Since the publication in 1859 of Darwin\'s Origin of Species,
debate over the theory of evolution has been continuous and often
impassioned. In recent years, opponents of \"Darwin\'s dangerous idea\" have
mounted history\'s most sophisticated and generously funded attack, claiming
that evolution is \"a theory in crisis.\" Ironically, these claims are being
made at a time when the explosion of information from genome projects has
revealed the most compelling and overwhelming evidence of evolution ever
discovered. Much of the latest evidence of human evolution comes not from
our genes, but from so-called \"junk DNA,\" leftover relics of our
evolutionary history that make up the vast majority of our DNA.
Relics of Eden explores this powerful DNA-based evidence of human
evolution. The \"relics\" are the millions of functionally useless but
scientifically informative remnants of our evolutionary ancestry trapped in
the DNA of every person on the planet. For example, the analysis of the
chimpanzee and Rhesus monkey genomes shows indisputable evidence of the
human evolutionary relationship with other primates. Over 95 percent of our
genome is identical with that of chimpanzees and we also have a good deal
in common with other animal species.
Author Daniel J. Fairbanks also discusses what DNA analysis reveals
about where humans originated. The diversity of DNA sequences repeatedly
confirms the archeological evidence that humans originated in sub-Saharan
Africa (the \"Eden\" of the title) and from there migrated through the Middle
East and Asia to Europe, Australia, and the Americas.
In conclusion, Fairbanks confronts the supposed dichotomy between
evolution and religion, arguing that both science and religion are
complementary ways to seek truth. He appeals to the vast majority of
Americans who hold religious convictions not to be fooled by the
pseudoscience of Creationists and Intelligent Design advocates and to
abandon the false dichotomy between religion and real science.
This concise, very readable presentation of recent genetic research is
completely accessible to the nonspecialist and makes for enlightening and
fascinating reading.
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