Origins – Page 279

VIEW HEADLINES ONLY

ATP Synthase: Another Unexpected Case of Fine Tuning

August 10, 2004

ATP synthase, the miniature rotary motor that powers our cells, has been a subject of great interest since the elucidation of its rotary function won three scientists a Nobel prize in 1997. As an example of a precision-crafted, true electric rotary motor in living systems (another being the larger bacterial flagellum), it also provides a […]

Origin of Life

A Martian Crust: Was It Alive?

August 9, 2004

David McKay, the father of the Martian meteorite that started feverish debates about life on Mars in 1996, is at it again. Now he thinks a mat of crusty soil was made by microbes, according to Space.Com. In spite of the salty, acidic soil (see 08/06/04 headline), Gilbert Levin, also interviewed by Space.Com, […]

Cell Biology

Cell Nucleus Complexity Baffles Evolutionists

August 6, 2004

In her inimitable way, Science reporter Elizabeth Pennisi has once again portrayed a scientific controversy undergoing active ferment. This time it’s about the evolutionary origin of cell nuclei, which she terms “specialized, DNA-filled command centers.”1 At the conclusion, she gives prominence to a “provocative, but circumstantial and controversial” suggestion that viruses taught cells how to […]

Education

Kansas Elects Two ID-Friendly School Board Members

August 6, 2004

According to John Calvert writing for Access Research Network, Kansans defeated two pro-evolution candidates for the state school board, electing instead Kathy Martin and Steve Abrams who both oppose the “evolution-only” policy. Martin won against Bruce Wyatt, an incumbent who based his entire campaign on the need to keep intelligent design or creation […]

Cell Biology

Gymnastic Enzyme Acts Like Logic Gate

July 31, 2004

An enzyme named vinculin undergoes “drastic” conformational changes, reports William A. Weis in the July 29 issue of Nature.1 Vinculin, with over a thousand amino acid links, is important at membrane junctions for transporting materials in and out of the cell. It helps cellular “glue” exit the membrane so that neighboring cells can adhere to […]

Education

In the Last Days There Shall Be Scoffers

July 28, 2004

Current Biology this week contains two entries either attacking creationism or exalting Charles Darwin.1,2 Nigel Williams reports on the 100th birthday of Ernst Mayr (see 07/02/2004 headline), and his “tireless campaign against creationism”: Ernst Mayr, the renowned evolutionary biologist and champion of Darwin, celebrated his 100th birthday earlier this month by leading a scathing attack […]

Astronomy

Tau Ceti a Star for Life to Avoid

July 6, 2004

Tau Ceti, a star with a dust disk astronomers had hoped might be an example of a planetary system under construction, is more like a war zone. A press release from the Royal Observatory calls it “Asteroid Alley – an Inhospitable Neighbor.” Using the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope in Hawaii, the astronomers detected 10 times […]

Cell Biology

Cell Technology Celebrated

July 1, 2004

Humans are just beginning to imitate the manufacturing techniques cells use all the time, right under our noses. A book just came out about the subject, entitled Bionanotechnology: Lessons from Nature by David S. Goodsell. It’s hard to tell if Christof M. Niemeyer was more impressed with the book or with the living machines themselves, […]

Cosmology

ID Book Survives Nature Relatively Unscathed

June 24, 2004

Considering the intemperate disdain intelligent design books usually receive from the major journals – when they are even noticed (see, for example, Nature’s review of a book by William Dembski in the 07/11/2002 headline) – a new ID book fared surprisingly well this week. In Nature1 June 24, Douglas A. Vakoch (SETI Institute) reviewed the […]

Origin of Life

Mystery of the Left-Handed Proteins: Solved?

June 21, 2004

Some molecules come in left- and right-handed forms that are mirror images of each other. All biological proteins are composed of only left-handed amino acids. How this could have come about in a primordial soup has long been a puzzle to origin-of-life researchers, since both L (levo, left-handed) and D (dextro, right-handed) forms react indiscriminately. […]

Botany

Fungi Supply Plant Communities With Underground Nutrient Pipeline

June 17, 2004

Dig up a cubic yard of soil, and you may have disturbed 12,000 miles of an extensive network of passageways that supply plant roots with carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus.

Dumb Ideas

NASA-Ames Gives Darwin Credit for Antenna Design Project

June 16, 2004

A press release from NASA-Ames Research Center claims, “NASA ‘Evolutionary’ Software Automatically Designs Antenna.” Using artificial intelligence software, their approach converged on the best design. The article explains: “The AI software examined millions of potential antenna designs before settling on a final one,” said project lead Jason Lohn, a scientist at NASA’s Ames Research Center, […]

Intelligent Design

Gene Regulation: When Nonsense Makes Perfect Sense

June 3, 2004

Nature June 31 reports on another use for “junk DNA.” A portion of previously-considered “nonsense” genetic code, which does not produce a protein as does a gene, nevertheless has an important role: it regulates the expression of the neighboring gene. This opens a whole new realm of function for portions of our genetic material that […]

Astronomy

Young Planet Around Young Star Claimed

May 28, 2004

A star estimated to be one million years old already has a planet in orbit around it, the Spitzer Space Telescope (Hubble’s counterpart for infrared astronomy) has found. Astrobiology Magazine says this challenges old theories. Alan Boss (Carnegie Institute) thinks this supports his disk-instability model for planetary formation, in which gas giants can form quickly, […]

Cell Biology

Cell Requires Two Keys to Let Cargo Pass

May 13, 2004

For high-security environments, guards sometimes require two independent authentication methods. Before humans came up with this trick, the cells in their bodies were already using it. Itoh and Camilli explain in the May 13 issue of Nature:1 Our cells contain a series of distinct compartments that do different jobs and have different properties. The membranes […]

All Posts by Date

[archives type="yearly" cat_id="17"]