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Is Legal Hammerlocking the Way to Win a Scientific Controversy?

January 6, 2007

The cartoon stereotype of a scientist as an unbiased truth-seeking nerd wearing a white lab coat is hard to reconcile with some recent events. Not that the cartoon stereotype was ever realistic, but the row over Darwinism vs Intelligent Design (ID) shows just how biased and unethical certain people and organizations can behave in support […]

Cell Biology

Are Cellular Motors Related by Evolution?

January 5, 2007

Just because two things go round and round, does that make them related by common ancestry? A Japanese team thinks so. A bacterial flagellum rotates (06/04/2002). So does ATP synthase, though it is about 10 times smaller (04/30/2004). Publishing in PNAS,1 these researchers looked for a relationship, and noted that these two motors bear some […]

Bible and Theology

SETI: A Systematic Theology

January 4, 2007

Thick books on systematic theology usually include sections about creation, anthropology, and eschatology. Those sections are also present in condensed form in an article by Adrian Brown of the SETI Institute at Space.com. As for origins, Darwinian materialism was implicit passim and needed no elaboration. As for anthropology, he said man is like a god, […]

Bible and Theology

Article: What Hath Galileo Wrought?

January 4, 2007

For the PhysicsWeb site, philosopher and historian Robert B. Crease (State U of NY at Stony Brook) wrote a “Critical Point” article called “The Book of Nature.” He discusses Galileo’s contention that there is a Book of Nature separate from the Book of Scripture that can be investigated on its own through the language of […]

Amazing Facts

This Bacterium Moves Like a Tank

January 3, 2007

Mark McBride (U of Wisconsin) has been trying for a decade to figure out how a gliding bacterium glides. His conclusion: the microbe has tire treads like a conveyor belt that make it roll over a variety of surfaces, like an all-terrain vehicle. According to a U of Wisconsin press release, the Department […]

Dating Methods

Precambrian Pods Promoted to Pleistocene (!)

January 3, 2007

The bulletin of the Geological Society of America started 2007 with a bang. (Geeks sometimes refer to the exclamation point as a “bang”.) It’s not often one sees an exclamation point in the title of a scientific paper, but the bang in one by Donald R. Lowe (Stanford) and Gary R. Byerly (Louisiana State)1 conveys […]

Amazing Facts

Human Endurance: Is It Evolutionary?

January 2, 2007

Some people are gluttons for punishment. Many a couch potato is probably content to watch an Ironman or Ultramarathon on HDTV from a recliner, but the ones who take part in the grueling endurance contests gaining popularity illustrate some human capabilities scientists are only beginning to understand. Nature1 described one called the Primal Quest adventure […]

Genetics

In Science and Politics, Expect the Unexpected

December 29, 2006

Two findings reported this month illustrate how science changes. Paradigms and policies can have their scientific underpinnings yanked out from under them, causing both consternation and opportunities for new ways of thinking. Bring back the acid rain: Pick your poison: acid rain or global warming. Acid rain was the bogeyman of the 1980s, leading to […]

Amazing Facts

Cell Zippers, Linemen and Editors Put on a Show

December 28, 2006

The golden age of cell biology continues. Scientists keep unlocking the secrets of cellular machinery with newer and better techniques. With the curtain rising on a show we could not previously imagine, played out on a stage so small it took centuries of scientific work to even see it, biochemists are discovering amazing tricks that […]

Fossils

Insects Pester Darwinian Story

December 27, 2006

It’s enough to bug any Darwinian: where did the insects come from? Here are some problems right off the bat sonar: Insects are fantastically diverse. Insects are among the most successful animals. There are no insect fossils earlier than the Devonian (evolutionary date: 410 million years ago). The earliest segmented body plans appeared in the […]

Fossils

Incredible Stasis in Evolution: What Does It Mean?

December 26, 2006

Quite often in phylogenetic research, evolutionists find examples of extreme conservation of genes or traits. How they explain the lack of change is almost as interesting as the phenomenon itself. Here are two recent examples. Your cousin the shark: Surprise: you have more in common with horn sharks than bony fishes do. Craig Venter’s international […]

Bible and Theology

Danes Found the Keys to Happiness

December 24, 2006

According to the British Medical Journal, reported EurekAlert, British scientists wanted to find out what makes the Danish so darn happy. “Their hypotheses range from the unlikely (hair colour, genes, food and language) to the more plausible, such as family life, health and a prosperous economy.” Their conclusion? Danes are happier than other Europeans because […]

Amazing Facts

How Your Brain Conducts Itself at Attention

December 22, 2006

The conductor taps the stand. All the musicians, who had been warming up or conversing with neighbors, suddenly hush and rivet their attention on the conductor. The downbeat comes, and a marvel of coordination comes to life, each skilled player contributing to a unified yet diverse exhibition of harmonious sound. Something like that […]

Amazing Facts

Plant Pores March to Their Own Beat

December 22, 2006

Plants have pores called stomata that open and close (see 09/13/2006). These gates of the leaf surface provide plant protection from invaders, and allow the transpiration of gases and water vapor in and out, depending on conditions. The stomata of many plants open wide during the day to allow in carbon dioxide, but close at […]

Birds

Big Dino Found, But How Did it Eat?

December 21, 2006

A few interesting dinosaur stories came to light this month. I was a Spanish monster: A new giant sauropod has been found in Spain, reported EurekAlert based on a paper in Science.1 Named Turiasaurus riodevensis by the discoverers, it ranks among the largest of dinosaurs and is the first giant sauropod found in Europe, weighing […]

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