2011 – Page 13

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How to Fill In Missing Fossils: Imagine Them

May 9, 2011

Evolutionists have long known of systematic gaps in the fossil record. This has been a frequent criticism lodged by Darwin skeptics against the evolutionary notion of a gradually unfolding tree of life. Now, however, it appears that evolutionists have revived use of a tool in their arsenal for combating the critics: imagination. Missing transitions in […]

Amazing Facts

Hummingbird Tongue More Clever Than Thought

May 8, 2011

Humans sip their nectar by tipping a glass and slurping, but how can a hummingbird pull liquid out of flowers with a tongue alone? Up until now, scientists thought that hummingbird tongues acted like capillary tubes. New research with high-speed cameras show that the action is much more clever – so clever it might lead […]

Biomimetics

Venom for Health

May 7, 2011

Remember when botulinum toxin, one of the most potent poisons known to man, entered medical science for good? Now fashion models brag about how “botox” improved their good looks, and sufferers of excess sweating or migraines find relief with the neurotoxin. The search for good in bad substances has not stopped; other venomous organisms, once […]

Mammals

Send in the Beavers

May 6, 2011

Step aside, hydraulic engineers: Brits are employing beavers to restore wetlands in an area that hasn’t seen them for three centuries. The BBC News announced that the Devon Wildlife Trust started a three-year experiment, in hopes that “the beavers would improve water quality and reduce flood risks by clearing scrub and trees and improving watercourses.” […]

Amazing Facts

The Eyes Have It: Pro Software

May 5, 2011

You have a biological version of Photoshop in your eyes. That’s what Richard Robinson, a freelance science writer from Massachusetts, said in PLoS Biology.1 The eye is not a camera, and the retina is not a piece of film. Indeed, the retina might be better likened to a computer running Photoshop, given the extent of […]

Astronomy

Spiral Galaxy Upset

May 4, 2011

In 1964, C. C. Lin and Frank Shu looked at the galaxy’s curvaceous arms and said, “You are my density.” The density-wave theory of spiral arm formation was married to galactic astronomy for nearly a half century. Now, however, we are back to the future, where theories do not always fulfill their destiny. An upstart […]

Philosophy of Science

Colorado Plateau Uplift: Solved?

May 3, 2011

In Nature, a team of geologists from four universities has proposed a new model for how the Colorado Plateau rose up over a mile from its surroundings.1 Based on seismic data, they propose a “mantle drip” mechanism by which parts of the lower crust dropped into the mantle, replaced by upwelling magma that condensed and […]

Fossils

Original Soft Tissue Found in Mosasaur Fossil

May 2, 2011

Original collagen has been found in a mosasaur fossil. Mosasaurs are marine reptiles that lived in the age of dinosaurs. This one, found in chalk layers in Belgium, is alleged to be 70 million years old. The press release on PhysOrg said, “the discovery demonstrates that the preservation of primary soft tissues and […]

Darwin and Evolution

Evolution Bends to Fit the Evidence

May 2, 2011

A good scientific theory should predict what is observed. When the theory is confronted with unexpected evidence, should the theory be jettisoned or modified?

Cell Biology

Intelligent Design Found in Bacteria

May 1, 2011

Poetry has been found in a bacterial genome. We know it was intentional, because we know the poet who did it: Christian Bok. The BBC News tells how Bok “encoded his verse into a strip of DNA and had it inserted into a common bacterium, E. coli.” Would scientists of the future be able to […]

Cell Biology

Embryonic Stem Cell Decision Overturned

April 30, 2011

Judge Lamberth’s decision to block federal funding of embryonic stem cell (ESC) research last fall (09/03/2010) has been overturned by a 2-1 vote in a federal appeals court. PhysOrg called this a “major victory to President Barack Obama’s administration.” Theistic evolutionist Francis Collins, head of the NIH, expressed delight at the reversal. The earlier decision […]

Intelligent Design

SETI in Reverse

April 29, 2011

The SETI Institute has had to close down its search with the Allen Telescope Array (08/12/2010) due to lack of funds. But while incoming messages might be missed, outgoing messages are still en route. The Voyager record is approaching interstellar space. PhysOrg, Live Science and the BBC News all told about the budget […]

Cell Biology

More Complexity in Simplicity Found

April 28, 2011

Primitive things aren’t. That seems to be a common thread in some recent stories that found more complexity in simple living things. Box jellyfish eyes: Jellyfish are among the simplest of animals, so why do box jellyfish have two dozen eyes but no brain? Some of these eyes have now been found to detect features […]

Bible and Theology

Humans As Guinea Pigs

April 27, 2011

Some scientists like to examine everything except themselves. Human beings are natural objects, they think; why not apply the scientific method to the study of other human beings? It’s a perfectly natural inclination; the question is whether the findings have scientific validity, or result in understanding of human nature better than the explanations offered by […]

Amazing Facts

Animal Tricks Inspire

April 26, 2011

Here we are in the millennium of science, and we are still trying to figure out how animals do such nifty things. Some of their nifty tricks we didn’t even know about till researchers took a look. With high-tech monitoring tools, we might even learn the tricks for our own good. Owl fowl: The flapping […]

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