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Ferocity of Geological Change Stuns Scientists
November 4, 2009
A crack in Ethiopia 500 meters long took just days to form. New Scientist reported about a team of scientists who used seismic sensors to reconstruct the event. “They found that a 60-kilometre-long, 8-metre-wide dike of solidified magma formed in the rift, causing the crack, in a matter of days.” They believe the crack will […]
Inefficiency Made You Complex
November 3, 2009
Remember the old Darwinian story? Slight variations that prove beneficial are naturally selected when they help an organism adapt to its environment. Wrong. According to Ariel Fernandez of Rice University, we humans are complex because natural selection is inefficient. He said, “the origins of some key aspects of the evolution of complexity may have their […]
Comets Didnt Bring Earths Oceans
November 3, 2009
So much for the “water balloon” theory of how Earth got its oceans. A new study by Belgian planetary scientists pretty much rules out comets as the source of our planet’s abundant water. Their results are published in this month’s Icarus.1 “The origin of water on Earth is still puzzling,” they began. Our […]
How a Biotoxin Evolved
November 2, 2009
What do shrews and lizards have in common? Not much, but two species developed the same toxin in their digestive enzymes, giving them both a poisonous bite. Science Daily said a harmless digestive enzyme became overactive through three related changes. “What had been a mild anticoagulant in the salivary glands of both species has become […]
To Advance Science, Imitate Nature
November 1, 2009
Biomimetics – the imitation of nature – continues to be one of the hottest areas in science. Here are a few of the latest findings coming from the world of living creatures. Fish robot: National Geographic News shows a photo of the latest thing in underwater robotics: a robotic submarine modeled after the Amazonian knifefish. […]
Can SETI Be Quantified?
October 31, 2009
What is the probability of finding intelligent life on other planets? In 1960, Frank Drake attempted to quantify that question with his famous Drake Equation (see MSNBC and NOVA, which allows you to estimate the probability with an interactive meter). Trouble is, Stanley Miller and Leslie Orgel of primordial soup fame thought it was meaningless. […]
No Evolution in 58 Million Years
October 30, 2009
“Plant fossils give first real picture of earliest Neotropical rainforests,” announced a press release from University of Florida. The fossils from Colombia show that “many of the dominant plant families existing in today’s Neotropical rainforests – including legumes, palms, avocado and banana – have maintained their ecological dominance despite major changes in South America’s climate […]
The Nature of Darwin and the Darwin of Nature
October 29, 2009
“Even the most ardent fan of Charles Darwin might be feeling weary as his anniversary year draws to a close,” remarked Clive Wynn in another issue of Nature celebrating his bicentennial.1 “Publishers have seemingly explored every corner of Darwin’s life: his youth, his marriage, his attitudes to slavery and religion.” And now Wynn was introducing […]
Cambrian Explosion Solved: Elementary, My Dear Darwin
October 28, 2009
Two articles announced solutions to the evidential problem that most troubled Darwin – the sudden appearance of complex animals at the base of the Cambrian fossil record. Both of them involve chemical elements. The only difference is which element. Science Daily announced a “Novel Evolutionary Theory For The Explosion Of Life.” The article […]
Materialists: What Do You Know?
October 28, 2009
For people who brag about their work, scientists are an odd lot. At one moment they are touting science as the surest path to knowledge and understanding. The next moment it seems like they are at square one. This is particularly true of materialist cosmologies and Darwinian theories for the origin and development of life. […]
Trilobites Found in Fools Gold: What Does It Mean?
October 27, 2009
Trilobites are icons of the Cambrian and Ordovician periods. When thousands are found in beds over a wide area encased in pyrite, with no sign of decay, what does it mean? A team publishing their findings in Geology suggests it means rapid burial.1 Here’s the abstract from their paper: Pyritization of soft tissues is extremely […]
Who Explains Whom?
October 26, 2009
Picture an evolutionary anthropologist and a Biblical theologian sitting on a park bench having a lively discussion. The theologian claims the scientist believes in evolution because of pride that came through sin at the Fall. “Your conscience and innate knowledge of God has been corrupted,” he asserts, “therefore you choose belief systems that rationalize your […]
How the Octopus Built Its Own Brain for Better Fishing
October 25, 2009
The octopus was glad to see fish evolve, but needed a bigger brain to catch them, so it evolved one of the most complex brains in the animal kingdom. Is that the gist of this story in the Science blog Origins? Greg Miller wrote in the style of a children’s storybook: Cephalopods—octopuses, squid, and their […]
Weekend News Nuggets
October 24, 2009
Here are a dozen notable news reports from the past week bearing on evolution, design and amazing discoveries. Red rover, rat rover: Live Science posted a cool video about research lab at Northwestern University that is imitating rats’ whiskers to improve robot sensing. Rat whiskers are very sensitive. Neurons in the base of the follicle […]
Modern Men Are Wimps
October 23, 2009
Whatever happened to survival of the fittest? Our ancestors were much stronger, says the author of a new book on anthropology. PhysOrg reported on a book by Peter McAllister that says today’s males don’t measure up physically to their counterparts even a century ago, let alone those in the Roman empire and earlier. […]
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