Biology – Page 4

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Birds of Different Feathers Evolve Together

June 26, 2008

Are pigeons like parrots? Are hummingbirds like hawks? And are falcons unlike eagles? Scientists are all a-flutter after results of a massive genetic comparison of birds has put some members in unlikely pigeonholes. “The largest ever study of bird genetics has not only shaken up but completely redrawn the avian evolutionary tree,” said Science Daily. […]

Fossils

Not Another Tetrapod Missing Link

June 25, 2008

Fossils don’t contain light bulbs, but almost every time a new one is found, scientists claim it sheds light on evolution. The BBC News kept that tradition going with this line, “Scientists say a fossil of a four-legged fish sheds new light on the process of evolution.” What, exactly, was found? Whatever Ventastega curonica was, […]

Biomimetics

Animal Patterning Keeps Scientists Puzzle-Solving

June 23, 2008

Here’s a fascinating area of research for a budding young scientist: the development of animal patterns. Look at the dazzling wing patterns on butterflies in an illustration on Science Daily or consider a zebra’s stripes. How do such patterns emerge from a single fertilized egg? “Although this has been studied for years,” said a researcher […]

Amazing Facts

Asian Bees Speak European

June 4, 2008

Asian honeybees and European honeybees went their separate ways millions of years ago, say evolutionists. Why, then, were Asian bees able to readily learn the European language? An international team watched this happen. They ran some affirmative-action integration experiments on the two species, and reported their results today in PLoS One.1 “The honeybee […]

Birds

An Evaluation of Evolution as an Explanatory Device

June 3, 2008

It is very common for scientists to claim this or that phenomenon “evolved.” How well do such statements qualify as scientific explanations? How much scientific heavy lifting is done by merely stating that things are the way they are because they evolved that way? The following recent examples can be considered representative of the evolutionary […]

Fossils

Fossil Frog-amander Claimed to Be Missing Link

May 28, 2008

It looks like a frog with four equal legs and a tail; is it the ancestor of frogs and amphibians? It depends on whether you read the original paper or the popular press. Live Science writer Jeanna Brynner is absolutely certain this puts a feather in Darwin’s cap: “the creature represents a transitional […]

Birds

Animals Outsmart Scientists

May 15, 2008

In science, long-standing beliefs are often challenged by new evidence. Several recent findings not only show animals to be more remarkable than thought, they pose some new questions for evolutionists. Slothlessness: Sleeping almost all day, the sloth is the epitome of laziness in the animal kingdom. Or is it? The BBC News now tells us […]

Human Body

Hagfishing for Eye Evolution

May 14, 2008

Darwin recognized the vertebrate eye as one of the biggest challenges for his theory. Still in 2008, evolutionists are debating it. Two recent articles, both pro-evolution, reveal almost black-and-white attitudes about the problem. One is cheery and optimistic; the other sober. Eye evolution? No problem. That seems to be the view of Kate […]

Amazing Facts

Cell Electronics Is High-Tech

May 13, 2008

To describe a living cell these days, you have to borrow electronics lingo. Notice how two recent articles described cell specs: Ham radio immunity: What acts like a radio dial, a signal amplifier, and a precision rheostat? Your immune system, according to Science Daily. Scientists at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital described how the cell […]

Genetics

Platypus Genome Surprises Evolutionists

May 9, 2008

Thanks to more efficient sequencing techniques, genomes of more and more animals are coming to light. The latest is from one of the most unusual animals in nature: the duck-billed platypus of Australia. The long and short of it: if evolutionists were confused about the phenotype (outward appearance) of this creature, they are just as […]

Biomimetics

How Useful Is Evolution Theory?

May 7, 2008

Is evolution good for anything? There’s no question it keeps a lot of scientists busy, but has it helped the proverbial man on the street? Here are two perspectives. Michael LePage hit the sales beat for evolution on New Scientist this week: Evolution is a beautiful theory. It explains everything from why some […]

Biomimetics

Sweet Solutions from Nature

April 29, 2008

Human engineers continue to look at plants and animals for inspiration. Biomimetics – the imitation of biology for design technology – shows no sign of running out of ideas. Sweet gas: A spoonful of sugar in the gas tank? Science Daily reported on progress in converting plant sugars into clean-burning hydrogen – using biological enzymes. […]

Dinosaurs

Inferences from Old Protein

April 26, 2008

The dinosaur leg bone with the soft tissue was back in the news. Back in 2005 (03/24/2005), a femur from a T. rex broke open during transport and was found to contain pliable tissue and blood vessels with apparent red blood cells. This was a “phenomenon, once thought impossible” for such tissues to have survived […]

Fossils

Evolution Revealed?

April 22, 2008

When the news reports evidence for evolution in the fossils or genes, it sounds like Darwinism has been all but proved, because scientists have observed its effects. Can these stories withstand deeper scrutiny? Lungless frog: Science Daily reported a frog without lungs in Borneo. Lunglessness in tetrapods has been reported in salamanders and other amphibians, […]

Birds

Itemized Deductions

April 15, 2008

Here are some free deductions to take the edge off Income Tax Day…. as long as one deduces correctly. Israel is picking a national bird. So what feathered friend will represent the Holy Land? “The nine finalists include the hoopoe, the owl, the spur-winged plover, and the griffin vulture, but no doves.” Source: Science, Random […]

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