Intelligent Design

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Intelligent Design Evidence Convinces Atheist of Designer

December 9, 2004

According to an AP report on ABC News, a famous British atheist now believes in God based on scientific evidence. “At age 81, after decades of insisting belief is a mistake, Antony Flew has concluded that some sort of intelligence or first cause must have created the universe. A super-intelligence is the only good explanation […]

Intelligent Design

Nature Takes Note of Religious Influence

December 9, 2004

The surprisingly strong show of support for moral issues in the recent U.S. election has been the talk of the news for weeks now, and Big Science can’t ignore it. “The voices of religion are more prominent and influential than they have been for many decades,” begins a prominent editorial in Nature1 Dec. 9, entitled […]

Origin of Life

Origin-of-Life Expert Jokes about Becoming a Creationist

November 5, 2004

Chemist admits problems in chemical evolution are so hard, he is tempted to become a creationist.

Cell Biology

Bacterial Flagellum Reveals New Structural Complexity

October 27, 2004

The bacterial flagellum, the unofficial mascot of the Intelligent Design movement, got more praise from the evolutionary journal Nature this week: Samatey et al.1 analyzed the hook region in detail and found that it is composed of 120 copies of a specialized protein that “reveals the intricate molecular interactions and a plausible switching mechanism for […]

Intelligent Design

DNA Coding Multiplies in Complexity

October 27, 2004

As if the discovery that DNA is a language translation system was not enough to challenge evolutionary theories, it is becoming increasing clear that DNA is a code operated by another code. Science on Oct. 221 had a feature on gene regulation, which writer Elizabeth Pennisi termed “Genome’s Second Code.” She began, “The genome has […]

Cell Biology

News Nuggets

October 12, 2004

Here’s a collection of news items that deserve quick notice: Mars Rumbles: Mars still has minor earthquakes, says Space.com, That’s without plate tectonics, “But scientists don’t know exactly how Mars is constructed.” The Mars Exploration Rovers, meanwhile, awaking from a winter’s nap, are still gathering science data long past their expected lifetime. Evidence for past […]

Health

Another Thing to Worry About: Synthetic Biology

October 11, 2004

Philip Ball is no alarmist, but as consultant editor of Nature,1 he had sobering words last week about things that could go wrong in the new field of synthetic biology, where scientists are tinkering with cells to create artificial life forms: The expanding toolbox of ways to re-engineer microbes – and even construct new ones […]

Intelligent Design

Update: Intelligent Design Paper

September 24, 2004

The controversy over Stephen Meyer’s intelligent design paper (see 09/16/2004 headline) continues. Science printed a brief but dismissive news item claiming its publication was a mistake, but journal editor Rick Sternberg has answered the charges on his personal website. Meyer has responded to criticisms leveled by Richard Monastersky in the Chronicle of Education. The Discovery […]

Cell Biology

Cell Exhibits Robust Engineering Design

September 22, 2004

Cells are so good at robustness against perturbations and uncertainty, engineers could well learn from their design principles.

Amazing Facts

Introducing: The Spinach Cell Phone

September 21, 2004

The next spinach sandwich you hear about may not be an item at the health food bar but an electronic device powered by the sun. According to an MIT press release, chloroplasts from spinach leaves have been successfully sandwiched into a solid-state electronic photocell that could be used before long to power cell phones and […]

Amazing Facts

Termites: If You Cant Lick Em, Mimic Em

September 21, 2004

Termites, despite their bad rap, have something to teach human homebuilders. Their mounds are self-sufficient, air-conditioned, environmentally friendly and cheap to run, according to a story in EurekAlert. “The mounds incorporate a complicated network of tunnels and air conduits designed to channel air flow for the control of internal air quality, temperature and moisture levels.” […]

Intelligent Design

Discovery of Transfer RNA Recounted

September 16, 2004

In the Sept. 16 issue of Nature,1 Mahlon Hoagland recounts how he did the key experiment in 1957 that proved DNA used “soluble RNA” intermediates, later named transfer RNA (tRNA), on the way to protein synthesis in the ribosome, only to find that Francis Crick had predicted the existence of such intermediates. By this time […]

Amazing Facts

Peering Into Paleys Black Box: The Gears of the Biological Clock

September 15, 2004

William Paley’s famous “watchmaker argument” for the existence of a Designer, though intuitively logical to many, has been criticized by naturalists on the grounds that one cannot compare mechanical devices to biological ones. Biological “contrivances” might operate on totally different principles than mechanical ones made by humans we know. Michael Behe’s 1996 book […]

Intelligent Design

Nature Says ID Paper Scored a Publishing Success

September 8, 2004

A news story in the Sept. 9 issue of Nature1 says, “A new front has opened up in the battle between scientists and advocates of intelligent design, a theory that rejects evolution and is regarded by its critics as another term for creationism.” Reporter Jim Giles says the paper by Stephen Meyer of the Discovery […]

Intelligent Design

Are We Lost on a Speck of Cosmic Dust?

September 1, 2004

A new Copernican revolution seems to be in the works, not another “demotion” of man from the center of the universe, but a promotion back to the ancient idea of plan or purpose for our existence. The demotions reached their nadir with Carl Sagan’s Cosmos and other books that declared we are nothing special, that […]

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