20Jan 2023 by Post

Fossil Friday: Fossil Sea Cows and the Abrupt Origin of Sirenia and Desmostylia

Afrotheria, Calvert Marine Museum, common descent, Darwinism, Desmostylia, dugongids, dugongs, elephants, Embrithopoda, Eocene, Evolution, Fossil Friday, fossil record, Ishatherium subathuensis, Jamaica, Lincoln Creek Formation, mammals, manatees, Paleocene, PaleoDB, paleontology, Pezosiren, Proboscidea, protosirenids, science, sea cows, Sirenia, sirenians, Steller’s sea cow, synapomorphies, Tethytheria, Washington State, whales
So, is every thing OK with Darwinism after all? No so fast. Actually, there are some problems that do not square well with a Darwinian scenario. Source
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09Dec 2022 by Post

MicroRNAs: A New Clue About Octopus Intelligence?

apes, biology, brain, central brain, cognitive abilities, Cris Niell, crows, cuttlefish, Dogs, dolphins, elephants, Grygoriy Zolotarov, intelligence, MicroRNAs, miRNAs, nervous system, neuroscience, Neuroscience & Mind, neurotransmitters, Nikolaus Rajewsky, octopus, Oregon, RNA, science, squid, vertebrates, whales, William Rainey Harper
While octopus brains are very different from vertebrate brains, they share with vertebrates, a huge number of microRNAs. Source
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24Aug 2022 by Post

Michael Behe Debates Evolution and Catholicism

biology, Catholicism, common descent, Creation, Darwin's Black Box, Darwinian mechanisms, devolution, elephants, Evolution, faith, Faith & Science, grizzly bears, ID The Future, Intelligent Design, Lehigh University, Matthew Ramage, Michael Behe, Neo-Darwinism, Pat Flynn, Philosophy for the People, polar bears, Pope Benedict XVI, secondary causation, skepticism, theology
Dr. Behe says that his skepticism toward neo-Darwinism stemmed purely from his scientific research. Source
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29Jul 2022 by Post

Much Ado About Lactase Persistence

adulthood, Bethlehem, cattle, Darwin Devolves, Darwinian mechanism, devolution, elephants, eukaryotic cells, Evolution, genetic code, human mind, Isaac Newton, lactase, lactase persistence, lactose, loss-of-FCT, loss-of-functional-coded-element, metabolism, milk, molecular machines, mutations, nucleotides, Pennsylvania, physics, science, sugar, weaning, weather, worms
Nothing shows the feebleness of Darwinism quite so much as breathless stories about brand new results. This week the topic was “lactase persistence.” Source
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16Jun 2022 by Post

Court Rules Elephant Does Not Have Rights

activists, animal rights, animals, Bronx Zoo, Children, crime, Culture & Ethics, duties, elephants, Happy (elephant), human rights, humans, illness, immaturity, injury, judges, New York State, News Media, Nonhuman Rights Project, people, rights, slaves, sophistry, species barrier, women, writ of habeas corpus
I have written here several times about the attempt by the Nonhuman Rights Project (NHRP) to “break the species barrier.” Source
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24Jan 2020 by Post

Science Says: Evolution Explains the Appeal of Baby Yoda

Alison Gopnik, anthropology, baby, Baby Yoda, cheeks, elephants, Evolution, giant squid, Human Origins, Intelligent Design, Internet, Judith Burkart, newspaper, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, plumpness, puppies, Sarah Hrdy, storytelling, television, The Mandalorian, Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal’s weekend edition has many more opinion and “think” pieces and other soft news than the weekday version. In the mix, they almost never fail to include an article praising evolution. This is so consistent that I wonder if it’s a deliberate editorial policy. Sure enough: in last Saturday’s paper, Alison Gopnik exclaims, “Humans Evolved to Love Baby Yoda.” Well, evolution explains everything, so why wouldn’t it explain why TV viewers are going gaga for the munchkin-like character in The Mandalorian series. Primed as you are by years of having read similar articles by science writers, no doubt you are getting ready for an exercise in evolutionary storytelling. There will be a clever reference to pop culture, a citation of an article from a science journal and…
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