Origins – Page 274

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Editorials Lukewarm to ID, but Not as Hot to Darwin

January 31, 2005

A subtle shift seems to be taking place in media coverage of intelligent-design controversies in school boards across the country. Darwinists used to be the unchallenged kings of the hill. Alternatives, whether creationism or intelligent design, were disqualified before they reached the starting gate. It also used to be “open season” on anti-Darwinists. No vituperative […]

Origin of Life

Astrobiology: 0 Steps Forward, 3 Steps Back

January 28, 2005

Astrobiology, the science in search of a subject, has major hurdles to overcome in its quest to explain everything from hydrogen to high technology. Despite being one of the most active interdisciplinary research projects around the world (see 01/07/2005 entry), a leading researcher this week conceded that several promising leads of the past are now […]

Education

Newspaper Editorials Lead Revolt Against King Charles

January 24, 2005

Some columnists and editorial writers are gaining boldness to attack the Darwin-only rule in science education. Some examples: Senator Rick Santorum (R., Pennsylvania) in The Morning Call advocated a balanced approach to teaching evolution. Brian Fahling in The Union Leader took up the charge to defend Georgia’s “critical thinking” stickers (see 01/13/2005 entry). Neal McCluskey, […]

Education

Dover, PA Administrators Will Read ID Statement

January 11, 2005

In a compromise aimed at relieving recalcitrant teachers, the Dover, Pennsylvania school board decided that administrators will read a four-paragraph statement about evolution and intelligent design (ID) to high school students for any teachers that want to “opt out” of the new policy (see 11/04/2004 headline). The decision, according to the York Daily Record, was […]

Origin of Life

Astrobiology: Follow the Money

January 7, 2005

To date, astrobiology remains, as George Gaylord Simpson once quipped, “an area of study without a known subject.” Yet it is one of the hottest research areas within NASA. A renowned origin-of-life researcher from Scripps Institution of Oceanography, Dr. Jeffrey Bada, found out why when he read the new book The Living Universe: NASA and […]

Media

Media and Journals Conflict Over Mars Life

January 5, 2005

Timed for the one-year anniversary of the Mars Exploration Rovers, PBS aired a NOVA program last night about Spirit and Opportunity, and the teams that landed them and operated them on Mars. As is common for popular programs about Mars exploration, NOVA suggested that evidence for past water found (especially by Opportunity at Meridiani Planum) […]

Intelligent Design

ID Blog Opens

January 5, 2005

The Discovery Institute, an Intelligent Design think-tank in Seattle, has initiated a new blog, Evolution News & Views, that analyzes how evolution is presented in the media (see mission statement). One of the first entries concerns how a PBS station in New Mexico censored the showing of the film Unlocking the Mystery of Life after […]

Amazing Facts

Cellular UPS Gets Right Packages to Chloroplasts

January 1, 2005

If all your packages were sent correctly over the holidays, consider the job a plant cell has getting 3000 proteins into a chloroplast. Mistakes are not just inconvenient. They can be deadly, or at least bring photosynthesis to a halt. To guarantee proper delivery of components, plant cells have a remarkable shipping system, described in […]

Intelligent Design

Debate: Should Schools Teach the Controversy Over Darwinism?

December 14, 2004

The San Francisco Chronicle published a written debate between Stanford evolutionist Robert Sapolsky and Discovery Institute fellows Stephen Meyer and John Angus Campbell. The subject is whether schools should “teach the controversy” over evolution. Both articles can be read on the Discovery Institute website. Meanwhile, the ACLU is suing another school district, this […]

Darwin and Evolution

Introducing the Stretch & Squish Theory of Evolution

December 14, 2004

How do you squish an arm into a wing, or stretch a fin into a leg? This sounds like the silly putty theory of evolution.

Dumb Ideas

Did Martians Win the War of the Worlds?

December 14, 2004

In the H.G. Wells version, the Martian invaders with their tripod machines and death rays, wreaking havoc on Earth, were defeated by Earth bacteria. The new scientific plot envisioned by scientists, reported on Space.com, is that the Martians had the bacteria, and invaded Earth with it to either conquer Earth life or spread it onto […]

Intelligent Design

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 […]

Solar System

Mars Opportunity for Life Must Tolerate Salty Acid

December 3, 2004

The first slew of scientific papers from the Mars Exploration Rover mission appeared in Science Dec. 3,1 with the focus of interest on Opportunity’s evidence for past water at Meridiani, because Spirit found only “volcanic rock rubble and inorganic soils” in the presumed lakebed at Gusev Crater. Jeffrey Kargel (U.S. Geological Survey) sums up the […]

Origin of Life

Did Life Begin as “Failed Mineralogy” on the Seafloor?

December 3, 2004

A geologist with a lot of bluff and bluster makes the origin of life sound easy, but gets nailed by direct questions.

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