Keeping it real.

Byline: The Register-Guard

First corollary to "Nothing succeeds like success": Nothing evolves like evo- lution.

Courtroom clashes and school board battles may get more attention, but nothing advances the science of evolution more indisputably than real research done by real scientists in the real world.

Two spectacular recent developments in evolutionary biology have drawn international recognition and pushed scientific frontiers forward. One originated right here at the University of Oregon's Center for Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. The other occurred in the far-less-hospitable tundra of Arctic Canada, where discovery of a 375-million-year-old fossil sheds new light on how fish evolved into four-legged creatures known as tetrapods.

The UO research reached even further into antiquity, resurrecting a protein that disappeared 450 million years ago. UO molecular biologist Joseph Thornton, working with research associates Jamie Bridgham and Sean Carroll, used newly developed genetic techniques to literally re-create the ancestor of the receptor protein for the hormone aldosterone, which regulates the body's salt balance.

The UO scientists demonstrated the evolutionary path for the complex "lock-and-key" relationship between a hormone and its biological receptor. Thornton discovered that the intricate relationship still worked perfectly when he put modern-day aldosterone with the re-created ancient receptor.

Thornton's research proves that fantastically complex molecular shapes and processes can develop and evolve independently, despite being separated by millions of years. This occurs after just one or two mutations, even though the molecules initially appear to have no biological or evolutionary purpose.

At first glance, the evolutionary purpose of the newly discovered fish is a bit more clear. It was an ugly brute, 4 feet to 9 feet long and with a wedge-shaped, crocodile-like head equipped with sharp teeth. Although it was clearly a fish, it had other anatomical characteristics that foreshadowed the arrival of land animals. Most significant among these were strong and flexible fins capable of allowing the fish - perhaps in sea lion fashion - to haul itself onto the shore.

Why this particular creature would want to become a fish out of water is still a mystery, but it fits in a niche of fish fossils with attributes that herald a transition from sea to land. There already are fossils of land animals with vestigial fish features, and it is only a matter of time before additional fish species are found that more definitively bridge the gap between life in the water and life on the land.

What is most keenly revealed by the UO and fossil discoveries is the certainty that ongoing scientific research will continue to link even more threads in the rich and complex tapestry of evolutionary bio- logy.

People can put their faith in real research by real scientists in the real world.