Issues – Page 204

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Embryonic Stem Cells Left in iPS Dust

May 23, 2011

A few years ago, scientists were clamoring for access to human embryos for stem cell research. Now, the discovery of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS) from human skin and other adult tissues has sidetracked interest in embryonic stem cells. The momentum is clearly going with iPS. Is there any longer a need for embryonic stem cell research? (includes 9 bullet topics)

Bible and Theology

Does Science Belong Here?

May 19, 2011

Scientists continue to insert their particular methods and viewpoints into every aspect of life, but questions might be raised about the validity of their findings and the propriety of scientists acting as advisors on moral and political questions. Happiness science: Advice found online: “the best way to increase your happiness is to stop worrying about […]

Darwin and Evolution

Dinosaur Classification Is a Mess

May 13, 2011

Are there a thousand species of dinosaurs – or far fewer? John Horner, a dinosaur hunter himself, thinks the classification is a mess and wants to clean it up. According to Science Magazine News Horner is worred that “with almost 1000 types of dinosaurs on record and a new species being named somewhere in the […]

Issues

Science Out of Touch

May 11, 2011

When science became a profession instead of an avocation, there were some unintended consequences. Scientists began to lose touch with the public. When a scientist goes to work doing science for a living, he or she sometimes takes public support for granted, thinking the work is justified for its own sake. Recent articles, however, warn […]

Astronomy

Spiral Galaxy Upset

May 4, 2011

In 1964, C. C. Lin and Frank Shu looked at the galaxy’s curvaceous arms and said, “You are my density.” The density-wave theory of spiral arm formation was married to galactic astronomy for nearly a half century. Now, however, we are back to the future, where theories do not always fulfill their destiny. An upstart […]

Philosophy of Science

Colorado Plateau Uplift: Solved?

May 3, 2011

In Nature, a team of geologists from four universities has proposed a new model for how the Colorado Plateau rose up over a mile from its surroundings.1 Based on seismic data, they propose a “mantle drip” mechanism by which parts of the lower crust dropped into the mantle, replaced by upwelling magma that condensed and […]

Darwin and Evolution

Evolution Bends to Fit the Evidence

May 2, 2011

A good scientific theory should predict what is observed. When the theory is confronted with unexpected evidence, should the theory be jettisoned or modified?

Cell Biology

Embryonic Stem Cell Decision Overturned

April 30, 2011

Judge Lamberth’s decision to block federal funding of embryonic stem cell (ESC) research last fall (09/03/2010) has been overturned by a 2-1 vote in a federal appeals court. PhysOrg called this a “major victory to President Barack Obama’s administration.” Theistic evolutionist Francis Collins, head of the NIH, expressed delight at the reversal. The earlier decision […]

Bible and Theology

Humans As Guinea Pigs

April 27, 2011

Some scientists like to examine everything except themselves. Human beings are natural objects, they think; why not apply the scientific method to the study of other human beings? It’s a perfectly natural inclination; the question is whether the findings have scientific validity, or result in understanding of human nature better than the explanations offered by […]

Cosmology

Was Einstein Wrong?

April 25, 2011

Relativity and quantum mechanics are among the weirdest ideas that educated people have taken seriously. They required suspending belief in the most intuitive concepts we have of time, space, and matter. But just because they appear to work does not necessarily mean they are true. In fact, physicists continue to beat on one or the […]

Bible and Theology

Are Earthquakes Increasing?

April 22, 2011

The recent rash of deadly earthquakes has many people asking: is this unusual? Have the frequency and intensity of earthquakes been increasing in recent years? Geologists secular and theistic have weighed in on the question. Two reporters at Live Science (Live Science #1 and Live Science #2) took up the issue and quoted […]

Bible and Theology

Scientists Invade Religion

April 21, 2011

Science and religion, those uneasy combatants in turf wars, do not get equal treatment in the media. The referees in the science news media frequently overlook invasions by science into religious territory, but fail to heed calls of foul by the invaded. World religion: Last month in New Scientist, Kate Douglas theorized about what an […]

Astronomy

Upsets in Space

April 18, 2011

Three different astronomy teams have announced findings that upset long-held beliefs. What does this portend about the confidence we can have in other theories? Galaxy growth: direct challenge: “Galaxies are thought to develop by the gravitational attraction between and merger of smaller ‘sub-galaxies’, a process that standard cosmological ideas suggest should be ongoing,” announced the […]

Bible and Theology

Secular Science Analyzes Jesus

April 17, 2011

In a classic religion-vs-science confrontation, Live Science took on the question, “Jesus Christ the Man: Does the Physical Evidence Hold Up?” The answer may say more about science than about Jesus. To begin with, reporter Natalie Wolchover drew distinctions between scientific evidence and belief – as if evidence requires no belief or assumption […]

Darwin and Evolution

Evolutionary Language Lingo Contradictory

April 16, 2011

Human language is such a unique feature of our species, it would seem to defy evolutionary explanations. Can evolutionists take this living phenomenon and fit it into a historical narrative? A couple of papers in leading journals attempted to do so. Are their conclusions the only ones that can be drawn from the evidence? […]

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