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Fossil Said to Enlighten Evolution of the Ear

October 13, 2009

Did mammal ear bones evolve? If so, it was not a straightforward Darwinian progression. Authors of a paper in Science who announced a new Cretaceous mammal fossil from China had to invoke convoluted explanations to keep the evolution story intact. Science Daily shows an artist’s conception of Maotherium, a chipmunk-sized mammal said to have lived […]

Dumb Ideas

How to Name a Protoplanet

October 12, 2009

Pallas has long been classified as an asteroid, but all of a sudden in the news media, everyone is calling it a protoplanet. How did it get promoted? The picture being painted of asteroid 2 Pallas is that of a planetary building block that failed in its attempt to grow into another real […]

Bible and Theology

Conservationists Moan Lack of Hikers

October 11, 2009

When hiking and backpacking were popular in the 1970s, the number of environmentalists and conservationists rose accordingly. Since then, many content themselves to watch TV and remain city-bound. The internet exacerbated the problem. Science Daily said, “a recent fall-off in strenuous outdoor endeavors portends a coming decline in the ranks of conservation backers.” […]

Darwin and Evolution

Darwinists Celebrate Raunchy Pagan Festival

October 10, 2009

The “Burning Man Festival” is an annual event in a remote Nevada desert that draws the weird and wild into an orgy of self-expression. About 50,000 free thinkers arrive with body paint and outlandish costumes or minimal clothing – often none at all. Sexual activity, drug use and alcohol consumption is open and uninhibited. The […]

Amazing Facts

Chemistry Nobel Celebrates Cell Complexity

October 10, 2009

A discovery rivalling the elucidation of the genetic code is the structure of the ribosome – the “molecular machine” that translates the DNA code into proteins. Untangling the complexity of this multi-part system won three scientists the Nobel Prize for Chemistry (see BBC News). The winners are Venkatraman Ramakrishnan, Thomas Steitz and Ada Yonath. […]

Amazing Facts

How to Copy a Butterfly Wing

October 9, 2009

Here’s what you have to do to copy a butterfly wing without destroying it: create compounds using Germanium, Selenium and Stibium. Combine thermal evaporation and substrate rotation in a low pressure chamber. Immerse in an aqueous orthophosphoric acid solution to dissolve the chitin. If you are lucky, you can copy the delicate nanostructure of a […]

Awards

Cosmology: Truth or Style?

October 8, 2009

If you follow cosmology, you’re familiar with WMAP, Type-1a supernovae, gravitational lensing, inflation and a host of technical terms. They seem authoritative because they rely on respectable laws like gravity and general relativity. In an article in Nature today, however, Richard Massey pictured the whole enterprise as a matter of fashion, not fact. […]

Physics

Giant Backward Ring Found Around Saturn

October 7, 2009

Saturn has a newly-discovered ring to add to its decor – the largest of all. It’s so big, it makes Saturn look like a speck in the middle of it. The ring, located at the orbit of the small outer moon Phoebe, is inclined 27 degrees and revolves backwards around Saturn. This was announced today […]

Birds

Dino Clawprints in the Sandstones of Time

October 6, 2009

Some of the largest dinosaur tracks ever found have been uncovered in France. The BBC News has a picture of tracks nearly 5 feet across made by sauropods that weighed 30 tonnes. Tracks of ornithischian dinosaurs in South Africa are being analyzed for clues to dinosaur behavior, reported Science Daily. The team believes that tracks […]

Politics and Ethics

Philosophy Puts Brakes on Simplistic Science

October 5, 2009

Three stories touching on philosophy of science were reported recently. They show that simplistic ideas, and even terms deployed, can be misleading. That’s why philosophers still have a role in curbing the pretensions of scientists, and clarifying scientific issues and terms lest policy-makers and the public get wrong ideas. Are all invasive species bad?: We […]

Darwin and Evolution

Step Aside Lucy; Its Ardi Time

October 2, 2009

A new fossil human ancestor has taken center stage. Those who love Lucy, the australopithecine made famous by Donald Johanson (and numerous TV specials), are in for a surprise. Lucy is a has been. Her replacement is not Desi Arnaz, but is designated Ardi, short for Ardipithecus ramidus – the new leading lady in the […]

Birds

Anchiornis: Foot Feathers Confuse Bird Evolution Story

October 1, 2009

The paper on Anchiornis huxleyii was published in Nature,1 along with a News article about it in the same issue by Lawrence Witmer.2 In addition, popular reports were printed by the BBC News, Live Science and Science Daily. The popular reports are focusing on Xing Xu’s claim that this fossil removes the last […]

Intelligent Design

Darwinists Party Hardy, But Crash ID Events

September 30, 2009

As the 150th anniversary of the publication of Origin of Species approaches in November, institutions are promoting Darwin in some bizarre ways. When other events are held critical of Darwin’s ideas, though, the sponsors know to expect trouble and media distortion. Last night, the new film Darwin’s Dilemma (review) was shown in the […]

Intelligent Design

Outer Limits Not Lively

September 29, 2009

One of the “cosmic coincidences” cited in the intelligent-design treatise The Privileged Planet1 is the “galactic habitable zone” – a fairly narrow region of the galaxy where planets can form and exist safely. The outer regions of the galaxy were described as lacking the heavy elements necessary for planet formation. Score one for […]

Cosmology

Cosmology: Crossroads or Crosswinds?

September 28, 2009

Earlier this month in Science, Charles L. Bennett (Johns Hopkins) wrote a status report called “Cosmology at a Crossroads.”1 It included a brief survey of how cosmology got to its current paradigm and how future instruments should narrow down the unknowns. The “standard model” as it has become known hangs together if one allows for […]

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