23Apr 2020 by Post

An Astronomer Considers the Origin of Life, with Sobering Results

abiogenesis, astronomers, biologists, biology, calculation, Chemistry, Drake equation, Erlenmeyer flask, Evolution, Fischer Scientific, inflation, inflationary universe, metaphysics, meteorites, monomers, Nature (journal), nucleotides, origin of life, Physics, Earth & Space, reagents, RNA molecules, RNA world, silver atom, snowflakes, Tomonori Totani, tooth fairy, universe, University of Tokyo
Live Science reports: Is life a gamble? Scientist models universe to find out Scientists suspect that the complex life that slithers and crawls through every nook and cranny on Earth emerged from a random shuffling of non-living matter that ultimately spit out the building blocks of life. Even so, the details to support the idea are lacking. But researchers recently got creative in figuring out the probability of life actually emerging spontaneously from such inorganic matter — a process called abiogenesis. In the study, Tomonori Totani, a professor of astrophysics at the University of Tokyo, modeled the microscopic world of molecules across the epic scale of the entire universe to see if abiogenesis is a likely candidate for the origin of life. He was essentially looking at whether there were…
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22Apr 2020 by Post

How to Restore Science’s Lost Luster

Agnes Grudniewicz, arXiv, bioRxiv, C.S. Lewis, Charles Darwin: The Power of Place, Christian Reflections, Christos A. Ouzounis, consciousness, Cornell University, De Futilitate, Economics, EMBO Report, Evolution, evolutionary anthropology, Francis Bacon, high school, history, information ecosystem, integrity, Intelligent Design, J.P. Moreland, Janet Browne, Jay Richards, Jennifer Allen, journals, laymen, March for Science, morality, Nature (journal), pandemic, peer-review, philosophy, PLOS Biology, Politicians, predatory journals, quantum chromodynamics, Science Advances, Science and Scientism, scientific conferences, scientific meetings, scientific method, scientism, scientists, Stephen Meyer, Tom Coburn, universe, Wastebook, Westworld, World War II, X Club
Scientists used to be among the most trusted individuals in society. The white lab coat marked an individual who was highly trained, very intelligent, and ultimately credible. Changes in the last century have cast severe doubt on that picture — and scientific organizations sometimes admit it themselves. Some are very worried about loss of public trust in their “expert” opinions. They should be worried. In his book Science and Scientism, J.P. Moreland helps put scientists in their place, as did C.S. Lewis before him. Moreland loves science. He trusts much of what scientists say. But he demonstrates that scientism is not credible, because it refutes itself. Many important fields of inquiry, he writes, are off-limits to science, and to the extent scientists invade areas outside their domain, their opinions have…
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20Apr 2020 by Post

Harvard Law Professor — Ban Homeschooling for “Question[ing] Science”

atheists, authoritarianism, Bible, Christians, creationism, Discovery Institute, Education, Erin O’Donnell, Evolution, evolutionary theory, Harvard Law School, Harvard Magazine, Harvard University, Home School Legal Defense Association, homeschooling, Idaho, ideologies, Intelligent Design, Kids, mind control, Newspeak, North Carolina, Parents, presumptive ban, Princeton University, prison, ProPublica, public schools, stereotyping, students, survivalists
Ban it for other reasons as well, says Professor Elizabeth Bartholet in a stunning article for Harvard Magazine. That’s right, the only form of education in the country that hasn’t been upended by the coronavirus. Well, that is a poorly timed proposal. Bartholet warns that homeschoolers are subject to child abuse, and are poorly prepared to participate in a democracy, having been oppressed by “essentially authoritarian control” by parents who are potential illiterates themselves. As depicted by Bartholet, homeschooling sounds little better than being in fundamentalist Christian prison. In fact, the illustration that goes with the article shows a girl behind bars in a house fashioned from books, on Reading, Writing, Arithmetic, and the Bible. The article, by Erin O’Donnell, attacks a homeschooling group, while (as Rod Dreher points out)…
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17Apr 2020 by Post

Squid’s Got Talent — Super-Powers Astonish Scientists

Benjamin Burford, bioluminescent organs, camouflage, cuttlefish, Dosidicus gigas, Douglas Axe, environmental clues, Evolution, giant squid, Humboldt squid, innovation, Intelligent Design, Jonathan Wells, Marine Biology Laboratory, Massachusetts, Monterey Bay Aquarium, natural selection, Nature (journal), octopuses, photophores, pigmentation, PNAS, random mutations, remotely-operated vehicle, RNA editing, School of Humanities and Sciences, selective pressure, skin, squid, Stanford University, University of Chicago, visual signals, Walter Myers, Woods Hole
They swim. They shine. They camouflage themselves. The humble squid astonishes scientists with its super-powers. Are these marine champions really the products of random mutations and natural selection? Just saying so is not convincing when you look at the facts. Ranging in size from fingerlings to sea monsters, squid look like visitors from an alien planet. So do the other main groups within cephalopods (“head-foot”), the octopuses and cuttlefish. Those cousins are no less extraordinary, but recent news and research showcase the talent of these amazing creatures. (Note: “squid” can be both singular and plural; as with fish, it’s “one squid, two squid, red squid, blue squid.” But “squids” is acceptable, especially if talking about different species. The size range of squids is enormous, from 10 centimeters to 24 meters!)…
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13Apr 2020 by Post

Zoom Webinar with Wells, Sternberg on Whale Evolution; Join Us on April 23!

bears, Binghamton University, biologists, Center for Science & Culture, Charles Darwin, Darwinism, Discovery Institute, Evolution, Florida International University, Intelligent Design, Is Homology Evidence for Evolution?, Jonathan Wells, Richard Sternberg, scientists, The Origin of Species, U.C. Berkeley, webinar, Whale of an Evolution Tale, whales, Yale University, Zoom
Darwinists often point to the whale fossil record as one of the best examples of an evolutionary transition. But is it? Charles Darwin wrote in The Origin of Species: “I can see no difficulty in a race of bears being rendered, by natural selection, more and more aquatic in their structure and habits, with larger and larger mouths, till a creature was produced as monstrous as a whale.” Bears turning into whales? Scientists today disagree, instead claiming that other land animals were the real precursors to today’s whales. “Just think of all the parameters that would have to be modified,” says biologist and Center for Science & Culture Senior Fellow Richard Sternberg, “and then multiply that by, I don’t know — a thousandfold, or more than that. That’s the scale of…
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12Apr 2020 by Post

Irreconcilable Differences: Can Darwinism Be Pasteurized?

Charles Darwin, Darwin Day in America, eugenics, Evolution, George Draper, International Medical Congress, John West, Jonathan Wells, Joshua Lederberg, Karl Pearson, Louis Pasteur, Medicine, Michael Behe, Michael Egnor, microbes, Nazism, Pasteurization, Pierre-Olivier Méthot, public health, René Dubos, Samuel Alizon, The Edge of Evolution, The Myth of Darwinian Medicine (series), Zombie Science
Editor’s note: As biologist Jonathan Wells observes, “[T]he measures being taken against the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic owe nothing to evolutionary theory.” Yet a persistent claim from evolutionists is that medical research would be crippled without a Darwinian framework. Evolution News presents a series of our previously published work addressing the myth of “Darwinian medicine.” Michael Egnor has criticized so-called “Darwinian medicine” as a useless concept, since medical science has had spectacular success without it. Darwinism is about the death of the unfit, focused on populations instead of individuals. Medicine is about healing individuals and anyone who needs help, including the unfit, the weak, and the vulnerable. How can the father of evolutionary theory, Charles Darwin, and the father of biogenesis, pasteurization and vaccines, Louis Pasteur, be reconciled? A Noble Aim In…
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11Apr 2020 by Post

Listen: Stephen Meyer on How Evolution Degrades Information

biological information, Center for Science & Culture, Discovery Institute, Evolution, Heritage Foundation, March for Science, Neo-Darwinism, science, scientism, Stephen Meyer, United States
On a classic episode of ID the Future, hear Center for Science & Culture director Stephen C. Meyer’s talk given at a 2017 event, “March for Science or March for Scientism? Understanding the Real Threats to Science in America,” hosted by Discovery Institute and the Heritage Foundation. Listen in as he discusses weaknesses in the theory of neo-Darwinism. Download the podcast or listen to it here. Photo: Stephen Meyer (screenshot), “March for Science or March for Scientism? Understanding the Real Threats to Science in America,” via YouTube. The post Listen: Stephen Meyer on How Evolution Degrades Information appeared first on Evolution News.
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10Apr 2020 by Post

No, Despite Often-Heard Claims, Antibiotic Resistance in Bacteria Is Not Evolution

Adam Gopnik, animal husbandry, antibiotic resistance, antibiotics, Artificial Selection, bacteria, Charles Darwin, doctors, Evolution, evolutionary biology, health, infectious diseases, Intelligent Design, Jonathan Wells, Los Angeles, medical care, medical research, Medicine, natural selection, On the Origin of Species, P.Z. Myers, plant breeding, superbug, The Myth of Darwinian Medicine (series), The New Yorker
Editor’s note: As biologist Jonathan Wells observes, “[T]he measures being taken against the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic owe nothing to evolutionary theory.” Yet a persistent claim from evolutionists is that medical research would be crippled without a Darwinian framework. Evolution News presents a series of our previously published work addressing the myth of “Darwinian medicine.” Darwinian biologist and blogger P.Z. Myers wrote a post in which he lamented the fact that medical researchers rarely invoke evolution in their published research, whereas evolutionary biologists routinely invoke evolution. This is of course true. I pointed out that this is because evolutionary inferences are of no significant help to medical research. Inference to evolution is a narrative gloss on the real science in medicine. It is a point that I, along with others, have been making…
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05Apr 2020 by Post

Darwinian Biologist Notices that Evolution Is Irrelevant to Medical Research

antibiotics, creation myth, creationists, doctors, Evolution, Evolution News, fairy tales, medical research, medical researchers, Medicine, narrative gloss, P.Z. Myers, Philip Skell, research papers, The Myth of Darwinian Medicine (series), thought police
Editor’s note: As biologist Jonathan Wells observes, “[T]he measures being taken against the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic owe nothing to evolutionary theory.” Yet a persistent claim from evolutionists is that medical research would be crippled without a Darwinian framework. Evolution News presents a series of our previously published work addressing the myth of “Darwinian medicine.” Darwinist P.Z. Myers is shocked that medical researchers aren’t invoking “evolution” regularly in their research papers: It’s not just creationists! It’s also MDs who avoid the “E” word. A survey of the literature found an interesting shift in usage: “The results of our survey showed a huge disparity in word use between the evolutionary biology and biomedical research literature. In research reports in journals with primarily evolutionary or genetic content, the word “evolution” was used 65.8% of…
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04Apr 2020 by Post

Why Not Darwinian Medicine?

antibiotic resistance, biology, Darwinism, Evolution, evolutionary theory, healthcare, ID The Future, Jonathan Wells, medical students, Medicine, Podcast, Ray Bohlin, The Myth of Darwinian Medicine (series)
Editor’s note: As biologist Jonathan Wells observes, “[T]he measures being taken against the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic owe nothing to evolutionary theory.” Yet a persistent claim from evolutionists is that medical research would be crippled without a Darwinian framework. Evolution News presents a series of our previously published work addressing the myth of “Darwinian medicine.” On an episode of ID the Future, host Ray Bohlin interviews fellow biologist Jonathan Wells about the interaction of evolutionary theory and medicine. Has Darwinism furthered healthcare? What about our understanding of antibiotic resistance? And might learning about evolution become a requirement for medical students? Download the podcast or listen to it here. Photo: Doctor draws blood from a patient while explaining the importance of evolution for his healing practice, by Linda Bartlett [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons.…
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