Stretching Saturn’s Rings in Time
December 13, 2007
An expert on planetary rings proposes a new way to keep them billions of years old.
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What Mean These Bones?
December 12, 2007
Fossils found in unusual conditions and strange locations tell a silent story. Humans often cannot resist making up their own versions of the plot. Consider the following discoveries. Listen to the stories told about them, and ask: what is the probability the stories are true? How could we ever know? Who is qualified to be […]
Could Evolutionary Racism Re-Emerge?
December 11, 2007
It is a tragic matter of record that some of recent history’s most brutal racial genocides were justified on Darwinian principles (see CMI articles about the Herero genocide, the Nazi genocide, and the Aborigine genocide). The perpetrators acted on what they believed were inexorable laws of nature, that evolution had equipped some races as superior […]
Accurate Chemical Classifier Mimics Insect Nose
December 10, 2007
Two Germans have built a better chemical classification system by taking their inspiration from insect olfactory organs. Here’s how they described their achievement in an abstract from PNAS:1 The chemical sense of insects has evolved to encode and classify odorants. Thus, the neural circuits in their olfactory system are likely to implement an efficient method […]
Will Adult Stem Cells Cure Sickle Cell Anemia?
December 9, 2007
It’s been just weeks since two labs announced success harvesting pluripotent stem cells from skin cells (11/20/2007), and already beneficial applications are in sight. Science Daily and Live Science reported on initial tests that show the new “induced pluripotent stem cells” offer hope for millions afflicted with sickle-cell anemia. Though it’s too early to tell […]
What Keeps Skin Strong? Velcro!
December 8, 2007
Skin would fall to pieces were it not for velcro-like molecules that bind its cells together. These molecules, called cadherins, make skin strong but also supple. Their secret was explained by Ashraf Al-Amoudi of the European Molecular Biology Laboratory, quoted in Live Science. “The trick is that each cadherin binds twice: once to a molecule […]
SETI: Physics Conspires to Keep the Aliens Isolated
December 7, 2007
Where are the aliens? They’re too far away to get to know. Don’t look for galactic federations to join any time soon, said SETI Institute Director Seth Shostak at Space.com. The harsh realities of the speed of light make fellowship, both in person and via radio signals, too remote to be feasible. Shostak […]
Origin of Life: Food for Queazy Thought
December 6, 2007
New theories of the origin of life seem to come and go like fashion trends. A biochemist at University of California at Santa Barbara (Helen Hansma) put out a new plot line about biomolecules forming between the protective flakes of mica. This was all Dave Mosher at Live Science (see reprint on MSNBC) needed to […]
Is Making Planets Child’s Play?
December 5, 2007
Are star children good at child's play? Like making mudballs, it should be easy to roll up dust into planets.
Evolutionists Explain Living Fossils
December 4, 2007
Why did the living forms look identical to the ancient forms after so many tens of millions of years of evolution?
Active Moons Challenge Old-Age Beliefs
December 3, 2007
The best planetary scientists in the world, constrained within their chosen billions-of-years mindset, have many questions and few answers.
Hadrosaur Skin Flick
December 3, 2007
The press is abuzz with the story of a mummified hadrosaur found in North Dakota with skin and fossilized soft parts; see PhysOrg, Science Daily, Associated Press and BBC News. Since the fully-articulated, uncollapsed, mummified fossil named “Dakota” was discovered in 1999, though, it appears that the announcement is being made now primarily as publicity […]
Cell Gatekeepers: Diverse, Complex, Accurate
December 2, 2007
Cargo moves around rapidly and ceaselessly in every cell. Some moves in and out of the external membrane, and some moves in and out of organelles and the nucleus. In a system of protected domains surrounded by impermeable membranes, how does the cell control what should pass? Details of the amazing gatekeeping mechanisms embedded in […]
Wilson Duo Resurrects Darwins Taboo
December 1, 2007
Group selection (sociobiology) has long been a taboo subject, but now its time has come. This is what an article on EurekAlert claims. E. O. Wilson and David Sloan Wilson are on a new campaign to promote group selection. The two Wilsons called for a new consensus on sociobiology in The Quarterly Review […]
Flowering Plants Do Big Bang in Darwins Face
December 1, 2007
There’s a big bang in botany. The flowering plants, reported Science Daily, “evolved very quickly into five groups.” The claim is based on the investigation of plant genes by scientists in Florida. Their work “showed that a stunning diversification of flowering plants they are referring to as the ‘Big Bang’ took place in […]