Convergent evolution is once again pointed out in the linked article.
"Predatory reptiles called ichthyosaurs cruised the oceans between 230 million and 90 million years ago. In a classic case of convergent evolution, their body and fin shapes resembled those of today's dolphins, tunas, and great white sharks—the fastest swimmers in the sea. A new study shows that the convergence even extended to the molecular composition of the animals' skin."
The notion that evolution is completely random, that there is no plan or constraint harmonizes well with the atheistic world view. The fact however is that the commonality of convergent evolution suggests that evolution is a highly constrained process.
Simon Conway Morris has described this argumentation in detail in the book "Life's Solution : Inevitable Humans in a Lonely Universe".
This article discusses the biological factors that contribute to convergent evolution.
"The findings presented in this study also bear directly on issues of convergence (when very different organisms independently evolve similar features). By including a model of development, rather different genotypes can produce very similar phenotypes. Consequently, convergent evolution, which the vast space of genotypes would suggest to be rare, is allowed to become much more common."
In this article, note the reference to biomimicry with respect to bio-cleantech.
"A third area of "bio-cleantech" is adapting the successful engineering found in nature, which usually does things without a lot of energy input and no waste or toxins ("biomimetics").
Bianca added: "Did you know that the geometry of whale fins can provide streamlining benefits if applied to objects moving through a fluid or help reduce the huge amount of pumping energy used in the water industry? Or that spider silk is seven times stronger than steel, and that it is now being mimicked?"
People familiar with origins often overlook the fact that the primary theme in the fossil record is stasis -- that is, most organisms remain the same for very long periods of time.
The tropical tree highlighted in this article is yet another one.
"Symphonia globulifera is a widespread tropical tree with a history that goes back some 45 million years in Africa, said Christopher Dick, an assistant professor of ecology and evolutionary biology who is lead author on the paper."
Regardless of whether or not the design took place through a slow evolutionary process or a more immediate process, we should all be able to agree with the fact that nature is replete with examples of design. Here's another one.
"A prototype of a tiny bug-eyed camera that provides a field of view six times that of the conventional camera it’s designed to replace has been tested for the first time. The new system, called BugEye, is intended for use on missiles to keep track of targets but is also small enough to be used on endoscopes, giving an improved field of view in keyhole surgery...
Various teams have attempted to build smaller, lighter wide-angle cameras by copying the design of an insect’s eye. Previous attempts had one lens for each pixel of the camera’s sensor, but this limited the resolution, Laycock says."
We will have to see where this goes, but this is exciting for the field of biblical archaeology.
"Archaeologists in Israel have reported the finding of the oldest known Hebrew text in a fortress city overlooking a valley where the Bible says David slew Goliath.The Hebrew inscription found on a 3,000-year-old piece of pottery could provide insight that suggests Biblical accounts of the ancient Israelite kingdom of David could have been based on written texts."
There are many creatures that have withstood the evolutionary engine of change. The tuartara is one of them.
"Tuatara (Sphenodon punctatus), which are unique to New Zealand, are the only survivors of the dinosaur-like reptile species Rhynchocephalia, which became extinct about 60 million years ago and scientists refer to them as "living fossils."
