Gecko Evolution or Creation
by Owen Borville
The gecko is a type of lizard classified with the infraorder Gekkota and is found in warm climates on Earth. Their size can vary greatly, from less than one inch to 24 inches long (1.6 to 60 cm). One unique feature of the gecko is that it cannot blink its eyes but it can lick its eyes in order to keep them clean and moist. Geckos make unique chirping or clicking noises to communicate between its species, which numbers some 1,500 different varieties.
The most unique feature of the gecko is its adhesive feet that allow it to walk on many surfaces upward along vertical surfaces including walls and tree trunks in addition to upside down without falling, even on very smooth surfaces. For a long time, scientists were puzzled about the surface sticking ability of the gecko but new research is beginning to reveal the secrets of this feature. Scientists today are even using the intelligent design of the gecko with regards to its sticking mechanism for industrial applications. Yes, today's scientists are still learning from God's design.
Recent research has revealed that microscopic hairs inside the toes of the gecko cause van der Waals forces to produce adhesion and allow the gecko to walk on smooth vertical surfaces and upside down. The gecko has pads on its toes consisting of about half a million setae, which are hair-like or bristle-like structures on living organisms. These setae are made of keratin, which is a fibrous protein forming the main structural constituent of hair. Each of these fine hairs has hundreds of even smaller projections of nanoscale diameters called spatulae extending from their ends. In 2000, Robert Full of the University of California, Berkeley, discovered that the adhesion in the gecko feet was due to van der Waals forces created between the spatulae and the surface. Van der waals forces are weak electrostatic intermolecular forces that become significant at the microscopic level. Because there are so many microscopic hairs on the toe of the gecko, the combined forces produced by all of the hairs is enough to allow the gecko to walk on vertical smooth surfaces and upside-down. There can be millions of spatulae on one gecko foot. Andre Geim has also discovered that capillary forces also combine with the van der Waals forces to produce adhesion in the gecko foot on wet surfaces. Capillary forces are created by surface tension from a molecular layer of water between two surfaces. Therefore, when water is present on the surface, surface tension adds to the van der Waals forces to create adhesion between the gecko foot and the surface. When water is absent, however, van der Waals forces are enough to cause adhesion.
The unique design of gecko feet and the adhesive ability is currently being used for industrial applications. As man learns more of God's design, this information is being used to benefit mankind. The elements of design in the gecko foot are evident and help critique traditional evolutionist ideas that have been promoted for the last 160 years. These unique features are not the product of random gradual evolution but were designed by a powerful and capable intelligent Creator 6,000 years ago during the creation week. Living things are given the tools they need to survive as if an intelligent and caring Creator and Designer had them in mind. The evidence for creation in the biological world is substantially evident.
by Owen Borville
The gecko is a type of lizard classified with the infraorder Gekkota and is found in warm climates on Earth. Their size can vary greatly, from less than one inch to 24 inches long (1.6 to 60 cm). One unique feature of the gecko is that it cannot blink its eyes but it can lick its eyes in order to keep them clean and moist. Geckos make unique chirping or clicking noises to communicate between its species, which numbers some 1,500 different varieties.
The most unique feature of the gecko is its adhesive feet that allow it to walk on many surfaces upward along vertical surfaces including walls and tree trunks in addition to upside down without falling, even on very smooth surfaces. For a long time, scientists were puzzled about the surface sticking ability of the gecko but new research is beginning to reveal the secrets of this feature. Scientists today are even using the intelligent design of the gecko with regards to its sticking mechanism for industrial applications. Yes, today's scientists are still learning from God's design.
Recent research has revealed that microscopic hairs inside the toes of the gecko cause van der Waals forces to produce adhesion and allow the gecko to walk on smooth vertical surfaces and upside down. The gecko has pads on its toes consisting of about half a million setae, which are hair-like or bristle-like structures on living organisms. These setae are made of keratin, which is a fibrous protein forming the main structural constituent of hair. Each of these fine hairs has hundreds of even smaller projections of nanoscale diameters called spatulae extending from their ends. In 2000, Robert Full of the University of California, Berkeley, discovered that the adhesion in the gecko feet was due to van der Waals forces created between the spatulae and the surface. Van der waals forces are weak electrostatic intermolecular forces that become significant at the microscopic level. Because there are so many microscopic hairs on the toe of the gecko, the combined forces produced by all of the hairs is enough to allow the gecko to walk on vertical smooth surfaces and upside-down. There can be millions of spatulae on one gecko foot. Andre Geim has also discovered that capillary forces also combine with the van der Waals forces to produce adhesion in the gecko foot on wet surfaces. Capillary forces are created by surface tension from a molecular layer of water between two surfaces. Therefore, when water is present on the surface, surface tension adds to the van der Waals forces to create adhesion between the gecko foot and the surface. When water is absent, however, van der Waals forces are enough to cause adhesion.
The unique design of gecko feet and the adhesive ability is currently being used for industrial applications. As man learns more of God's design, this information is being used to benefit mankind. The elements of design in the gecko foot are evident and help critique traditional evolutionist ideas that have been promoted for the last 160 years. These unique features are not the product of random gradual evolution but were designed by a powerful and capable intelligent Creator 6,000 years ago during the creation week. Living things are given the tools they need to survive as if an intelligent and caring Creator and Designer had them in mind. The evidence for creation in the biological world is substantially evident.
