by Sally Morem

Created on: April 11, 2009   Last Updated: April 13, 2009

It's important in any discussion of biological evolution to distinguish between microevolution and macroevolution. Creationists readily concede the existence of microevolution - changes in characteristics within a species over time. They realized that it would be next to impossible to explain how farmers were able to breed more useful plants and animals over thousands of years without the existence of microevolution.

But Creationists absolutely refuse to give the same consideration to macroevolution - enormous numbers of changes in characteristics in organisms occurring over a very long time. Macroevolution includes speciation, or endless branchings in the Tree of Life ever since the first forms of life established themselves billions of years ago.

Creationists are most adamant in opposing the idea that Homo sapiens sapiens are a part of this process. Macroevolutionary theory states that we humans share this planet with millions of other species, all of which are our distant cousins.

The theory of biological evolution incorporates millions of different but consistent findings in the lab and in the field that buttress the idea that macroevolution does indeed occur. These findings can be grouped into dozens of generalized observations, evidence for macroevolutionary change. Here are a few examples:

(1) This is a particularly good example of hot-off-the-press, cutting-edge science. A few days ago (in April 2009), scientists announced that 10 of the 20 amino acids found in all life on Earth form relatively easily throughout the universe. The same amino acids are found in interstellar clouds by astronomers running spectroscopic analyses, in oceanic vents, and in meteorites that survive the plunge through the atmosphere. The other 10 are more complex. They probably formed later in Earth's history.

By analyzing their thermodynamic characteristics, scientists have matched their own computer models for the amino acids' predictive occurrence with their real-life occurrence exactly. In other words, amino acids form exactly the way scientists think they form.

How does this tie in with evolutionary theory? Amino acids are the building blocks of life. If half of them form relatively easily (and now we know they do), that means the earliest forms of life formed relatively easily.

(2) Genetic similarity determines relatedness. Darwin and Wallace had no access to genetic knowledge, and could not use the insights modern evolutionary biologists have access to. Genes not only specify

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