>Art, this response seems a little overboard from you, even if you are just
>trying to respond in kind. Certainly the molecular clock can be falsified
>and has been in many situations. There are a multitude of rate tests that
>can be applied to the molecular data to test for rate heterogeneity (i.e.
>non-clock like substitution rates). Genes from holoparasitic plants
>frequently violate molecular clock assumptions. See Nickrent and Starr
>(1994) for an example relative rate tests to test the molecular clock in
>rDNA genes of holoparasitic plants.
>Nickrent and Starr, 1994. High rates of nucleotide substitution in nuclear
>small-subunit (18S) rDNA from holoparasitic flowering plants. Journal of
>Molecular Evolution 39: 62-70
I apologize for responding in kind:-( That was not necessary. Thanks for
pointing it out :-). I will try to give you some examples later this
evening, and to respond to your challenges.