Human Evolution Puzzles & Problems
August 20, 2012
Recent stories on human evolution continue to illustrate ongoing problems that overturn long-held beliefs.
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Rocks Don’t Lie, But Liars Rock
August 14, 2012
A geologist, trying to be nice to religious people, not only deals fast and loose with rock, but rolls into circular reasoning.
Brazil's Islands in the Sky Defy Evolution
August 9, 2012
Isolated table mountains with sheer cliffs in South America should be natural laboratories for evolution. Why aren't they?
Palm Trees Thrived in Antarctica
August 2, 2012
Evidence for tropical trees has been found 5 km deep off the coast of Antarctica.
Volcano Tour Planned
July 10, 2012
A key researcher of the catastrophic geology at Mt. St. Helens is leading hikes on the volcano next month.
Are Two Cambrian Explosions Better than One?
July 9, 2012
Something seems wrong with this picture: deep sea creatures living in the dark were preserved in ash from a land volcano.
Stellar Dust Disk Vanishes in 3 Years
July 7, 2012
According to widely accepted theory, planets evolve from orbiting dust disks surrounding stars. If so, planets trying to form in the dust around one young star didn't have much time. The disk evaporated within 3 years.
Dinosaur Feather Story Gets Hairy
July 2, 2012
Another "feathered dinosaur" story has caused a flap and flurry of news reports. But are they really feathers, and do they help evolutionary theory?
Scientific Markers Can Mislead
June 26, 2012
In historical sciences, observable phenomena are often used as indicators of past phenomena. Some recent examples show how these can mislead researchers.
Mating Turtles Fossilized Instantly
June 19, 2012
Evolutionary paleontologists have a mystery on their hands: how did turtles in the act of mating become fossilized?
Titan Lake News: Throwing Caution to the Wind
June 15, 2012
Planetary scientists cautiously suggested the possible presence of an equatorial lake on Saturn's moon Titan. You wouldn't know that from the headlines.
Neanderthal-Heidelberg Distinction Blurs
June 14, 2012
"Heidelberg Man" has been a modern name imposed on certain fossil humans that have been unable to speak for themselves. Now, their bones appear to overlap with Neanderthals. But don't modern humans have Neanderthal DNA? Do the distinctions make any sense?
Too Hot to Handle: Io and Enceladus
June 12, 2012
Two moons in the solar system are turning up the heat on beliefs that they could be billions of years old.
Geology of the Gaps: Dolomite
June 9, 2012
Dolomite, a common rock minerals of the world, suffers from an "explanation gap."