as they qualify the statements made above (1). Moreover, these qualifiers are assumed before examining data.

Data

Data are not neutral and are essentially theory / hypothesis laden. More important, data are not necessarily informative. Whether our data are informative is another matter entirely. If we use uninformative data in the above statements we are left with the same uninformative data. For instance, if a paraphyletic group is placed into each the above statements we will end up with multiple centers of origin for a single group and multiple ancestors of a single group. This would contradict our hypothesis of a single ancestor originating from a single area.

Teleology

In order for a taxon to be a descendant it requires an ancestor. If we had the means to go back in time and find this ancestor, we will find a descendant with apomorphic character-states, which has an ancestor and a center of origin. We can repeat this process again and again, but yet we will never find an ancestor, a plesiomorphic character-state or a center of origin. The reason is that these are all subjective hypothetical qualifiers that are needed to justify a theory. They are a means to an end. These metaphysical or teleological hypotheses are immune to empirical analysis.

Solution

The notion of transformation is hierarchical, particularly when it is assumed that one is a modification of the other (e.g., plesiomorphy -> apomorphy). To think otherwise is to have plesiomorphy and apomorphy as phenetic constructs requiring a method to unite (transform) them. Therefore:

Centre of origin --------------------------------> Centre of origin
-------------------------------------------------> Present Distribution

That is, for areas the occupation will be inclusive (descendant distributions = sum of all ancestral areas)

Ancestor --------------------------------------> Ancestor
-----------------------------------------------> Descendant

For ancestors the descendant will be inclusive (descendant characters = sum of all ancestral characters)

Plesiomorphy --------------------------> Plesiomorphy
---------------------------------------> Apomorphy

For apomorphy, plesiomorphic characters are included (with the apomorphy).

Three tales of Systematics and Biogeography

Would it be wrong to write fables of systematics and biogeography? A fable may be defined as conveying a moral concerned with accepted rules and standards of human behavior. Is this the stuff of science? Science purports to eliminate human 'bias' in its findings. However, there are many journals and institutions that suppress the publication of alternative or contradictory methods and theories in the name of scientific culture or 'morals'. One method may be favored not because of its logic or aims, but because it represents the scientist’s or editor’s own personal views. We evidently cannot write human bias out of the process of science. Nevertheless, we must endeavor to reveal where human judgment is impeding scientific rigor, if science is to progress.

Below we have done this in the form of tales that covey scientific concepts and catalog common mistaken processes. Most 'new' scientific methods are independent discoveries of old methods or theories that have already been proven as failures or successes, were recorded in scientific literature and promptly forgotten by the majority of active researchers. Many scientists see their methods as being wholly new, or as exceptions to existing scientific rules and laws. The same 'logic' is used by speeding drivers. They accept the endless warnings that 'speed kills', but most believe that they are an exception.

There are no exceptions in comparative biology. Unlike general biology, comparative biology has no laws or rules. In systematics and biogeography however many have taken it upon themselves since the Modern Synthesis to apply a synthesis (or a series of laws) in order to unify of field of science under a common goal. These so called 'laws' are:

1. There is a fundamental difference between the type of data one uses (i.e., morphological data = macroevolutionary/plylogenetic and, molecular = mircoevolutionary/genealogical).
2.Ancestor-descendant relationships can be either 'seen' or measured.
3.Centres of origin are known quantities that are supported by evidence.

The scientific literature of this field is full of these three 'rules'. We however dismiss these three 'rules' as irrelevant to systematics and biogeography. We have done so frequently, adding even more publications to the vast literature dedicated to warning biologists of the three troublesome 'rules'. For the first time, we will express the moral dilemma that one enters when adhering to these 'rules' in the form of three short allegorical tales that convey 'a moral concerned with accepted rules'.

Form

Once a tailor stood on a hill admiring an immense tree and an old philosopher perched beneath. The tree blossomed the most beautiful flowers that the tailor had ever seen. The blossoms grew off branches that twisted and joined a haggard trunk that has grown strong with the passing of time. The tailor noticed that the etched face of the philosopher also bore the traces of time.

“I have lived in the village below for many years and yet I had never before seen nor heard of the large magnificent tree.” Remarked the tailor.
The old philosopher maintained his silent mediation.
“Each branch” contemplated the tailor, “reminds me of the links I have with my fathers, fathers and mothers, mothers.’
The philosopher stirred.
“So you know of your fathers, fathers and your mothers, mothers?” Replied the philosopher.
“Yes, I do.”
The philosopher smiled and remembered a long forgotten thought. “I once knew a mason who claimed the same.”
“Did he have evidence?” Enquired the tailor.
“Oh yes, he showed me heirlooms, trinkets, precious and rare.”
The tailor reached for his large pocket. “I have no trinkets, but proof. Pictures. Each member of my clan, as far back as my grandmothers’ mother, her sisters and brothers.” The tailor displayed several cameos before the philosophers’ wizened eyes.
“Just heirlooms. No more, no less.” The philosopher replied.
“No, they are evidence of my mother and of my kin.”
“The mason claimed to have those.”
The tailor dismissively flicked his hand. “You say those are heirlooms and not real proof. The pictures show in detail their faces and features, not mere possessions like heirlooms, but actual parts passed down our bloodline”.
“Did you paint these pictures yourself?” Asked the philosopher.
“No. I have never met my relatives for I am adopted. This is why I seek my clan among the many that walk in this world. All I possess of my family are these pictures to help me find them in the many lands through which I will pass.”
“Then how do you know that these are true depictions? How do you know who is who and when they lived?”
“I have been told on good authority that the artists all painted the portraits from live sittings. The age does not matter, I know by their features who is who.” The tailor seemed proud to have achieved this understanding.
The old philosopher sighed. “Like you, the mason said the same. He knew his bloodline by the name of the owner inscribed on each heirloom that was passed to an ambitious orphan like you.”
The tailor winced as the philosopher continued.
“The features on these pictures may show parts of your clan. They are heirlooms, precious and rare but not real proof.”
“No!” cried the tailor. “They reveal my past, my bloodline and who begat whom.”
The philosopher shook his head. “You imagine you see your past and your bloodline, but all I see are members of your family, related somehow and in some fashion. Perhaps that man you see is not your father, but your uncle, and this woman a cousin, not an aunt.”
The tailor retorted. “I share their features. I see them pass from mother to mother. They tell the truth about me and about by mothers, mothers.”
A deep weariness flooded the philosopher. “Your pictures are the heirlooms of forgotten and lost relatives. They only speak of features of a thing. The mason orphaned in birth thought the same as you. Those heirlooms, these pictures, are artefacts of the past. You cannot tell who is your mother, any more than she could recognize you.”

Time

A collector of heirlooms trudged along a narrow, winding mountain path. The air was cold and the collectors’ mule stumbled over the uneven gravel surface, tiring of its heavy burden. Night fell and the collector decided to find a camp in a cleft that dominated the rocky terrain. Before him he saw a fire and a white robed philosopher crouched before it in deep mediation. The mule and its owner drew near.
“A fine beast you have there.” The philosopher was looking at the tired mule. “A fair creature, but laden with a great burden. Are you a merchant?” The philosopher asked.
“No. I am a collector of fine antiques.”
“Come sit beside me and relate your tale”. The philosopher beckoned to the collector.
“I have been sitting here by my fire admiring the great folds in the mountains yonder.”
The collector sat and gazed out into the great valley below.
“You say you collect antiques. For pleasure, or for business?”
“For the sake of my heritage” answered the collector.
“Heritage, that is a fine thing. The antiques you carry must be old and valuable?”
The collector’s eyes brightened. “These are exceptional antiques. They not only show the skills and the tools that were used in our long lost heritage, but they also identify the makers style and craftsmanship.”
“What do you gain from collecting these articles of old?” the philosopher enquired.
“I can tell the lives of their makers, their dates of their very first works and the dates of their very last. I admire the antiques, yet I wonder at the minds and hands that created them.”
“So, you too study the art of craftsmanship?”
“With these works I can recreate the clays, glasses and fires that were used. See here!” The collector sprang up and retrieved an object wrapped in silk from a leather pack strapped to the mules side. “Behold, this object from the second period!” The collector held a beautifully crafted trinket before the philosopher. “This work of art betrays its maker. See the fine textures in the glass and the way the iron is gently wrought?” The philosopher nodded. “Those are the trade marks of the great fire welder of the second period and this is his last piece,” said the collector.
“Oh dear, did the artist die once he had created it?” The philosopher looked saddened.
“Yes. All craftsmen tinker to their last day. It is these great works of mature masters and the first brave attempts by the artist as a naive youngster are what I seek. Like my father before me, I have scaled the many mountain paths that divide these vast lands and scoured every corner to retrieve every last piece that was created by these artisans!”
“How do you know that these are their last works? There have been many wars and restorations since the second period, not much survives, only memories and myths.”
“I am certain that I have found the last works of these great creators. Alas, now their secrets are gone. They all perished in the Great War at the end of the second period. Since then, no others have been able to create the artefacts in the form that you see before you.”
The philosopher returned his attention to the fire. “Perhaps they gave up their craft to join the war and perished much later.”
“No, never! These artists tinkered till their final breath. None would have left his toil for the fortunes of war!” The collector laughed.
“How do you know that these artists did not return to their craft after the wars and made more precious trinkets?”
The collector was amazed at the naivety of the question. “Because I, and my fathers before me, have never found such antiques after the second period. It is obvious that the disappearance of these works marks their demise.”
“Is it?” the philosopher mused. “But you can never know. These trinkets that you hold could be the oldest, but there could be many more made by the great fire welder lying shattered in the rubble of ruins or in the crypts of proud and jealous owners.”
“I and my forebears have considered these notions, but there may be a few that still lie hidden. However, there will be none that is any older than the one I hold. The great fire welder did not live beyond the second period and here is evidence of that.” The collector held the antique out in one hand.
The philosopher remarked; “What you hold in that hand is an antique made by someone that lived during the second period. What you hold in the other is all you know of the great fire welder’s demise.”
The collector stared at his second, empty hand. The philosopher continued. “You cannot assume that what you do not have is evidence of the demise of great artists, any more than I can conclude that those who rule these lands are dead because they do not sit by my side.”

Space

One fair morning an orphan lay in an open meadow enjoying the spring sunshine and contemplating his journey and the direction he should take.
The orphan lay thinking of a family that he never met and of the many parchments that he had collected in the town halls on his travels. The youth had wanted to find his roots. There had been no family to show him the way, no uncle or cousin to guide him, and he had been alone except for his meagre inheritance, a certificate of birth. No place, no date, just a name, his name.

It was now a long time ago since the boy had set off on his long journey. He thought hard and counted the seasons. He thought it must now be ten or maybe more. The long northern winters seemed to last forever, yet he still moved on.

When he was just old enough to read he thought that his long deceased relations would have the same parchment, with a similar name. Curiosity got the better of him, and after enquiring with the local town cryer of the whereabouts of such parchments he was guided to the local town hall. There he found that other town halls have such records and he reasoned perhaps that in those he would find the same seal of his fore fathers. The orphan enquired about the seal on his parchment. The officer was not certain of its origin and suggested that the boy head north. “Town seals such as that belong to the wealthier lands in the north”.

His journey had been marred by sickness, and only a few villages could offer a state official who all too often knew little of such documents. Success came one summers’ day when he found a parchment in the archives of a small town. There he had evidence at last. Someone did share his name. Finally the journey became worthwhile. The parchment had a little more information to offer him. A woman who had been born in the village of the seal had moved to this place with her kin. That woman came from his village, with his name. The seal in the bottom left corner resembled the one on his own parchment. The officer that tended the archive knew little of the seal and of the towns and great cities of the north. He too suggested that the seal may have originated there, and that the boy seek his luck even further north.

The boy lay still in the long grass. He rolled over and began to unroll his parchment and study the seal. Only one other person had found his journey interesting, a wizened, old philosopher that he had met last winter.

The boy had told the philosopher his story and his ambition to seek his fore fathers’ home. The philosopher asked why he wanted to go there?
“To seek my fore fathers, those whom I had not known. I want to be close to them and their home. My home.”
“But your home is your ambition, your wit and desire to seek” Replied the old philosopher. “Once you reach that goal you will be alone in a foreign land without further ambition and wit that kept you company on you long journey.”
The young boy was stirred by the philosopher’s remark.
“But reaching those lands of my kin is all that I desire.” The boy could not find any other answer.
“Surely by finding your ancestral home, you will not be content. Are there not other mysteries you seek?”
“I have one mystery,” said the boy. “Why do all the lands have different seals?”
“It is the lands that claim you. It is you that belongs to them. A wanderer like yourself can not claim to belong to all that he sees.”
The boy was confused. “But I know I was not born in the town in which I was brought up. The seal proves this. But others I know were born there and they have never seen a seal like the one my parchment bore.”
The philosopher explained. “Everyone is born in a town or a village. The officials of that town stamp your parchment and claim you as its citizen. The towns lie in the valleys that are separated by the high mountains in the east and the wide deep seas in the east. Every person whether they are born there or not can only live in one town at a time. Your seal states that you are different, but yet you are part of at least one town and one family.”
“But my family lives in one town. This seal proves my case.” The boys’ confidence was waning.
“Some of your relatives may have been born there but yet grew up elsewhere like yourself.” The boy remembered the woman’s parchment that bore his seal as the philosopher spoke. “People move and what remains of their home towns are no more than memories and parchments stamped with seals.”
“Then my time is wasted seeking the origin of this seal?” The boy sulked.
“Perhaps there is fairer game in seeking why each town has a seal and why some seals resemble others. Your ambition is your life. You aim to seek and to discover. Once you see the impossibility of finding the origin of that seal, you will be lost. You will have no aim, your ambition like your seal, will then become a mystery.”
The saddened eyes of the orphan brightened slightly.
The philosopher smiled. “There are many lands, more with seals of this kind. There are kingdoms and cities in the north that even I, in my old age, have never seen. Perhaps they may tell the story of the significance of your seal and the others that you have encountered.”

The crickets sang sweetly and the thick scent of spring flowers perfumed the air. He knew that he had set off on a journey that he would never complete. Now he realized, it was why his seal differed not how it came to be there, that sent him on his journey. The philosopher was right. If he did find the origin of the seal his life would change from ambition to old memories of where he had been. He did not want to live on memories, or to find the home of his fore bears. It is the seals that hold the key to the histories of the lands between the vast mountains of the east and the wide deep seas of the west. That was his ambition. He now realized he had never been alone. Now his journey could begin.