From: jtem01@gmail.com   
      
     RonO wrote:   
      
   > When we got the Nenaderthal mitochondrial DNA sequence the estimated   
   > divergence was between 250,000 and 500,000.   
      
   So it had to be less than that. Period.   
      
   They assumed a "Clock Like" rate of mutation which was the same across   
   all populations. That's insane. It's literally intelligent design or   
   creationism -- "God did it!" -- because it's a denial of evolution i.e.   
   selective pressures.   
      
   Our mtDNA is very important and subject to a lot of selective pressures,   
   or at least it was. As the powerhouse of the cells, the evolution of   
   the mtDNA was vital to the push north, the adaptation to colder regions.   
   But at the same time, the mtDNA of populations left behind in warmer   
   climates was under little to no selective pressures. So...   
      
   We had populations that moved out of warmer climates undergoing fairly   
   rapid evolution of their mtDNA while those in warmer climates saw   
   little to none, their mtDNA supposedly having long since adapted to   
   conditions. But, the estimates assume that both were evolving at the   
   exact same "Clock like" rate. The result is a wildly exaggerated age   
   for divergence.   
      
   There's a similar problem with the y chromosome, though that's only   
   tangentially related to climate...   
      
   > The current estimates using   
   > the genomic DNA sequence places the event that gave the Neanderthals   
   > their mitochondrial DNA closer to 500,000 years ago.   
      
   Never trust molecular dating, or rotating sock puppets posting to   
   usenet & pretending to be interested in science.   
      
      
      
   --   
   https://jtem.tumblr.com/tagged/The%20Book%20of%20JTEM/page/5   
      
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