Appendix to the Vestigial Organs Story: Whoops, Function Found

The appendix is not just a useless organ left over from our evolutionary past, new research is showing.  According to an Associate Press article (see MSNBC News), this “seemingly useless organ may produce, protect good germs for your gut.”  Scientists at Duke University Medical School believe that the appendix can regenerate the normal bacterial flora that aid digestion.
    According to the new theory, “the worm-shaped organ outgrowth acts like a bacteria factory, cultivating the good germs” our digestive system depends on, when disease or diet reduces the bacterial population in the colon.  Science Daily included a profile of William Parker, one of the Duke researchers who discovered the function.
    People in undeveloped countries apparently have lower rates of appendicitis.  The appendicitis attacks in civilized countries may result from an overreaction of the immune system to excessive hygiene, the article suggested.  An inflamed appendix can be deadly and needs to be removed promptly.  This does not imply, however, that it is useless.
    Evolutionists had long considered the appendix as a prime example of a useless vestige from our ancestors.  The fact that humans can get by without it seemed to support this view.  The human appendix is also smaller and more shriveled-looking compared with other mammals.
    In 1895, Weidersheim listed 180 human body parts he considered vestigial remnants of our evolution.  Creationists countered that just because we may not know a part’s function, that does not mean it has none.  They also pointed out that the list of alleged vestigial organs has shrunk from 180 down to just a few (see articles by Jerry Bergman and Jonathan Sarfati and Don Batten).  The concept lives on even today; Live Science lists the human appendix as #1 in their list of Top Ten Vestigial Organs as evidence for evolution.
    Though it’s no longer news that the appendix really is functional (see 08/30/2001 entry and article by Creation Magazine), this new article hints at a previously undiscovered role for the organ: a way for the body to “reboot” the normal flora of the digestive tract.  A scientist from University of Michigan said of another apparently useless organ from Weidersheim’s list, “I’ll bet eventually we’ll find the same sort of thing with the tonsils.”
    A scientist from Brandeis University turned some creationist heads, however, when he said that the Duke Medical School explanation “makes evolutionary sense.”

Don’t let the Darwinists try to steal glory for Charlie over this.  Consider that Darwin’s theory held up medical research on these supposed vestigial organs for 100 years.  Tonsils were routinely cut out of children’s throats under the assumption they were useless relics of our evolutionary past, only for the victims to discover it made them more susceptible to throat infections.  Though you had better get an appendectomy if you get appendicitis, it seems much wiser principle these days to hang on to all your organs as long as you safely can, because they are there for a reason.
    Now that we have another case of “Vestigial? NOT!”, should we let the Darwinists grin and say that the discovery these organs are functional makes “evolutionary sense”?  There’s an oxymoron for you: evolutionary sense.  Apparently it made just as much evolutionary sense when the appendix had no function as it does now when it has a function.  If that makes evolutionary sense, then evolution’s sense is not worth two cents.
    Like tax-and-spend politicians, the Darwin Party takes credit (08/24/2007) for solutions to problems it created.  Vote the rascals out.