Purify Science by Kicking Darwin Out

Science writers would do well to apply a
Darwin Filter before putting pen to paper.
Here are some good examples of clean research.

 

Readers disgusted at yesterday’s Darwin Hall of Shame, in which researchers insert the e-word “evolved” in their writing with reckless abandon, will be refreshed today. We offer them news of clean, Darwin-free science being done.

Think of the possibilities if science returned to its roots, explaining the natural world by reference to observable, repeatable, testable data. Without the stench of Darwin fogma in the lab, researchers could see and think clearly, following the evidence where it leads. No more BAD confabulating, telling the public what “might” have happened gazillions of Darwin Years ago in mystical Jargonwocky terms. No more Darwin Sharia Guards enforcing compliance, checking for the scientist’s D-Merit Badge. It would be a new rebirth of freedom, a breath of fresh air, a free market for seeing who has the best evidence to succeed.

Let these examples give hope that Darwin-free science is not only possible, but preferable.

Accurate data on dynamic molecular aggregates in cells for the first time (University of Freiburg, 15 Aug 2023). The Darwinists at MIT should look at how biochemists in Germany and England handled their discussion of molecular condensates in cells. They had no need of Darwin’s hypothesis. They just told it straight what they observed.

In cells, many vital processes take place in membraneless molecular aggregates, which help ensure that the molecules involved are present at the right concentration and in proximity to each other. Scientists from the Cluster of Excellence CIBSS at the University of Freiburg, Germany, and the University of Cambridge, UK, have only now been able to observe and analyse the formation of such condensates in living cells for the first time. Writing in the journal Nature Communications, they show that this process is controlled not by physical forces alone, but also by active biological mechanisms.

Could a Darwinian ever claim to be part of a “cluster of excellence” in research? Would a worker in any other field be complimented for explaining a phenomenon by answering that stuff just happens?

This team shows that one can describe phenomena that look intelligently designed without using the phrase:

If molecules inside a cell were completely randomly distributed, the cell would not be viable. Subdivision into more specialised compartments is necessary for many biochemical processes to take place in a coordinated manner. Some such compartments are separated from each other by membranes, but many others are not. Such “membraneless” molecular aggregates, also called condensates, fulfil important biological functions because their sizes and numbers are particularly flexible.

The press release goes on to talk about signals and coordinated responses to stress. Evolution is never mentioned because it is never needed.

Denmark is crawling with the world’s most resilient creature (University of Copenhagen, 14 Aug 2023). Tardigrades, also called “water bears,” are among the most fascinating animals in the world. Existing in almost every habitat on earth, these half-millimeter eight-legged creatures can endure dessication, radiation, hot and cold, and even the vacuum of space for years. Scientists at U of C report on the latest discoveries about these animals that live in many habitats in Denmark. “The microscopic water bear has a nearly unfathomable ability to survive in the most hostile environments,” the researchers say without mentioning evolution. The closest exception is a brief mention of tardigrade classification, which does not require belief in evolution.

Tardigrades are closely related to arthropods, to which insects and crustaceans belong. But there is still disagreement among scientists about exactly where in the animal kingdom tardigrades deserve to be classified.

Readers and students can enjoy learning about water bears without being subjected to propaganda about how they “emerged” from pre-tardigrades and their mythical ancestors.

Nanobodies from alpacas could steer immune attacks on influenza (Boston Children’s Hospital, 8 Aug 2023). Science should have a goal of solving problems and helping people flourish. We reported during the middle of the Covid-19 pandemic (11 Aug 2020) that scientists were finding potential cures in the bodies of llamas and alpacas. Those animals have “nanobodies” (tiny antibodies) that can be more specific and easier to use in targeting pathogens. Now, research at this hospital is showing promise that nanobodies from alpacas could fight the flu. Instead of needing specific strains of flu vaccine each year, the nanobodies could offer general protection from any influenza virus. No Darwin seen here, mate.

Some plants do not shed their leaves in autumn, for good reason (Halle-Jena-Leipzig, 15 Aug 2023). There’s a “good reason” why some plants don’t shed their leaves, these scientists say. Normally one would expect a Darwin just-so story next. But it never comes. Researchers in Germany got out into the snow and ran experiments on this phenomenon, called marcescence. They found that “Retention of dead biomass by plants [is] likely to serve function in carbon and nutrient cycling.” A function for a trait implies design. There is no necessity to call in Darwin’s Stuff Happens Law to explain it. The researchers were motivated by curiosity stemming from observational science.

We knew that marcescence had been relatively well researched in arid ecosystems, in which solar radiation strongly degrades difficult-to-decompose compounds in retained biomass. This facilitates decomposition of and nutrient release from that biomass once shed, with potential competitive advantages for the respective plants. In temperate regions, however, research has been scarce and mainly focused on tree species, with few exceptions, and virtually nothing is known about marcescence in the temperate herbaceous flora, although simple observations indicate that it is widespread. We thus asked ourselves how common marcescence is in our latitudes and whether it can be linked to certain plant traits.

Those are worthy questions for a biologist to ask, having nothing to do with evolution. They found a functional reason for marcescence in the species they studied. One good question often leads to others.

To our surprise, almost all of the investigated plants (123 of 127) kept at least part of their biomass marcescent, indicating the commonness of marcescence in the temperate flora. Marcescence particularly predominated in tall plant species with small leaves and high carbon concentrations in their tissues and in those commonly preferring intensely disturbed sites. Marcescence may thus provide advantages for certain plants in the initial stages of succession and might influence carbon and nutrient cycling. As we are just beginning to understand the determinants and function of marcescence in temperate regions, intensified research efforts are crucially needed to disentangle the relevance of this widely overlooked phenomenon to ecosystem functioning.

Good scientists wish to understand nature, but Darwinism, which often promises “understanding” like a quack psychologist or snake-oil salesman, always fails to deliver. When the Darwin-free research on marcescence completes, the field researchers are more likely to understand how ecosystem functioning works than to say, “It evolved.”

Viruses participate in the organomineralization of travertines (Nature, 19 July 2023, open access). Here’s a surprising finding: travertine deposits, common around the world, are not strictly geological. Viruses participate in the crystallization of this mineral. No Darwin or evolution mentioned in the paper.

Here, we document how viruses contribute to the microbial communities that colonize the active surface of mineral deposition and are interlayered with travertine precipitates from several travertine systems in Europe and western Asia. We also show how they influence precipitation, leading to the formation of minerals in travertine, along with the key roles played by bacteria and polysaccharide matrices.

Scientists vacuum animal DNA from air in a Danish forest (University of Copenhagen via Phys.org, 27 July 2023). The environment of Earth is awash in complex specified information in the form of DNA. Danish scientists went looking for it in a forest and found DNA from many kinds of animals in their vacuum collector, even though they only saw a few species. Fascinating. No reference to evolution here either.

What the researchers did not notice in the forest, they saw when they sequenced the airborne DNA particles collected on the filters. In just three days of ‘vacuuming’ in an area of the forest roughly the size of a football field, the researchers found DNA traces from 64 animal species. Some of them were domestic animals such as cow, pig, sheep, chicken and dog and exotic pets such as parakeet and peacock. But in addition, the researchers recorded around 50 terrestrial wild animals.

Ancient Babylonian arson in Jerusalem revealed by chemical clues (New Scientist, 2 Aug 2023). The Bible has been the only written source of what happened to Jerusalem in 586 B.C. when the attacking Babylonians burned the city and destroyed the Temple. New Scientist is normally a strongly pro-Darwin company. Here, they simply reported facts about an archaeology project that happens to corroborate the Biblical account.

When the city finally surrendered in 586 BC, the Babylonians destroyed much of the city. But the historical record of this is poor. “The Babylonian chronicles from these years were not preserved,” says Nitsan Shalom of Tel Aviv University in Israel.

As a result, the Hebrew Bible is the only account. It claims comprehensive devastation, Shalom says: “There was a violent and complete destruction, the whole city was burned and it stayed completely empty, like the descriptions you see in Lamentations about the city deserted and in complete misery.” Famously, Solomon’s Temple was destroyed.

Bias is shown in the statement “the historical record of this is poor,” as if the Babylonian chronicles (known to be biased toward the king) would be somehow more credible than the richly detailed accounts left by Jeremiah and other prophets and chroniclers, who were very critical of the king and elders living in Jerusalem at the time.

That criticism aside, the article reports how Shalom and her team examined burn evidence in a rich person’s house that had collapsed. Applying sophisticated techniques to the material in the room, they gained insight into how this particular house was likely destroyed. The evidence also indicated which houses were targeted by the Babylonians.

Light-activated molecular machines get cells ‘talking’ (Rice University, 10 July 2023). Jacob Beckham, a grad student of structural chemist James Tour at Rice University, has an exciting result from the lab to announce. The team has found a way to activate calcium signals in cells with light. The press release explains:

Rice University scientists have used light-activated molecular machines to trigger intercellular calcium wave signals, revealing a powerful new strategy for controlling cellular activity, according to a new study published in Nature Nanotechnology. This technology could lead to improved treatments for people with heart problems, digestive issues and more.

Experimenting on hydra, the team learned how to control the cellular response by the intensity of the light. Dr Tour says, “This is the first example of taking a molecular machine and using it to control an entire functioning organism.” It could lead to stimulating heart cells that have developed arrhythmias, working like a “nano-defibrillator” that can be applied by light without drugs. And this is just one of the achievements of Dr Tour’s “fearless” team:

“This is mechanical action at the molecular scale,” Tour said. “These molecules spin at 3 million rotations per second, and because we can adjust the duration and intensity of the light stimulus, we have precise spatiotemporal control over this very prevalent cellular mechanism.”

The Tour lab has shown in previous research that light-activated molecular machines can be deployed against antibiotic-resistant infectious bacteria, cancer cells and pathogenic fungi.

“This work expands the capabilities of these molecular machines in a different direction,” Beckham said. “What I love about our lab is that we are fearless when it comes to being creative and pursuing projects in ambitious new directions.”

Last year, Dr James Tour announced the lab’s discovery of a method of turning any carbon waste into graphene using “flash joule heating” (31 May 2022).

If you are a scientist in academia, we hope these stories encourage you to help join a movement to purify science. As we reported Monday, trust in science is at an all-time low. Taxpayers are aware of the political ideology behind much of what goes on in Big Science, with its leftist bias, wokeness, and uneven funding that favors certain conclusions about climate change, health, and origins. Much of the distrust comes from simplistic accounts of how things “evolved.”

Help Big Science kick the Darwin addiction. Do your work diligently, with integrity, and people will respect it. We at CEH will certainly honor research done with integrity that tries to steer clear of anti-scientific, political, and materialistic biases.