You may have noticed the media hype this week surrounding Ida, the so-called evolutionary ‘missing link.’ This story has generated huge media publicity, even leading Google to temporarily replace its regular logo with 
a stylised ‘Ida’ logo!
The most disturbing thing about this discovery (the skeleton of an ancient lemur-like creature), is not the fossil itself, which is interesting but hardly the breakthrough that has been reported. Rather, it is the incredible media sensationalism which has surrounded it, heralding Ida as the long lost ‘missing link.’
This claim is so far from the actual scientific facts as to be bizarre. Even the scientists who have published these findings are not advocating that this species represents a link to human primates. Such a claim is only being made as a result of irresponsible journalism that has inflated this finding to be far more than it actually is.
For a counterpoint to the current media frenzy surrounding Ida, check out this article from the Answers in Genesis.
From NZ Herald:
Experts praised the discovery for the level of detail it provided but said it was far from a breakthrough that would solve the puzzles of evolution.
About the size of a small cat, the animal has four legs and a long tail. Nobody is claiming that it's a direct ancestor of monkeys and humans, but it provides a good indication of what a long-ago ancestor may have looked like, researchers said.
This fossil was named Ida after Jorn Hurum's, six year old daughter.
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