Page 91 - The Origin of Birds and Flight

Harun Yahya (Adnan Oktar) 89

Dr. David Menton: Yes, so I became interested in comparing them
myself. I had a laboratory technician at the time who had a pet boa con-
strictor, so I took a look at some of its scales from shed skin. I was
amused that they were, of course, not even the slightest bit similar to
feathers, as these photographs show. The only similarity is that they are
both made of the protein keratin—like hair, nails and our skin. It’s
quite different. The most fundamental difference is that the feather
grows out of a follicle, a tubular down-growth of the epidermis that
protrudes deeply into the skin, all the way down to underlying bone in
the case of primary feathers. And this tube of specialized living skin

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E EVOLUTION BETWEEN TWO FORMS IS IMPOSSIBLE
(6)
(4) (5)
As you can see, feathers
Vane sheath
develop in line with a spe-
The back of Vane cific purpose. It is of course
the shaft
Shaft impossible for chance to
Feather give rise to structures in
back Quill
line with a specific objec-
tive. Allah here manifests
His infinite knowledge and
artistry for those of unbi-
Newly emerging ased mind and capable of
vane sheath
logical reflection.
Body surrounding the sac
Artery
(4) The vane sheath develops as a temporary structure that protects the feather growing in
the outermost epidermal layer. At this point, the epidermal layer divides into a series that will
later constitute the feather barbs.
(5) Until the quill extension appears in a pennacious feather, the barbs grow in a spiral form
around the ring.
(6) The feathers emerges from the sheaths so long as growth continues. The feather then
unfolds its curves in order to assume its flattened form. When the feather achieves its ulti-
mate dimensions, the follicle ring forms a simple tubular stalk at the root of the feather.