Page 261 - Darwinism Refuted
P. 261

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                              THE ORIGIN OF PLANTS










            L     ife on earth is divided into five (or sometimes six) kingdoms by




                  scientists. We have so far concentrated mainly on the greatest
                  kingdom, that of animals. In the preceding chapters, we considered
                  the origin of life itself, studying proteins, genetic information, cell
             structure and bacteria, issues that are related with two other kingdoms,
             Prokaryotae and Protista. But at this point there is another important
             matter we need to concentrate on—the origin of the plant kingdom
             (Plantae).
                  We find the same picture in the origin of plants as we met when
             examining the origin of animals. Plants possess exceedingly complex
             structures, and it is not possible for these to come about by chance effects
             and for them to evolve into one another. The fossil record shows that the
             different classes of plants emerged all of a sudden in the world, each with
             its own particular characteristics, and with no period of evolution behind it.



                  The Origin of the Plant Cell
                  Like animal cells, plant cells belong to the type known as
             "eukaryotic." The most distinctive feature of these is that they have a cell
             nucleus, and the DNA molecule in which their genetic information is
             encoded lies within this nucleus. On the other hand, some single-celled
             creatures such as bacteria have no cell nucleus, and the DNA molecule is
             free inside the cell. This second type of cell is called "prokaryotic." This
             type of cell structure, with free DNA unconfined within a nucleus, is an



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