Sermons From Science Oct 2013 2013 10 Sermons

Sermons From Science -- Oct 2013 科学布道-2013年 10月 Sermons from Science is now published in both You. Tube under the name “Pastor Chui” and also in Power. Point slides in the website http: //Christ. Center. Gospel. org. The contents of this presentation were taken from Dave Coppedge’s website http: //crev. info. May God have all the glory. Let us pray for Dave Coppedge’s fast recovery from cancer surgery. Pastor Chui http: //Christ. Center. Gospel. org ckchui 1@yahoo. com

Shocking Facts About Electric Life 令人震惊的事实关于有电的生命 Talk about power plants: did you know plants use electricity? Some fish, also, can navigate or stun their prey using electrical organs. n Power plants: Nature discussed how electrical signals are propagated in plants. The Venus flytrap and “sensitive plant” come to mind as spectacular examples of non-muscular leaf movement triggered by electricity, but there’s more: n

Shocking Facts About Electric Life 令人震惊的事实关于有电的生命 n The mammalian nervous system can relay electrical signals at speeds approaching 100 metres per second. Plants live at a slower pace. Although they lack a nervous system, some plants, such as the mimosa (Mimosa pudica) and the Venus flytrap (Dionaea muscipula), use electrical signals to trigger rapid leaf movements. Signal propagation in these plants occurs at a rate of 3 centimetres per second — comparable to that observed in the nervous system of mussels. On page 422 of this issue, Mousavi et al. address the fascinating yet elusive issue of how plants generate and propagate electrical signals. The authors identify two glutamate-receptor-like proteins as crucial components in the induction of an electrical wave that is initiated by leaf wounding and that spreads to neighbouring organs, prompting them to mount defence responses to a potential herbivore attack.

Shocking Facts About Electric Life 令人震惊的事实关于有电的生命 n Who would have thought that cutting a leaf would send an electrical alarm? Experiments on common thale cress showed no response when a larva walked on a leaf, but an electrical signal spreading at 9 cm per minute when eaten. “The relay of the electrical signal was most efficient for leaves directly above or below the wounded leaf, ” the article said. “These leaves are well connected by the plant vasculature, which conducts water and organic compounds, and is a good candidate for the transmission of signals over long distances. ” Receipt of the signal turned on gene expression for defense compounds. “These fascinating observations clearly demonstrate that electrical signal generation and propagation have a crucial role in the initiation of defence responses at remote sites upon herbivore attack. ”

Shocking Facts About Electric Life 令人震惊的事实关于有电的生命 n The authors of the original paper did not discuss evolution, other than to speculate that “a deeply conserved function for these genes might be to link damage perception to distal protective responses. ” If so, this function must have “existed before the divergence of animals and plants. ”

Shocking Facts About Electric Life 令人震惊的事实关于有电的生命 n Wired fish: Two more electric fish species have been found in the Amazon basin, but they appear to be wired differently. One is biphasic or “AC” like most others, but another is monophasic like “DC”. The article on Science Daily looked for evolutionary reasons why this might be so, but the interesting thing is that “these weakly fishes produce pulses of only a few hundred millivolts from an organ under the body that extends out onto a filamentous tail. ” Too weak to stun prey like the jolts from the famous electric eel, the pulses are read by other members of the species, and by the opposite sex, for communication. The fish also use them “to ‘electrolocate’ through their complex aquatic environment at night. ” As for evolution, the two fish are so similar as to be classified as the same species except for the differences in electrical phase of their signals.

Shocking Facts About Electric Life 令人震惊的事实关于有电的生命 n So many ways of receiving input from the world: touch, sight, sound, smell, taste, and now electricity. The living world is a marvel of interactions between organism and environment. Each sense is exquisitely designed and useful to the organism. Elegant systems are not the result of blind, unguided processes. We believe that viewing them as designed systems would energize research, both to seek understanding of superior design, and to desire to imitate it for improved engineering. The real science stopper is to assume, “Oh, it just evolved. It evolved because it evolved”– a soporific response possessing a dormitive virtue (cartoon and 5/25/05 commentary)

n Gloria Deo 愿荣耀归上帝

Sermons From Science -- Oct 2013 科学布道-2013年 10月 Sermons from Science is now published in both You. Tube under the name “Pastor Chui” and also in Power. Point slides in the website http: //Christ. Center. Gospel. org. The contents of this presentation were taken from Dave Coppedge’s website http: //crev. info. May God have all the glory. Let us pray for Dave Coppedge’s fast recovery from cancer surgery. Pastor Chui http: //Christ. Center. Gospel. org ckchui 1@yahoo. com

Darwin Fumbles 达尔文摸索着 n n 154 years after Darwin’s Origin of Species, evolutionists say they still do not understand the origin of species. In addition, they’ve lost most of whatever data they had. An article on Science Daily says evolutionists still haven’t left: Darwin referred to the origin of species as “that mystery of mysteries, ” and even today, more than 150 years later, evolutionary biologists cannot fully explain how new animals and plants arise. Maybe they can take refuge in that phrase, “cannot fully explain” the answer. Maybe they can partly or mostly explain it. The article does not allow that reprieve. It’s even worse than not knowing: things they thought they knew are not true:

Darwin Fumbles 达尔文摸索着 n n n For decades, nearly all research in the field has been based on the assumption that the main cause of the emergence of new species, a process called speciation, is the formation of barriers to reproduction between populations…. But now a University of Michigan biologist and a colleague are questioning the long-held assumption that genetic reproductive barriers, also known as reproductive isolation, are a driving force behind speciation. Rabosky and Matute were “surprised” by the results of their study. Looking at two-thirds of bird species and 9 fruit fly species, they expected to see a correlation between speciation rates and genetic markers of reproductive isolation.

Darwin Fumbles 达尔文摸索着 n “We found no evidence that these things are related. The rate at which genetic reproductive barriers arise does not predict the rate at which new species form in nature, ” Rabosky said. “If these results are true more generally — which we would not yet claim but do suspect — it would imply that our understanding of species formation is extremely incomplete because we’ve spent so long studying the wrong things, due to this erroneous assumption that the main cause of species formation is the formation of barriers to reproduction. ”

Darwin Fumbles 达尔文摸索着 n n They said evolutionists’ “understanding” is not just incomplete, but “extremely incomplete. ” Another example cited on Evolution News & Views shows that foraminifera do not fit the reproductive-isolation– speciation pattern. Since speciation and reproductive isolation appear uncorrelated, a “broader definition” of speciation is needed, they said. In addition, so-called “speciation genes probably play a minimal role in the formation of species, ” they said. All they could do was speculate that maybe most species, after splitting, go extinct, leaving no evidence in the fossil record. The press release from University of Michigan is entitled, “Long-held assumption about emergence of new species questioned. ”

Darwin Fumbles 达尔文摸索着 n n Whoops, We Lost Our Evidence Meanwhile, Darwin’s tree has other problems, Science Daily said: holes. Large portions of work on the “tree of life” have been lost, a paper in PLo. S Biology reported, because of lack of data accessibility. “Given that reproducibility is a pillar of scientific research, the preservation of scientific knowledge (underlying data) is of paramount importance, ” the authors began, warning that lack of reproducibility and evidential support for the Tree of Life project threatens to label it as “soft science, ” putting trust in the word of scientists instead of the actual data:

Darwin Fumbles 达尔文摸索着 n Perhaps more importantly, we call for a shift in thinking among all evolutionary biologists who rely on the power of phylogenetics to test hypotheses and make inferences. It is crucial for this broad discipline to consider the alignments and phylogenies themselves as key data that require appropriate storage for study reproducibility and data integration. … The biological community has lost most of the alignments and trees underlying the numerous phylogenetic analyses conducted over the past several decades—we should strive to do much better in the years ahead.

Darwin Fumbles 达尔文摸索着 n Science Daily says that most of the data has been “lost forever” from publications that referred to the data but did not store it so that it could be crosschecked. “There ambiguities with the alignments, you have to make certain judgment calls, and so an alignment that I do is not going to be the same as an alignment that somebody else does, ” lead author Bryan Drew said, based on a study of over 7, 000 papers that found “about 70 percent of published genetic sequence comparisons are not publicly accessible, leaving researchers worldwide unable to get to critical data they may need” for their own comparisons.

Darwin Fumbles 达尔文摸索着 n Can you think of a more pitiful example in the history of science of a majority of eminent scientists believing things that prove not to be true, teaching falsehoods for over a century, and then carelessly losing most of the data that supposedly supports its core beliefs? What a sham that shaman Charlie started. He wrote a book on “the origin of species” but 154 years later, his disciples are still behind Square One! It would be funny if it weren’t for the fact that textbook makers, documentary producers, and educators worship at Charlie’s shrine.

Darwin Fumbles 达尔文摸索着 n The law require that this monstrous “mystery” religion (with its long-standing “mystery of mysteries, ” the “origin of species by means of natural selection”), with its racist implications (“the preservation of favored races in the struggle for life”) be taught as fact, FACT in public schools—no alternatives allowed.

Darwin Fumbles 达尔文摸索着 n Not only do they keep going bankrupt and landing in jail on their own Monopoly board, they won’t let anyone else play; whoever tries is persecuted and expelled. If you aren’t yet angry at the damage done by the Charlietans for 154 years, you need to take a refresher course in righteous indignation. One thing you can do about it is spread the outreach of Creation-Evolution Headlines, where we expose these frauds with their own words. They don’t have a data storage problem; they have an integrity problem. Time for regime change.

n Gloria Deo 愿荣耀归上帝

Sermons From Science -- Oct 2013 科学布道-2013年 10月 Sermons from Science is now published in both You. Tube under the name “Pastor Chui” and also in Power. Point slides in the website http: //Christ. Center. Gospel. org. The contents of this presentation were taken from Dave Coppedge’s website http: //crev. info. May God have all the glory. Let us pray for Dave Coppedge’s fast recovery from cancer surgery. Pastor Chui http: //Christ. Center. Gospel. org ckchui 1@yahoo. com

Scientists’ Letter Challenges PZ Myers’ Revisionism 科学家们的信挑战PZ Myers的修正主 n In a letter to Nature, three scientists set the record 义 n straight about theology and science, after atheist P. Z. Myers got off with only a mild rebuke in a previous book review. Glenn Branch gave a fairly genteel review of The Happy Atheist by PZ Myers last month in Nature (Aug. 8). In response, Robert White (U of Cambridge), George Ellis (U of Cape Town; see mention in ENV) and Denis Alexander (Faraday Institute; see mention in ENV, an evolution defender, ENV) – no friends of creationism or intelligent design – decided to write Nature and list a few of the “religious believers” who founded modern science.

Scientists’ Letter Challenges PZ Myers’ Revisionism 科学家们的信挑战PZ Myers的修正主 Earth creationists are easy to lampoon (see G. 义Young Branch Nature 500, 149; 2013). However, using reasoned n n arguments might hold more sway with the US creationist movement. PZ Myers, author of The Happy Atheist (which Branch reviewed), should remember that the majority of those who helped to establish the disciplines that we now practise as modern science were religious believers, including Nicolaus Copernicus, Rene Descartes, Blaise Pascal, Robert Boyle, Isaac Newton, Carl Linnaeus, Edward Jenner, Michael Faraday, Charles Babbage, Joseph Lister, William Thomson and Arthur Stanley Eddington — to name but a few, and excluding a long list of contemporary names. Half of the 10 most influential scientists of the past 350 years chosen for the Royal Society’s commemorative stamps in 2010 were religious believers.

Scientists’ Letter Challenges PZ Myers’ Revisionism 科学家们的信挑战PZ Myers的修正主 义Branch had, indeed, lampooned creationists in spirit with n n Myers. These three scientists, though, wanted to make sure he was not dissing “religious belief” in general. We take this opportunity for you to read some of our biographies of these great scientists by clicking their names. Some of them were not just “religious believers” but strong Christians who studied the Bible and trusted its authority. White, Ellis and Alexander would not wish to associate with “creationists” or even advocates of intelligent design, but they don’t want to support atheism, either – especially the brand advocated by foulmouthed PZ Myers, who made a fool of himself on Ray Comfort’s Evolution vs God video by saying human beings are fish.

Scientists’ Letter Challenges PZ Myers’ Revisionism 科学家们的信挑战PZ Myers的修正主 n 义It may be “easy” to lampoon creationists, but looking at all the Stupid Evolution Quotes of the Week on this site, and the many foolish things the Darwin disciples say every day (see most recent example of hundreds), who would not be embarrassed to hang with that crowd? If Charlie worshipers wish to parade their naked emperor in public, day after day, they lampoon themselves without our help. But to believe an intelligent, allwise Creator made the order and complexity we see in nature, and told us what He did, why should that be a subject of scorn? Well, look what they did to Jesus; don’t be surprised.

Scientists’ Letter Challenges PZ Myers’ Revisionism 科学家们的信挑战PZ Myers的修正主 n 义One thing we can agree with these theistic evolutionists on: “using reasoned arguments might hold more sway with the US creationist movement. ” Great idea! When do they start? We dare anyone to lampoon this month’s featured scientist, Raymond Damadian, inventor of the MRI scanner – a Bible-believing creationist. Millions owe their lives to his intelligent design.

n Gloria Deo 愿荣耀归上帝

Sermons From Science -- Oct 2013 科学布道-2013年 10月 Sermons from Science is now published in both You. Tube under the name “Pastor Chui” and also in Power. Point slides in the website http: //Christ. Center. Gospel. org. The contents of this presentation were taken from Dave Coppedge’s website http: //crev. info. May God have all the glory. Let us pray for Dave Coppedge’s fast recovery from cancer surgery. Pastor Chui http: //Christ. Center. Gospel. org ckchui 1@yahoo. com

Solomon Corroborated: It’s His Copper Mine 所罗门证实了：这是他的铜矿场 n Copper mines in the Aravah of Israel were n most likely Solomon’s property, not the Egyptians’, new date estimates show, supporting the Biblical chronology. “Proof of Solomon’s Mines in Israel” reads a headline on Phys. Org. The famous copper mines of Timna, a national park in Israel near Eilat on the Red Sea, have been re-dated to the time of Solomon by radiocarbon testing of date and olive pits. More detail is on the Haaretz website for subscribers.

Solomon Corroborated: It’s His Copper Mine 所罗门证实了：这是他的铜矿场 n The new date swings the pendulum from the “Egyptian paradigm” that claims they were bronze-age mines when Egypt controlled Canaan, back to the “Solomonic paradigm” that the mines were indeed “King Solomon’s mines, ” or at least were in operation during his reign. Powerful king that he was, it seems reasonable that he was in control of the extensive mining operation.

Solomon Corroborated: It’s His Copper Mine 所罗门证实了：这是他的铜矿场 n The re-evaluation also sheds light on the copper works in Edom. Todd Bolen on Bible Places Blog reserves judgment on who owned the mines, but notes that the Edomites were subjects of Solomon and could have worked the mines to pay tribute. Noting the reversal of fortune of advocates for the Egyptian paradigm, he said,

Solomon Corroborated: It’s His Copper Mine 所罗门证实了：这是他的铜矿场 n “If I had time, it would be interesting to go back n n through the literature and review the statements of those who used the absence of evidence at Timna from Solomon’s time as evidence against the biblical account. Once again we see why we should hold to the assured results of archaeological research lightly. ” An open-access copy of the archaeologists’ report on BASOR is available here. Another example that if you wait long enough, claims doubting the historicity of the Biblical account get falsified.

n Gloria Deo 愿荣耀归上帝

Sermons From Science -- Oct 2013 科学布道-2013年 10月 Sermons from Science is now published in both You. Tube under the name “Pastor Chui” and also in Power. Point slides in the website http: //Christ. Center. Gospel. org. The contents of this presentation were taken from Dave Coppedge’s website http: //crev. info. May God have all the glory. Let us pray for Dave Coppedge’s fast recovery from cancer surgery. Pastor Chui http: //Christ. Center. Gospel. org ckchui 1@yahoo. com

Mars Panspermia a Sign of Desperation 火星生源说是绝望的标志 n A second article proposes life began on Mars, n prompting some observers to point out the failures of naturalistic origin-of-life theories. After Steven Benner proposed Mars for the origin of ribose last month (“You Are Not a Martian, ” 8/28/13), Christopher Adcock (U of Nevada) pointed out another problem with Earth-based life: phosphate doesn’t dissolve readily in water here (see New Scientist and Space. com). Since Martian phosphates dissolve more readily, maybe life originated on Mars. New Scientist was quick to point out a contradiction:

Mars Panspermia a Sign of Desperation 火星生源说是绝望的标志 n “Both studies have brought renewed attention to the idea that life on Earth was seeded from space, a theory known as panspermia. “However, they can’t both be right. One idea requires Mars to be covered in liquid water, while the other needs it to be as dry as a desert. ”

Mars Panspermia a Sign of Desperation 火星生源说是绝望的标志 n The two articles revealed a little-known difficulty with n origin-of-life research: the “phosphate problem. ” Adcock had nothing but the possibility that phosphate, an essential ingredient in life as we know it, dissolves much more readily on Mars than on Earth because of its chemical form. Space. com quotes him, “I don’t think our results have any direct bearing on theory that terrestrial life may have begun first on Mars, other than that our results suggest phosphate for potential biologic reactions may have been more available on Mars — that the ‘phosphate problem’ may not have been as significant there, ” Adcock said. …

Mars Panspermia a Sign of Desperation 火星生源说是绝望的标志 n “We haven’t discovered life on Mars, nor have n we presented evidence that it existed there, ” Adcock cautioned. “However, we have shown that one potential roadblock for life to arise on Mars may not be such a roadblock after all. ” New Scientist pointed out the contradiction in Martian environments favored by Benner and Adcock, then caught Benner admitting that the phosphate problem and the ribose problem both rule out the origin of life on Earth, despite his warm feelings:

Mars Panspermia a Sign of Desperation 火星生源说是绝望的标志 n Benner is more sanguine about the situation. He n says that Adcock’s team is looking at Martian chemistry for the same reason he is: to solve a chemical problem that geologists tell us could not have been solved on early Earth. “Just like RNA requires ribose, it also requires phosphate. Just as geologists tell us that we cannot get conditions on early Earth where ribose could have accumulated, they tell us that we cannot get conditions on early Earth where phosphate is soluble. So our two papers go in the same direction, ” he says.

Mars Panspermia a Sign of Desperation 火星生源说是绝望的标志 n National Geographic weighed in on this dilemma on Sept. 5. Writer Mark Kaufman noted Benner’s contention that ribose (essential for the proposed “RNA world”) falls apart in water, and can only be found in dry environments with boron—yet boron was too scarce on Earth. Then he notes the “phosphate problem” raised by Adcock. He put two and two together to raise “the big cosmic question” – where did life come from?

Mars Panspermia a Sign of Desperation n 火星生源说是绝望的标志 The reemergence of theory of panspermia is n intertwined with progress (or lack of progress) in a long-term scientific quest to find out how life began on Earth, a question that synthetic biology experts such as Benner have been working on for decades. Despite some advances, the field has come up against chemical walls that are proving impossible to climb. For instance, Benner said, the organic—meaning carbon-based—compounds understood to have come together to form life in a “prebiotic soup” do not behave in the lab in a way that would indicate they led to the formation of life on early Earth.

Mars Panspermia a Sign of Desperation 火星生源说是绝望的标志 n n When these compounds are energized by heat or light, instead of producing early RNA they create tar— hardly the stuff from which we would all evolve. Origin-of-life research, stuck on the tar baby, is at a crossroads. Kaufman was not quite ready to swallow Benner’s optimism: Benner says that “it’s yet another piece of evidence which makes it more likely life came to Earth on a Martian meteorite. ” But it’s more of a changing of probabilities than it is scientific proof. “A panspermia solution, after all, produces another panspermia problem, ” he said. “If a Martian microbe did make it from Mars to Earth, maybe it would be as if it landed in Eden. But just as likely, it would quickly die. ”

Mars Panspermia a Sign of Desperation 火星生源说是绝望的标志 n n He left off with that quote, leaving the reader pondering insurmountable problems, bereft of answers. The gig is up. Secular origin of life research (OOL) is dead. To seriously consider displacing the problem of life’s origin (by natural processes) to another planet is tantamount to saying that it is impossible. If they cannot get it to form here, where “Eden” existed (in terms of perfect conditions for its “emergence”), then displacing it to an exterior hell is not going to help.

Mars Panspermia a Sign of Desperation 火星生源说是绝望的标志 n Consider the number of problems revealed just in these articles (a subset of all the problems). Ribose needs boron in a dry desert, but even if it formed, it need water. But the moment you put it in water, where the phosphate is for making RNA, it dissolves or turns into tar. Even if you get a stable RNA (which is going to be extremely rare), it is not alive; dozens more high hurdles must be jumped in the right order by chance: getting one-handed molecules, getting them to be enzymatically active for useful purposes; getting them isolated into protocells surrounded by membranes (we could go on and on). Then, the Martian life has to get incorporated into a meteorite. Even if that happens, it has to survive in space for eons, and arrive at Earth. After all these miraculous improbabilities occur, if it doesn’t land in “Eden” it will quickly die, Benner said.

Mars Panspermia a Sign of Desperation 火星生源说是绝望的标志 n Yet many articles about these origin of life theories make everything sound so simple. The “RNA world” (now shown to be so improbable it is impossible), has been for decades the cornerstone of most secularists’ optimism that life originated without design. It’s sickening to watch that emptyheaded “Newsy” reporter in the Space. com video barfing out Benner & Adcock’s absurdity with uninformed confidence: “Life on Mars? You better believe it. NASA announced that it discovered elements that support ancient life on the red planet. ” Such gullible toadies. Blah.

Mars Panspermia a Sign of Desperation 火星生源说是绝望的标志 We seem to be catching the first hints, though, of a few n reporters becoming exasperated with the storytelling of the OOL crowd, like Marc Kaufman and Lisa Grossman. They have a long way to go, but when the day comes when they feel enough courage to start really peppering the Benners and Adcocks with hard questions like reporters do with politicians, it will get interesting. “If we cannot believe what they’ve been telling us about life forming on Earth all these years, why should we believe you when you say it happened on Mars? ” “Hasn’t the origin of life been falsified by these discoveries? ” “Are you really asking the public to believe this incredibly improbable sequence of events? ” “Are you implying that your brain, telling us these arguments, is the product of a series of cosmic accidents? Then how can we trust anything you say? ” That will be a new day for “scientists” accustomed to the lapdog media regurgitating everything they say uncritically.

Mars Panspermia a Sign of Desperation 火星生源说是绝望的标志 n We call on Steven Benner to renounce his naturalism. Steve, you’re a smart guy, but you know you have been telling fables out of desperation. You know enough philosophy of science to know that science does not require naturalism; it requires following the evidence where it leads. For decades now, the evidence has been trending against naturalism. You yourself said that the problems are hard enough to almost make you want to become a creationist. Well, why not? Don’t codes and systems bear the hallmarks of intelligent design? Leave the dark side of the farce and come over to the light.

Mars Panspermia a Sign of Desperation 火星生源说是绝望的标志 n If you leave the farce, you will make a lot of enemies. You will suffer the persecution of the Expelled. But you will make a lot of new and better friends, and you will enjoy the good feeling of a character trait sadly lacking in your old crowd: integrity.

n Gloria Deo 愿荣耀归上帝

Sermons From Science -- Oct 2013 科学布道-2013年 10月 Sermons from Science is now published in both You. Tube under the name “Pastor Chui” and also in Power. Point slides in the website http: //Christ. Center. Gospel. org. The contents of this presentation were taken from Dave Coppedge’s website http: //crev. info. May God have all the glory. Let us pray for Dave Coppedge’s fast recovery from cancer surgery. Pastor Chui http: //Christ. Center. Gospel. org ckchui 1@yahoo. com

Bach to the Feature: Music More Cognitive Than Language 巴赫的功能：音乐比语言更多的认知 n The ability for the human mind to gauge hierarchical n structures in music over the span of lengthy works suggests that we exercise greater cognition in that skill than in language. Music is an evolutionary enigma (1/05/01, 12/13/04, 5/19/08, 5/28/09 #10, 1/15/10 #2, 7/06/12) that defies explanation by natural selection, despite years of attempts to explain it since Darwin attempted a story 154 years ago. Now, we find that the human capacity to analyze and enjoy music is even more complex than realized.

Bach to the Feature: Music More Cognitive Than Language 巴赫的功能：音乐比语言更多的认知 n Higher arky: Scientists from Germany, America and Brazil analyzed the mind’s ability to gauge hierarchical structures in music. Publishing in PNAS, they describe how they did brain scans while giving subjects straight and modified versions of a Bach chorale. Keeping distant parts of a work in order utilizes multiple parts of the brain:

Bach to the Feature: Music More Cognitive Than Language 巴赫的功能：音乐比语言更多的认知 n “Our results reveal that a brain mechanism fundamental for syntactic processing is engaged during the perception of music, indicating that processing of hierarchical structure with nested nonlocal dependencies is not just a key component of human language, but a multidomain capacity of human cognition. ”

Bach to the Feature: Music More Cognitive Than Language n n 巴赫的功能：音乐比语言更多的认知 The end of the paper included this suggestion: Because hierarchical structures of many musical pieces (up to entire movements of a symphony) exceed by far the structural complexity even of the most elaborate sentences, it is tempting to speculate that the human ability to process hierarchical structure in music might be more powerful than linguistic syntax, often considered to be the paragon of human cognitive complexity.

Bach to the Feature: Music More Cognitive Than Language 巴赫的功能：音乐比语言更多的认知 Octavian: Another PNAS paper examined the human tendency to associate notes with their octaves. These authors also speculated, but in the evolutionary chance direction: n We speculate that this connectivity scheme evolved from exposure to natural vibrations containing octaverelated spectral peaks, e. g. , as produced by vocal cords. … n

Bach to the Feature: Music More Cognitive Than Language 巴赫的功能：音乐比语言更多的认知 n It is plausible that the octave effect reflects neural connectivity at octave-related frequencies. From an ecological perspective, such connectivity might have evolved from exposure to environmental sounds (e. g. , speech, animal vocalizations, and vibrations such as in strings), which contain multiple harmonics such as octaves, which correspond to the second, fourth, eighth, etc. harmonic.

Bach to the Feature: Music More Cognitive Than Language 巴赫的功能：音乐比语言更多的认知 n All they could point to, though, was that the “octave effect” is heard in both Asian and Western musical traditions. It’s not clear why evolution should have anything to do with it. The Pythagoreans, for instance, viewed geometry, music and harmony as fundamental aspects of the universe. The Judeo-Christian tradition views music as a reflection of creativity in the image of God. Why should mutation and selection be given pride of place?

Bach to the Feature: Music More Cognitive Than Language 巴赫的功能：音乐比语言更多的认知 n Mosh pit: Evolutionists keep asking the question but never answering it with a definitive, non-question-begging solution. National Geographic, for instance, put forward the old Darwinian answers and some other speculations. “Darwin and others have said it was a way to woo. Others believe music is social glue—a theory bolstered by a new study, ” Marc Silver wrote.

Bach to the Feature: Music More Cognitive Than Language 巴赫的功能：音乐比语言更多的认知 Why did humans invent music? n Until the hot tub time machine becomes a reality, the answer to that question will remain as mysterious as the true identity of the ‘ 60 s garage band ? and the Mysterians. n Nonetheless, academic minds are always trying to come up with a theory. Charles Darwin believed music was created as a sexual come-on. n

Bach to the Feature: Music More Cognitive Than Language 巴赫的功能：音乐比语言更多的认知 n So was music “created” by intelligent design? Did humans “invent music” by intelligent design? What mutation in the brain made someone toot out the front end instead of the back end, such that the opposite sex found it appealing? How did that mutation get passed on? Were additional mutations required to produce Berlioz’ Requiem?

Bach to the Feature: Music More Cognitive Than Language 巴赫的功能：音乐比语言更多的认知 n Silver is half trying to entertain by letting a study by Chris Loersch (U of Colorado) take the stage. Loersch tries to support the notion that music evolved as a social glue: “music evolved in service of group living. ” But he appeals to rock concerts for support, as the lead photo illustrates, where groupthink is of the essence of the experience. Loersch also focuses on the emotion of music, and not the complex analytical structure of classical works. Most egregiously, he cites no mutation or genetic mechanism that would make music a heritable trait in humans. Nor does he explain why other animals, though emitting sounds, never “evolved” anything close to the structural complexity of human music.

Bach to the Feature: Music More Cognitive Than Language 巴赫的功能：音乐比语言更多的认知 n Wouldn’t other animals profit from having their group living served? Birds may sing, and wolves may howl, but only humans create musical forms with hierarchical structure and symmetry, put words to music, create musical instruments, write it down in notational form, and perform it both alone and in groups. In the Biblical narrative, Adam’s offspring were already making musical instruments while he was still living.

Bach to the Feature: Music More Cognitive Than Language 巴赫的功能：音乐比语言更多的认知 n Since this is all more of the same Darwinian la-de-da and fol-de-rol that never gets a credible answer in 154 years, let’s just have a little jam session with our Evolution Songs and laugh it off. Go to the Darwin Hymnbook and have at it with your garage band. Then, to get back to sanity, analyze the use of octaves and hierarchical structures in some Mozart or Handel. Evolve that, Charlie.

Sermons From Science -- Oct 2013 科学布道-2013年 10月 Sermons from Science is now published in both You. Tube under the name “Pastor Chui” and also in Power. Point slides in the website http: //Christ. Center. Gospel. org. The contents of this presentation were taken from Dave Coppedge’s website http: //crev. info. May God have all the glory. Let us pray for Dave Coppedge’s fast recovery from cancer surgery. Pastor Chui http: //Christ. Center. Gospel. org ckchui 1@yahoo. com

Tiger in Oil and Other Surprising Fossils 石油中的老虎和其他令人惊奇的化石 n Deposits in North and South America reveal a rich diversity n of mammals discovered by oil workers, some fossils in the oil. Venezuela tiger in oil: Remains of mastodons, crocodiles, glyptodonts, sloths, and sabre-tooth tigers are turning up in oil deposits in Venezuela, Phys. Org reported. The article describes a veritable “Jurassic Park” of creatures it says inhabited the area from 14, 000 to 370 million years ago. Human-carved spear points have also been found. “Under the rich Venezuelan soil, paleontologists have found treasures rivaling the bountiful oil: a giant armadillo the size of a Volkswagen, a crocodile bigger than a bus and a saber-toothed tiger” among the 12, 000 fossils documented so far.

Tiger in Oil and Other Surprising Fossils 石油中的老虎和其他令人惊奇的化石 n Oklahoma camel: While digging for a new well, oil workers found a camel and a “small primitive horse” among other fossils under six inches of soil, Western Digs reported. The article claims that camels originated in North America before migrating to the Middle East, then went extinct in America (except for the llamas and their ilk in South America). American camels, said to date from 23 to 5 million years ago, were quite diverse:

Tiger in Oil and Other Surprising Fossils 石油中的老虎和其他令人惊奇的化石 n It was also a tumultuous time for the young family Camelidae, which came to include the first true camels. The mammals underwent bouts of evolutionary changes that resulted in animals that may have borne little resemblance to the desert-dwellers we know now; some Miocene camels had necks as long as giraffes’, while others had short, stumpy legs.

Tiger in Oil and Other Surprising Fossils 石油中的老虎和其他令人惊奇的化石 n It would seem that, like the sloths and elephants n alive today, fossil mammals were even larger and more diverse than they are now. As in Venezuela, evidence of human habitation was also found: In fact, a recent study of hand-hewn stone tools discovered in what’s now Boulder, Colorado, found that they contained traces of camel and horse meat, as well as proteins associated with other Ice Age animals like the short-faced bear.

Tiger in Oil and Other Surprising Fossils 石油中的老虎和其他令人惊奇的化石 n Neither article stated whether the strata in which these n fossils were found showed an evolutionary progression. Presumably the human artifacts were in the same oil or soil. Is it plausible to presume that the Venezuelan oil deposit remained intact for 370 million years? These deposits call for further study without evolutionary glasses on. It seems to indicate that animals from different assumed “ages” lived together. As is usually the case, the stronger, fitter, larger and more diverse animals are often the fossilized ones. That’s not evolution.

n Gloria Deo 愿荣耀归上帝

Sermons From Science -- Oct 2013 科学布道-2013年 10月 Sermons from Science is now published in both You. Tube under the name “Pastor Chui” and also in Power. Point slides in the website http: //Christ. Center. Gospel. org. The contents of this presentation were taken from Dave Coppedge’s website http: //crev. info. May God have all the glory. Let us pray for Dave Coppedge’s fast recovery from cancer surgery. Pastor Chui http: //Christ. Center. Gospel. org ckchui 1@yahoo. com

More Reasons to Love Plants 更多的理由来爱植物 n n n For food, for visual pleasure, and for the health of the whole planet, plants are worth loving and learning about. Chemical library: An article on Science Daily says that a leaf is an astonishing chemical factory: Plants are capable of making tens of thousands of different small molecules — an average leaf for example, produces around 20, 000. Many of these are found in a typical diet and some are already known to have medicinal properties with effects on health, diseases and general well-being.

More Reasons to Love Plants 更多的理由来爱植物 n The article goes on to say that the immune system benefits of dietary flavonoids— known to be nutritious as well as cancer fighting—can be dramatically altered by very small chemical changes such as methylation at various parts of the molecular scaffold. The findings by researchers at the University of York were discussed in a panel discussion titled “Nature’s Marvellous Medicines” held by the Royal Society.

More Reasons to Love Plants 更多的理由来爱植物 n Inner qualities: A plane flying over vineyards in Australia is monitoring the “inner qualities” of grapevines, Science Daily reported. The “hyperspectral camera” is looking at the entire spectrum of wavelengths of emitted molecules from the plants, hoping to identify markers of plant health and nutrition. A plant’s “inner qualities” can directly affect their healthgiving benefits for humans.

More Reasons to Love Plants 更多的理由来爱植物 n Self-fertilizing crops: Helping plants to fix nitrogen would “really revolutionize agriculture, ” another article on Science Daily reported—and scientists at Washington University at St. Louis are nearing that goal. They don’t have to re-invent the process: they just need to get cyanobacterial technology inserted into crop plants. Though abundant in the atmosphere, molecular nitrogen (N 2) is difficult to “fix” by splitting it to form ammonia and other usable compounds because of its tight triple bonds. Some plants form symbiotic associations with nitrogenfixing bacteria in their roots. These bacteria contain nitrogenase enzymes that split the molecules at ambient temperature, much more efficiently than the energyintensive Haber process man came up with in the 20 th century.

More Reasons to Love Plants 更多的理由来爱植物 n Steering plants to use readily-available nitrogenase would mean no more expensive fertilizer production, no more bat guano mining, and much cheaper and more productive crop yields. One of the tricks the research team is overcoming is adding the benefits of nitrogenase to plants without hindering photosynthesis. Phys. Org reported another approach being achieved at Caltech: the construction of synthetic nitrogenase enzymes. They’ve made significant progress but their product is not ready for mass production: “Each catalyst molecule was only able to convert seven nitrogen molecules before running out of steam. ” Natural enzymes work continuously for years.

More Reasons to Love Plants 更多的理由来爱植物 n Plant protection: Researchers at Dartmouth are discovering facts about a system that allows plants to tolerate drought, flooding, salt and other stresses. “Plant roots use their endodermis, or inner skin, as a cellular gatekeeper to control the efficient use and movement of water and nutrients from the soil to the above-ground parts of the plant, ” Science Daily explains. This “gatekeeper” is made up of lignin produced by the plant cells, forming a layer called the “Casparian strip” that gives the plant robustness against environmental stresses like salinity and drought. Researchers found a protein called ESD 1 involved in layering the lignin and binding it together in the Casparian strip. Understanding this process might lead to improving the production and quality of crops and biofuels.

More Reasons to Love Plants 更多的理由来爱植物 n Clean air act: Live Science provided a list of indoor plants that are best for cleaning the air in the home. Everyone learns in school that plants absorb carbon dioxide, but “scientists studying the airpurification capacities of indoor plants have found that plants can absorb many other gases” such as cigarette smoke, benzene, formaldehyde and other volatiles emitted by plastics, detergents or synthetic products.

More Reasons to Love Plants 更多的理由来爱植物 n Healthy eating: Articles on the benefits of plants in the diet are frequent. For example, National Geographic printed one on five health benefits of eating watermelon. The benefits of flavanols found in certain teas, fruits and cocoa products was explained by Medical Xpress. Another Medical Xpress article described the health benefits of the Mediterranean diet, which avoids red meat and prescribes up to 9 servings of fruits and vegetables a day.

More Reasons to Love Plants 更多的理由来爱植物 n “God’s green earth” is blessed beyond our understanding by the presence of plants. Compare the dry, dull surfaces of the moon and Mars with our abundant-life planet. Using intelligent design, we can steer existing plant technologies for our benefit – technologies that we cannot easily reproduce, but that give plants their vitality, longevity and productivity.

More Reasons to Love Plants 更多的理由来爱植物 n For many fruits and vegetables, the benefits come from eating them raw. Learn to enjoy the richness of unprocessed plants as a significant part of your diet. Many can be prepared for good taste and enjoyment without cooking, juicing, blending, dehydrating, or other destructive processes. Plant foods are filled with cancer-fighting compounds and health-enhancing chemicals among those 20, 000 molecules in an average leaf. Many modern people have arguably less knowledge of useful plants than the natives that inhabited their lands first. The knowledge and enjoyment of healthful plants is a worthwhile skill to work on.

More Reasons to Love Plants 更多的理由来爱植物 n None of these articles had any use for evolutionary theory. * Why? It’s useless. We need to turn science back toward the improvement of human life. Good science seeks understanding, with the goal of application for good purposes. Storytelling is the opposite of understanding.

More Reasons to Love Plants 更多的理由来爱植物 n *The nitrogenase article claimed that “this entire nitrogen-fixing apparatus” “evolved once and only once” and then was repeatedly “lost” in bacteria: “Studies of the evolutionary history of 49 strains of cyanobacteria suggest that their common ancestor was capable of fixing nitrogen and that this ability was then repeatedly lost over the course of evolution. ” Like we said, evolutionary theory is useless. The common ancestor (if there was one) already had it, and then others lost it. What kind of explanation is that? How does it help Darwin? How did the ancestor get it? By chance? By magic? Let’s be done with unobservable just-so stories and deal with what we can know and use.

n Gloria Deo 愿荣耀归上帝

Sermons From Science -- Oct 2013 科学布道-2013年 10月 Sermons from Science is now published in both You. Tube under the name “Pastor Chui” and also in Power. Point slides in the website http: //Christ. Center. Gospel. org. The contents of this presentation were taken from Dave Coppedge’s website http: //crev. info. May God have all the glory. Let us pray for Dave Coppedge’s fast recovery from cancer surgery. Pastor Chui http: //Christ. Center. Gospel. org ckchui 1@yahoo. com

Evolutionists View Poison as Elixir of Life 进化论者以毒为长生不老药 n Hydrogen cyanide is one of the most reactive and toxic n n molecules we know, but astrobiologists view it with almost alchemical qualities for the origin of life. In “Hydrogen cyanide and life’s origin, ” NASA’s Astrobiology Magazine explored the ability of HCN as a touchstone for the creation of other molecular “building blocks” of life such as amino acids. How many different molecules can be created when you release one of the Universe’s most reactive substances, hydrogen cyanide, in the lab? And will the process create some particularly interesting molecules?

Evolutionists View Poison as Elixir of Life 进化论者以毒为长生不老药 That is what scientists call a good question, because hydrogen n n cyanide seems to have played a role in creating some of life’s building blocks. Scientists in the lab, though, must treat the chemical with extreme caution. Just one drop can kill an adult human in 60 seconds. Wikipedia says “the relationship of these chemical reactions to the origin of life theory remains speculative. …” The astrobiology article asks mostly questions: Hydrogen cyanide is an organic compound and it is found in large quantities in the universe. It may have helped in producing amino acids and DNA bases, some of life’s basic molecules. If hydrogen cyanide can lead to the formation of amino acids, can it also contribute to the formation of other essential compounds? Can hydrogen cyanide help explain how life originated on Earth? And how it can arise on other planets?

Evolutionists View Poison as Elixir of Life n 进化论者以毒为长生不老药 The only way they got HCN to contribute to one amino acid was by intelligent design: n Preliminary studies have shown that hydrogen cyanide can contribute to the formation of amino acids. This discovery required month-long experiments in the laboratory, where scientists painstakingly monitored the reactions and continuously manipulated the experiment to keep it on track.

Evolutionists View Poison as Elixir of Life 进化论者以毒为长生不老药 n Nothing in the article suggests that this could have happened without painstaking manipulation. Even if it did, getting one amino acid is trivial. There are numerous high hurdles chance would have had to overcome before life began, such as the origin of replication, a membrane, autocatalytic cycles, metabolism, and the genetic code, along with molecular machines able to process and interpret the code for function. In a world of chance, where natural selection cannot be invoked for help, a building block of a building block has no guidance toward becoming a building block, let alone a building. Most likely, it would dissipate long before the next hurdle is approached.

Evolutionists View Poison as Elixir of Life 进化论者以毒为长生不老药 n Another post on Astrobiology Magazine revised SETI’s old Drake Equation — revised it downward, that is. Now, Sara Seager would just be happy to find gas that might indicate life, not intelligent life. “The equation focuses on the search for planets with biosignature gases, gases produced by life that can accumulate in a planet atmosphere to levels that can be detected with remote space telescopes, ” she said. “If we find gases that we might attribute to life we will not know if the gases are produced by intelligent life or simple bacteria. ”

Evolutionists View Poison as Elixir of Life 进化论者以毒为长生不老药 n See the 9/07/13 entry to deflate the optimism n in NASA’s post. Welcome to modern alchemy and magic. Science is the magician’s twin, said C. S. Lewis; only in the case of astrobiology, the twins have swapped places. Astrobiology, using toxic HCN as an elixir of life, is tantamount to modern-day alchemists trying to create the building blocks of gold, or modern Frankensteins thinking they can create life with poisons and electricity. Note: Frankenstein was a work of fiction, and alchemy was a pseudoscience.

n Gloria Deo 愿荣耀归上帝

Sermons From Science -- Oct 2013 科学布道-2013年 10月 Sermons from Science is now published in both You. Tube under the name “Pastor Chui” and also in Power. Point slides in the website http: //Christ. Center. Gospel. org. The contents of this presentation were taken from Dave Coppedge’s website http: //crev. info. May God have all the glory. Let us pray for Dave Coppedge’s fast recovery from cancer surgery. Pastor Chui http: //Christ. Center. Gospel. org ckchui 1@yahoo. com

Junk Science Gets Good Press if It Supports Darwinism 垃圾科学取得良好新闻如果它支持达尔文主义 n The headlines for some scientific news stories might leave philosophers of science wagging their heads. Few, though, are the reporters willing to call something really dumb, or at least questionable—especially if it appears to support evolution.

Junk Science Gets Good Press if It Supports Darwinism 垃圾科学取得良好新闻如果它支持达尔文主义 n The small ball theory: PNAS published a paper by Emory University evolutionists alleging that dads with small testicles make better fathers. This kind of subjective claim is highly susceptible to investigator bias, participant bias, and sample size, and is therefore nearly impossible to establish (besides being dumb on the face of it). Are well-endowed males destined for a life of baddadness? Are moral behaviors determined by one’s equipment? Don’t personal choices matter? Doesn’t character count? But like starting gun to a race, all the reporters, Nature included, nearly simultaneously proclaimed it as scientific fact: the BBC News, Live Science, New Scientist, and general reporters, ever lusting after prurient content, who feed on these sources (Yahoo News, USA Today, Smithsonian’s “Smart News” blog; Forbes had the cojones to criticize the claim). Fortunately, most articles took their eye off the ball and spared their readers graphic illustrations.

Junk Science Gets Good Press if It Supports Darwinism 垃圾科学取得良好新闻如果它支持达尔文主义 Somehow, it seems unsurprising that evolutionary theory motivated this study. The BBC said, n The researchers were investigating an evolutionary theory about trade-offs between investing time and effort in mating or putting that energy into raising children. The idea being that larger testicles would suggest greater commitment to creating more children over raising them. n

Junk Science Gets Good Press if It Supports Darwinism 垃圾科学取得良好新闻如果它支持达尔文主义 n Undoubtedly, other researchers could find many counter-examples if they tried, disposing of this softball claim in the dustbin of evolutionary just-so stories. Live Science pointed out another pitfall: “no one knows how testicular volume changes over time. ” The claim is rife with unknowns and variables that could “prove” anything. The fine print in the BBC article noted that “The exact nature of any link is not clear” and that “further studies… are still needed”. Any “finding” that appears to support Darwinism, though, seems to get a pass.

Junk Science Gets Good Press if It Supports Darwinism 垃圾科学取得良好新闻如果它支持达尔文主义 n What to wear to the cave cookout: On the occasion of Fashion Week (did you know? did you care? ) National Geographic spilled excessive ink pondering the evolution of clothes. Even though the story is threadbare of evidence, the article decided that clothing originated 25, 000 years ago; or maybe it was 300, 000, no one knows exactly why. Perhaps the most useful piece of information was the revelation that Neanderthals were skilled clothiers, better tailored than brutes hiding their privates with animal skins. Another take-home message is seen in this link to a 1909 drawing of Neanderthal Man published in the Illustrated London News, making it look as ape-like and brutish as possible to portray it as a missing evolutionary link. Nowadays Neanderthals are more respected as members of the human race.

Junk Science Gets Good Press if It Supports Darwinism 垃圾科学取得良好新闻如果它支持达尔文主义 n This one is full of holes: Some people have a condition called trypophobia: the fear of holes. Science Daily and other sites reported that this phobia “May Stem from Evolutionary Survival Response. ” Dr. Cole (U of Essex) was quick to offer an evolutionary story: “These findings suggest that there may be an ancient evolutionary part of the brain telling people that they are looking at a poisonous animal. ” The explanation makes humans pawns of an evolutionary history they never experienced. “It backs up theory that we are set-up to be fearful of things which hurt us in our evolutionary past, ” Dr. Cole alleged. “We have an innate predisposition to be wary of things that can harm us. ” It appears he never thought of self-preservation as a possibly designed instinct.

Junk Science Gets Good Press if It Supports Darwinism 垃圾科学取得良好新闻如果它支持达尔文主义 n n n It came from outer space: The Sutter’s Mill Meteorite that fell in 2012 contained traces of organic compounds previously not seen in meteorites. That’s the science part. Most of the science news media (e. g. , Space. com) announced, however, that these molecules tell secrets about the origin of life. Scientists investigating the origin of life often suppose dissolved compounds desirable for life need to first have gotten concentrated and held together somehow, much as cell membranes do for the cell’s components. The organic molecules the researchers discovered in the Sutter’s Mill fragments “could be good for such a purpose, because they can form rudimentary enclosures to contain compounds useful to prebiotic evolution, ” Pizzarello said. Live Science justified the speculation on the grounds of ignorance: “Since the origins of life are utterly unknown, the idea has its merits. ”

Junk Science Gets Good Press if It Supports Darwinism 垃圾科学取得良好新闻如果它支持达尔文主义 n In a similar vein, Phys. Org reported that newlydiscovered microbes “could be crucial to understanding origins of life on Earth, ” this despite the fact that the microbes have highly adapted mechanisms for survival. The suggestion that these microbes provide understanding about a far-removed, distant notion of life’s origin was merely tossed out there without any evidential support. It “could be crucial” but, then again, it could be utterly irrelevant.

Junk Science Gets Good Press if It Supports Darwinism 垃圾科学取得良好新闻如果它支持达尔文主义 n n n And on it goes: Here a few other evolutionary stories offered up as speculative possibilities: The evolution of play: maybe it enhanced creativity, Jonathon Keats suggested in a book review on New Scientist celebrating the imaginations of two authors; “there’s no reason why scholarship can’t be as seriously playful as bubble-blowing” – a Freudian slip? Phoenix mammals: Out of the ash of dinosaur death, mammal-ness rises. That’s what “new research suggests” according to Science Daily. It takes an “evolutionary paleontologist” to come up with that notion.

Junk Science Gets Good Press if It Supports Darwinism 垃圾科学取得良好新闻如果它支持达尔文主义 n The whole tooth and nothing butt: Science Daily used the power of suggestion to conjure up images of mindless designers in an arbitration meeting: “This suggests that the wear process might have a crucial influence in the evolution and structural adaptation of molars, enabling to endure bite forces and to reduce tooth failure throughout the lifetime of an individual. ” At least it “seemed” like an “evolutionary compromise” to an evolutionist.

Junk Science Gets Good Press if It Supports Darwinism 垃圾科学取得良好新闻如果它支持达尔文主义 n Evolutionary leg up: Why did the bird run across the road? Its tail got shorter. That’s the evolutionary explanation on Science Daily: “A radical shortening of their bony tails over 100 million years ago enabled the earliest birds to develop versatile legs that gave them an evolutionary edge, a new study shows. ” It shows no such thing; that was an interpretation. According to the chief speculator, “Our work shows that, whilst they may have started off as just another type of dinosaur, birds quickly made a rather special evolutionary breakthrough that gave them abilities and advantages that their dinosaur cousins didn’t have. ”

Junk Science Gets Good Press if It Supports Darwinism 垃圾科学取得良好新闻如果它支持达尔文主义 n n Malice in Blunderland: Science Magazine began an article with a headline suitable for children: “How the Red Queen Drives Terrestrial Mammals to Extinction. ” One of the co-authors was Charles Marshall, the master of disaster who swept away the problem of the Cambrian explosion by saying that animals evolved because they evolved (see 4/23/06). This is a sample of a strange genre in science reporting: evolutionary speculation gets the green light. It’s ironic that these evolutionists and their reporters are often the ones criticizing creationists over “lack of evidence” or “using science to support a belief system. ”

Junk Science Gets Good Press if It Supports Darwinism 垃圾科学取得良好新闻如果它支持达尔文主义 n n We’re going to keep displaying this Darwin-brand baloney till it stinks so bad people stop buying it. To do that, we have to take it out of the can and unwrap it. It’s hard for us to smell it, too, but somebody has to show the world what passes for science from the Darwin Baloney Factory. If anyone outside the Darwin Party tried to fawn such putrid stuff on the public, the health authorities would shut them down faster than you could say DODO. The 2013 Ig. Nobel Prizes are being announced. Hey! We have some candidates you overlooked! Hey Bah. Fest! Check these out for your Oct 6 celebration!

n Gloria Deo 愿荣耀归上帝

Sermons From Science -- Oct 2013 科学布道-2013年 10月 Sermons from Science is now published in both You. Tube under the name “Pastor Chui” and also in Power. Point slides in the website http: //Christ. Center. Gospel. org. The contents of this presentation were taken from Dave Coppedge’s website http: //crev. info. May God have all the glory. Let us pray for Dave Coppedge’s fast recovery from cancer surgery. Pastor Chui http: //Christ. Center. Gospel. org ckchui 1@yahoo. com

Cosmos Does Not Look Evolutionary 宇宙看起来并不进化 n n Evidence continues to mount that the universe and its contents appeared mature from the beginning. Surprising abrupt diversity near the start: Galaxies were diverse, like those seen today, for most of the universe’s history, Space. com reported. A new Hubble survey “found that the assorted range of galaxy types seen today were also present about 11 billion years ago, meaning that the types of galaxies seen today, which astronomers described as a ‘cosmic zoo, ’ have been around for at least 80 percent of the universe’s lifespan. ” The survey pushes back the early maturity of galaxies from 8 billion years to 11. 5 billion.

Cosmos Does Not Look Evolutionary 宇宙看起来并不进化 n “This is the only comprehensive study to date of the visual appearance of the large, massive galaxies that existed so far back in time, ” co-author Arjen van der Wel of the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy in Heidelberg, Germany said in a statement. “The galaxies look remarkably mature, which is not predicted by galaxy formation models to be the case that early on in the history of the universe. ”

Cosmos Does Not Look Evolutionary 宇宙看起来并不进化 n n Science Daily left this conundrum unanswered. Indeed, it added another: “Another piece of the puzzle is that we still do not know why today ‘red and dead’ elliptical galaxies are old and unable to form stars, while spirals, like our own Milky Way, keep forming new stars, ” another team member said. “This is not just a classification scheme, it corresponds to a profound difference in the galaxies’ physical properties and how they were formed. ” In the 20 th century, most astronomers assumed that one type of galaxy evolved into another, in an evolutionary “Hubble Sequence. ” Now, they all appear abruptly near the beginning. “Clearly, the Hubble Sequence formed very quickly in the history of the cosmos, it was not a slow process, ” adds Giavalisco. “Now we have to go back to theory and try to figure out how and why. ”

Cosmos Does Not Look Evolutionary 宇宙看起来并不进化 n n n Cosmic Questions Other cosmology news stories show that major questions remain unanswered, established claims are being debated, and fundamental issues remain unresolved. Revising Newton: A modified form of Newtonian mechanics named MOND is claiming predictive success, Science Daily reported – astonishing for a theory that reigned science for centuries. At the same time, MOND is dispensing with the need for dark matter.

Cosmos Does Not Look Evolutionary 宇宙看起来并不进化 n Time bandits: A big dispute about the nature of time is brewing between cosmologist Lee Smolin and his critics. One of them, Huw Smith, reviewing Smolin’s book in Science, did not have kind words for the latter, who believes time is real. The dispute is an echo of the ancient Greek debate between Parmenides and Heraclitus.

Cosmos Does Not Look Evolutionary 宇宙看起来并不进化 n Expanding detractions: One German cosmologist, according to Phys. Org, is disputing the hugely popular consensus that the universe is expanding. “Cosmology has no big bang singularity, ” he wrote. “There exist other, equivalent choices of field variables for which the universe shows the usual expansion or is static during the radiation or matter dominated epochs. ” Readers can decide whether his proposal is more or less bizarre than an instant universe from nothing.

Cosmos Does Not Look Evolutionary 宇宙看起来并不进化 n n The measure of man: A giant “Hubble Bubble” surrounding our galaxy may be affecting our measurements of the expansion of the universe, Science Daily reported. Got time for space, or space for time? Zeeya Merali, writing in Nature, summarizes an article with basic questions: “Many researchers believe that physics will not be complete until it can explain not just the behaviour of space and time, but where these entities come from. ” In text and in an embedded podcast, Merali wades through deep speculations that are more frustrating than enlightening, giving time to entrants like quantum loop gravity, string theory, holography, thermodynamics, and some even more abstruse. The problem understanding space-time, according to one cosmologist: “our job is hard because we are fishes swimming in the fluid at the same time as trying to understand it. ”

Cosmos Does Not Look Evolutionary 宇宙看起来并不进化 n Does a fish know that it is swimming in a fluid? No, because fish are not philosophers. Humans can speculate about big questions and ultimate answers in ways that no animal can. Whether they can arrive at truth by their own bootstraps, though, is a different question entirely. One clue that man might be onto something is the “surprise effect. ” When a scientist is surprised by a finding, it indicates a possible falsification of his or her assumptions. The surprise of finding early mature galaxies is a good example. The abrupt appearance of a diverse group of galaxies already in mature states, is like the Cambrian explosion in the fossil record. It’s surprising to evolutionists, but not to creationists. Cosmologists should open their minds to the possibility that cosmic evolution has been falsified.

n Gloria Deo 愿荣耀归上帝

Sermons From Science -- Oct 2013 科学布道-2013年 10月 Sermons from Science is now published in both You. Tube under the name “Pastor Chui” and also in Power. Point slides in the website http: //Christ. Center. Gospel. org. The contents of this presentation were taken from Dave Coppedge’s website http: //crev. info. May God have all the glory. Let us pray for Dave Coppedge’s fast recovery from cancer surgery. Pastor Chui http: //Christ. Center. Gospel. org ckchui 1@yahoo. com

Darwinist Intolerance Is Intensifying 达尔文主义的不容忍现象正在加剧 n Some recent cases of intolerance against Darwin skeptics are so extreme, they defy all logic or propriety. Yet when Darwinists promote radical ideas, they get a pass.

Darwinist Intolerance Is Intensifying 达尔文主义的不容忍现象正在加剧 n The Discovery Institute is on a campaign to defend the career and reputation of a Ball State University professor, Eric Hedin, who dared to present both sides of the debate over intelligent design instead of just the pro-Darwin side (see Evolution News & Views). Not only that, he offered the material in an elective class in philosophy – not in a science class. At the same time, Ball State openly promoted another class called “Dangerous Ideas” that claims “Science must destroy religion” and “There is no intelligent designer” (Evolution News & Views). This “selective academic freedom” means professors are only allowed one position on ID: to oppose it. This “Orwellian” view of academic freedom by a university that claims to respect controversial topics was described by John West on Evolution News & Views.

Darwinist Intolerance Is Intensifying 达尔文主义的不容忍现象正在加剧 n Hedin did not advocate or teach intelligent design (ENV). He only permitted a pro-ID book (along with many anti-ID works) in the suggested reading list for his honors course on the “boundaries of science” (ENV). For that, he was targeted by a radical atheist group, the Freedom from Religion Foundation, that wrote Ball State’s president, Jo Ann Gora, to complain. Unfortunately for Hedin, the president heeded their complaints and ordered that no one on campus was to teach ID in science classes at the university. The atheist propaganda in the other class, however, was not restricted. Ironically, Gora maintained that Ball State’s “commitment to academic freedom is unflinching. ”

Darwinist Intolerance Is Intensifying 达尔文主义的不容忍现象正在加剧 n Earlier in the year, David Coppedge lost his lawsuit against JPL in which he alleged he was demoted, humiliated and ultimately fired for sharing pro-ID DVDs in the workplace (ENV). The judge gave no explanation for ruling against him on 10 counts of discrimination and retaliation. In hindsight, the reaction in the Coppedge case appears part of the same trend in academic and scientific institutions: only the secular, atheist, Darwinian position is permitted, and those who disagree must be silenced. (The Coppedge case will be reviewed in Volume II of Jerry Bergman’s work, Slaughter of the Dissidents, about the persecution of Darwin skeptics. )

Darwinist Intolerance Is Intensifying 达尔文主义的不容忍现象正在加剧 n It appears the only ones able to stand up successfully against the evolution lobby in a public platform are those with nothing to lose. Retired surgeon Ben Carson, for instance, has no dirty laundry to hide and, with a stellar reputation as one of the world’s finest neurosurgeons, a black man from a poor family who rose to excellence via self-education and determination, has credentials that cannot be impugned (see movie of his life, Gifted Hands). His charitable work for improving education with reading scholarships is another big asset (see Carson. Scholars. org). With nothing in his life to assail, and much to commend, he boldly yet graciously presents scientific arguments against evolutionism, as exemplified in a presentation on You. Tube.

Darwinist Intolerance Is Intensifying 达尔文主义的不容忍现象正在加剧 n n n Darwinists cannot destroy the career of this kind of enemy, so they try to ignore him. Others are not so fortunate. They have careers to maintain, or tenure to earn. They risk losing access to research labs and publications. They have families to feed. Astronomer Guillermo Gonzalez, after receiving unfair treatment by colleagues and loss of tenure at Iowa State for his book The Privileged Planet (even though he never taught intelligent design on campus), took years to find another reputable university position (ENV). He recently obtained a position at the same Ball State over the protests of outside evolutionists, but he knows that he must keep silent about ID to avoid a recurrence of persecution. This past summer, the Michael Medved radio talk show began a “Science and Culture Update” that airs on Tuesdays.

Darwinist Intolerance Is Intensifying 达尔文主义的不容忍现象正在加剧 n The Michael Medved website includes a new page with news and information on the programs. Past episodes can be heard as podcasts on IDthe. Future. com, where the Eric Hedin story and other matters are discussed. Often, the intolerance of some pro-Darwinist callers is displayed when Stephen Meyer and other representatives of the Discovery Institute try to make the scientific case for intelligent design. Medved and his guests from the institute usually have to spend excessive time correcting the misrepresentations of ID by angry callers who clearly have not read Meyer’s books, but are intent only on repeating talking-point accusations from pro-Darwin sources.

Darwinist Intolerance Is Intensifying 达尔文主义的不容忍现象正在加剧 n The Discovery Institute’s Center for Science and Culture began as a think tank to promote scientific research into intelligent design, a role it continues to fulfill. Increasingly, though, the center finds itself rushing to the defense of victims of extreme intolerance against the ID position – intolerance not just against teaching ID, but even for the “thought crime” of holding to an ID position privately or in outside activities. John G. West at the Center explained the issues on Evolution News & Views. In the wake of a bullying campaign by the press and prominent evolutionists against Eric Hedin (ENV), the Institute has also opened a page under Academic. Freedom. Petition. org asking for public response to Ball State for their unfair discrimination.

Darwinist Intolerance Is Intensifying 达尔文主义的不容忍现象正在加剧 n Here we are, five years after the movie Expelled, and the Darwinists are still on the rampage. If anything, they are worse. At the same time, the scientific evidence has been militating against them: the origin of life troubles, the Cambrian explosion, the collapse of Darwin’s tree of life, and much more (have you been reading our recent articles? ). Either this is the last gasp of Darwinists terrified that their world view is imploding, or (more likely), Satan is protecting his masterpiece at all costs. Whether or not you believe in a devil, the Darwin defenders are acting mighty devilish. They cannot allow open debate on their view, because it always gets trounced. Their only hope is to destroy their opponents before they can get a hearing.

Darwinist Intolerance Is Intensifying 达尔文主义的不容忍现象正在加剧 n DODO! is their chant: Darwin Only! So terrified are they of intelligent design (and any scholarly critique of Darwinism) they passionately weed out any hint of it creeping into academia, public schools, and scientific institutions. What do they have to fear from debate? If the evidence for their view is so strong, let them defend it in public against legitimate scientific criticisms. Their paranoia would be amusing were it not so damaging to the individuals whose careers are lost, and to the students who are prevented from seeing the house of cards on which Darwinism sits.

Darwinist Intolerance Is Intensifying 达尔文主义的不容忍现象正在加剧 n n How ironic it is that the Darwin dobermans, mostly leftist liberals, are the very ones who have the traditional reputation for academic freedom. Remember them in the free speech protests of the 1960’s? They demanded academic freedom to the point of violence. You cannot trust these people. Like communists, they promote “freedom” just long enough to gain power, then they take away the freedom of their opponents. They promote “democracy” just long enough to win a majority, then they establish tyranny. Knowing their strategy, wise men will act accordingly – not by imitating them, but by being wise as serpents and harmless as doves, as a certain advocate of intelligent design once advised. You only have till Sept 30 to write Ball State and protest the treatment of Eric Hedin. Do it today.

n Gloria Deo 愿荣耀归上帝

Sermons From Science -- Oct 2013 科学布道-2013年 10月 Sermons from Science is now published in both You. Tube under the name “Pastor Chui” and also in Power. Point slides in the website http: //Christ. Center. Gospel. org. The contents of this presentation were taken from Dave Coppedge’s website http: //crev. info. May God have all the glory. Let us pray for Dave Coppedge’s fast recovery from cancer surgery. Pastor Chui http: //Christ. Center. Gospel. org ckchui 1@yahoo. com

DNA in Amber Doesn’t Last Long n n Claims of ancient DNA hundreds of thousands of DNA在琥珀持续时间不长 years old may be false. No DNA was found in an insect encased in amber said to be 10, 600 years old. The article on Science Daily suggests that a study published in PLo. S ONE puts the “final nail in the coffin” of Jurassic Park’s thesis that dinosaurs could be reconstructed from fossilized DNA in amber. Researchers from the University of Manchester looked for DNA in Colombian copal, the resin precursor of amber. Using “sensitive next-generation methods”, they obtained sequences a few hundred bases in length, but could not match them to the insects. They concluded, therefore, that they are artifacts. The abstract states,

DNA in Amber Doesn’t Last Long DNA在琥珀持续时间不长 n “We were therefore unable to obtain any convincing evidence for the preservation of ancient DNA in either of the two copal inclusions that we studied, and conclude that DNA is not preserved in this type of material. Our results raise further doubts about claims of DNA extraction from fossil insects in amber, many millions of years older than copal. ”

DNA in Amber Doesn’t Last Long DNA在琥珀持续时间不长 n David Penney said that despite expectations that copal or resin would protect the DNA, providing an ideal environment for preservation, that doesn’t appear to be the case. “So, unfortunately, the Jurassic Park scenario must remain in the realms of fiction. ” They couldn’t even find it in a specimen said to be 60 years old.

DNA in Amber Doesn’t Last Long DNA在琥珀持续时间不长 n Update 9/18/13: Nature reported an alleged discovery of DNA from bones of a cave bear 300, 000 years old extracted from permafrost. Most of the segments were less than 50 base pairs long, “too degraded” to be useful except with new techniques used by researchers at the Max Planck Institute. They claimed to assemble and sequence segments as short as 30 base pairs.

DNA in Amber Doesn’t Last Long n DNA在琥珀持续时间不长 So what will this mean for claims of ancient DNA extracted from specimens said to be millions of years old? The obvious answer is that it’s not really that old. According to these scientists looking at insects under ideal conditions of preservation, 10, 600 years is an upper limit. For the cave bear bones, it becomes less credible to believe permafrost conditions were uninterrupted for that long, let alone the question if permafrost is 30 times better at preserving DNA. How could that be tested without assuming the evolutionary dates?

n Gloria Deo 愿荣耀归上帝

Sermons From Science -- Oct 2013 科学布道-2013年 10月 Sermons from Science is now published in both You. Tube under the name “Pastor Chui” and also in Power. Point slides in the website http: //Christ. Center. Gospel. org. The contents of this presentation were taken from Dave Coppedge’s website http: //crev. info. May God have all the glory. Let us pray for Dave Coppedge’s fast recovery from cancer surgery. Pastor Chui http: //Christ. Center. Gospel. org ckchui 1@yahoo. com

Biblical Archaeology Still Has Much to Discover 圣经考古发现仍有许多 n n Some exciting discoveries in Jerusalem and other near eastern sites emphasize the fact that archaeologists have much more to explore in the lands of the Bible. Jerusalem: The house of a wealthy family on old Mt. Zion from the first century was reported on Live Science and Science Daily. Archaeologists are surmising that the dwelling belonged to a priestly family. James Tabor indicated that this discovery can help shed light on Jesus in two ways: by characterizing the lifestyle of the rich He criticized, and by understanding their financial motivations for condemning Him to death.

Biblical Archaeology Still Has Much to Discover 圣经考古发现仍有许多 n “If this turns out to be the priestly residence of a wealthy first century Jewish family, it immediately connects not just to the elite of Jerusalem — the aristocrats, the rich and famous of that day — but to Jesus himself, ” Tabor said. “These are the families who had Jesus arrested and crucified, so for us to know more about them and their domestic life — and the level of wealth that they enjoyed — would really fill in for us some key history. ”

Biblical Archaeology Still Has Much to Discover 圣经考古发现仍有许多 n Jerusalem: Tia Ghose at Live Science reported a research project at a city dump outside old Jerusalem that provides insight into the animal sacrifice economy that thrived in Jesus’ day, when thousands of pilgrims would buy or bring animals to the Temple for holy day offerings. Isotopes in the bones can reveal the location of origin for the animals. “The study found that many of the animals found in the city dump came from rural desert regions hundreds of miles away, such as Arabia or Transjordan. ”

Biblical Archaeology Still Has Much to Discover 圣经考古发现仍有许多 n City of David: Eilat Mazar is shown holding up a portion of a golden medallion found in the City of David near the Temple Mount in coverage on Bible Places Blog. This “once in a lifetime” discovery of coins and other golden treasures from the Byzantine period (after the New Testament) was also reported on Science Daily. based on a press release from Hebrew University. The article also mentioned the Canaanite inscription found earlier nearby, possibly from the time of David (see Live Science coverage).

Biblical Archaeology Still Has Much to Discover 圣经考古发现仍有许多 n Dalmanutha: Artifacts believed to be from Dalmanutha, mentioned only in Mark 8: 10– 12, have been found in the Ginosar Valley along the northwestern shore of the Sea of Galilee. Mark mentioned the town as a place where Jesus confronted the Pharisees who demanded to see a miraculous sign. The town is near Magdala, home of Mary Magdalene. If the pottery remains and Corinthian capitals are indeed from Dalmanutha, it indicates a prosperous town thrived there in the first century.

Biblical Archaeology Still Has Much to Discover 圣经考古发现仍有许多 n Abel Beth Maacah: It has an imposing tell (mound) at the north end of the Huleh Valley, near the border of Lebanon, but it has never been excavated—till now. It’s Abel Beth Maacah, at the crossroads of important trade routes in ancient and modern times. Bible Places Blog, quoting the ASOR Blog, describes the initial survey and first season that are providing hopes the site will prove as productive as Tell Dan and Hazor. The town is known from a moving story in 2 Samuel 20: 14– 22 about a woman who saved the town by appeasing David’s army captain Joab. The site appears to have prominent Aramean influence. One of the major towns of the northern kingdom of Israel, was destroyed in 733 BC by Assyrian conqueror Tiglath-pileser.

Biblical Archaeology Still Has Much to Discover 圣经考古发现仍有许多 n Derbe: Mentioned in Acts 14, 16, and 20, Derbe is one of the last cities on Paul’s missionary journeys to be excavated. Alongside a photo of the impressive mound, Bible Places Blog pointed to a news article about a new excavation at the site begun by Selçuk University. So far they have uncovered a possible early Christian church.

Biblical Archaeology Still Has Much to Discover 圣经考古发现仍有许多 n We commend Live Science for reporting stories on Biblical archaeology, not just on DODO evolution, wanton sex, and liberal politics (as they have been wont to do, for which we cannot commend them). n We would also point out to readers that archaeology is one of several active sciences dependent on intelligent design principles: determining the products of mind from the evidence of physical artifacts.

n Gloria Deo 愿荣耀归上帝

Sermons From Science -- Oct 2013 科学布道-2013年 10月 Sermons from Science is now published in both You. Tube under the name “Pastor Chui” and also in Power. Point slides in the website http: //Christ. Center. Gospel. org. The contents of this presentation were taken from Dave Coppedge’s website http: //crev. info. May God have all the glory. Let us pray for Dave Coppedge’s fast recovery from cancer surgery. Pastor Chui http: //Christ. Center. Gospel. org ckchui 1@yahoo. com

Planet Habitable Zone Cannot Be Too Windy 行星可居住区不能太多风 n n The “habitable zone” of a planet usually concerns its distance from the star such that it can support liquid water. But what if the star fries the surface with intense stellar winds? “Deadly stellar winds could put a stop to life” reads the headline of an article on Astrobiology Magazine. Planet Earth has a protective magnetic field that shields its inhabitants from the solar wind. But the solar wind emitted by our star is mild compared to the intense storms of charged particles flung out by other stars.

Planet Habitable Zone Cannot Be Too Windy 行星可居住区不能太多风 n Joe Llama from the University of St. Andrews looked at the n winds that bombard one of the “hot Jupiters” (giant planets orbiting close to parent stars), named HD 189733. He considered what such a wind would do to an earth-like planet, even if it orbited in its habitable zone: In the case of HD 189733 b, this is not a huge problem as it and other hot Jupiters are already far too hostile for life to survive. But strong stellar winds could also strip away the atmospheres of potentially habitable planets further out, something that would have dire consequences for their habitability. Joe comments: “Imagine what the Earth would be like with its air stripped away, placed in a radiation bath. There could be numerous planets like this that in many ways resemble our world, but where life never stood a chance. ”

Planet Habitable Zone Cannot Be Too Windy 行星可居住区不能太多风 n The article did not quantify how many stars would irradiate their planets to death, but Llama thinks they “could be numerous”. There would be no point looking for life on planets in such systems. “For more than two decades we have been stepping up the search for other planets like the Earth, ” he said. “Our new work will help refine this quest, enabling us to rule out the sites where dangerous activity on stars would kill off life from the start. ”

Planet Habitable Zone Cannot Be Too Windy 行星可居住区不能太多风 n Earlier this month on Astrobiology Magazine, Sara Seager of MIT presented a “revised” Drake Equation that leaves off Frank Drake’s final factors about intelligent life evolving. She’s just interested in any kind of life emerging on a habitable planet. Llama’s conclusions will surely affect one factor she calls FQ, the fraction of stars that are quiet. “Some stars are like our solar maximum all the time, with flares and other activity, ” Seager said. “We don’t like those noisy stars. ”

Planet Habitable Zone Cannot Be Too Windy n 行星可居住区不能太多风 The “habitable zone” theory is a classic case of dogmatic slumbers being jolted awake by physical reality. In Carl Sagan’s Cosmos days, it seemed so simple: billions upon billions of stars might have life, based on the idea that all you needed was a rocky planet at the right distance from its star. Over the past decade we have been adding complications to the “habitable zone” idea, narrowing down substantially the probability of finding those lucky stars. Last year about this time, our list of factors (reported from astrobiology literature) was at nine (see 9/08/12); we predicted additional factors would be thought of. Now we have #10: the Stellar Wind Habitable Zone. Earth continues to look mighty special in this vast universe. You can thank your lucky stars if your world view requires heavy doses of superstition. Others of us find positive evidence for intelligent design.

n Gloria Deo 愿荣耀归上帝

Sermons From Science -- Oct 2013 科学布道-2013年 10月 Sermons from Science is now published in both You. Tube under the name “Pastor Chui” and also in Power. Point slides in the website http: //Christ. Center. Gospel. org. The contents of this presentation were taken from Dave Coppedge’s website http: //crev. info. May God have all the glory. Let us pray for Dave Coppedge’s fast recovery from cancer surgery. Pastor Chui http: //Christ. Center. Gospel. org ckchui 1@yahoo. com

Sherpa Fitness Is Not Evolution 夏尔巴人健身不是进化 n n A study about mutations that might confer benefit to high-altitude Sherpas is being announced as an example of evolution, but variation within species is not Darwinian evolution. Science Daily said that two mutations have been found in the mitochondrial DNA of sherpas, those highaltitude inhabitants of Tibet that carry packs up Mt. Everest for western adventurers. The article, though, says that the mutations “may be an important adaptation for low oxygen environments, ” and “may explain the importance of the role of mitochondria in the Sherpa population’s ability to adapt to the extreme Himalayan environment. ”

Sherpa Fitness Is Not Evolution 夏尔巴人健身不是进化 n This was published in Molecular Biology and Evolution with the title, “mt. DNA lineage expansions in Sherpa population suggest adaptive evolution in Tibetan highlands. ” n What the article fails to say is that sherpas are members of the one (and only one) human race, interfertile with all other human beings.

Sherpa Fitness Is Not Evolution 夏尔巴人健身不是进化 n Evolutionists play fast and loose with the term “evolution, ” ascribing whatever minor change they can to Darwinism. Darwin, though, was trying to portray universal common ancestry by means of unguided natural processes. It’s essential to keep that distinction in mind. Evidence abounds for minor mutation variants in life – yourself have multiple mutations compared to your own parents. That doesn’t mean you “evolved” from them. It is well known that tribes of people have physical differences due to inbreeding and adaptation to climate, but they are not different species (Darwin wrote, remember, about the “Origin of Species”).

Sherpa Fitness Is Not Evolution 夏尔巴人健身不是进化 n Adaptation is not evolution. Creationists of the strictest Biblical sort believe in adaptive variation within kinds of organisms, where “kinds” (from the Genesis word baramin) is usually much broader than species. Using evolution for within-kind variation commits the halftruth fallacy, and the extrapolation fallacy if applied to macroevolution.

Sherpa Fitness Is Not Evolution n 夏尔巴人健身不是进化 A recent article on genomic variations within felids, including tigers, lions and panthers (see Science Daily) also used the word “evolution” incorrectly. Creationists believe God created a “cat kind” that gave rise to a wide variety of felids around the globe, adapted to their habitats, with less genetic information than the ancestral form. Even today, lions and tigers can hybridize, yielding “ligers. ” The variety of house cats that can interbreed is well known, as with dog breeds, but dogs never give rise to cats, or vice versa, because they are different kinds of animals. Similarly, horses, donkeys and zebras are within the equine kind. To distinguish itself from creationism, Darwinism must go beyond the origin of species, and the origin of genera, invoking only unguided natural processes. There is plenty of evidence for extensive variability within kinds, but none outside of kinds. That variability was designed into the genomes of the created kinds so that they could adapt to environmental changes.

Sherpa Fitness Is Not Evolution 夏尔巴人健身不是进化 n If you weed out the evolutionary evidence about variability within kinds, nothing is left. Kinds all appear abruptly and appear with variations, reproducing “after their kind. ” What Darwin claimed is not observed in the natural world. It is only assumed.

n Gloria Deo 愿荣耀归上帝

Sermons From Science -- Oct 2013 科学布道-2013年 10月 Sermons from Science is now published in both You. Tube under the name “Pastor Chui” and also in Power. Point slides in the website http: //Christ. Center. Gospel. org. The contents of this presentation were taken from Dave Coppedge’s website http: //crev. info. May God have all the glory. Let us pray for Dave Coppedge’s fast recovery from cancer surgery. Pastor Chui http: //Christ. Center. Gospel. org ckchui 1@yahoo. com

Mars May Have Been Wet, But Never Lively 火星可能有湿气，但从来没有生命 n Astrobiologists got excited with evidence for early n water on Mars, but other discoveries are putting the quash on hopes it has or had life. We can only observe Mars in the present. Current evidence might suggest past realities, but can only infer probabilities for the past, based on one’s assumptions. What we know today from the Mars rover Curiosity and other sources is that: (1) some Martian minerals contain water; (2) Curiosity has failed to detect methane, a potential biomarker; and (3) perchlorate in the soil would be toxic to life.

Mars May Have Been Wet, But Never Lively n 火星可能有湿气，但从来没有生命 Perchlorates (compounds containing chlorine and oxygen) were first detected near the Martian north pole by the Mars Polar Lander Phoenix (Wikipedia). Now, perchlorates have been found by Curiosity in Gale Crater, reported Science Daily, Phys. Org and Astrobiology Magazine; “This finding at Curiosity’s equatorial site suggests more global distribution” of perchlorates, according to a JPL Mars Science Laboratory press release. These “troublesome chemicals” can interfere with the SAM (Sample Analysis on Mars) instrument’s search for organic molecules, because they give off oxygen that rapidly destroys evidence of their existence. As a result, “The quest for evidence of life on Mars could be more difficult than scientists previously thought. ”

Mars May Have Been Wet, But Never Lively n 火星可能有湿气，但从来没有生命 Some water: Evidence for water-containing minerals, therefore (as reported by Science Daily), is little consolation in the face of the bad news. Soil minerals dug up from the Curiosity rover’s arm were found to contain several percent water by weight. Even though described as a “Wow moment” for the mission team, the finding of toxic chlorinating chemicals in the same environment is not conducive to life now or in the past. This puts a wet blanket on recent suggestions that Earth life might have come from Mars (see 9/07/13).

Mars May Have Been Wet, But Never Lively 火星可能有湿气，但从来没有生命 n Still, if water could be mined right out of the soil, it might be handy for future manned missions to Mars – but then there are the damned perchlorates. “If the water was the good news for the astronauts, ” the BBC News remarked, “this is the bad news. ” Ingesting some of the fine-grained soil could “interfere with thyroid function, ” the article explained.

Mars May Have Been Wet, But Never Lively 火星可能有湿气，但从来没有生命 n No methane: Years ago, hints of methane in the Martian atmosphere temporarily aroused excitement it might be a whiff from life. Unfortunately, the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) rover Curiosity has failed to detect methane, a JPL press release announced. “It reduces the probability of current methane-producing Martian microbes, but this addresses only one type of microbial metabolism, ” an MSL scientist cautioned. It would have been “exciting to find” methane, but “We measured repeatedly from Martian spring to late summer, but with no detection of methane. ”

Mars May Have Been Wet, But Never Lively n 火星可能有湿气，但从来没有生命 Veteran atmospheric scientist Sushil Atreya said if it was there, it should have been detectable, because it would take centuries for the methane to deplete. He was insistent about it: “Without a way to take it out of the atmosphere quicker, our measurements indicate there cannot be much methane being put into the atmosphere by any mechanism, whether biology, geology, or by ultraviolet degradation of organics delivered by the fall of meteorites or interplanetary dust particles. ”

Mars May Have Been Wet, But Never Lively n n n 火星可能有湿气，但从来没有生命 No life? A list of MSL accomplishments by JPL never mentions life. The absence of methane “challenges life theory, ” the BBC News concluded, noting that 95% of Earth’s methane comes from life. Researchers have hung on to the hope that the molecule’s signature at Mars might also indicate a life presence. The inability of Curiosity’s sophisticated instrumentation to make this detection is likely now to dent this optimism. (BBC News)

Mars May Have Been Wet, But Never Lively 火星可能有湿气，但从来没有生命 n In its coverage, Science Magazine rather indelicately quipped, “Mars Rover Finds No Evidence of Burps or Farts. ” The editor must gotten some Bronx cheers for that one. The headline now reads, “Not a Whiff of Life on Mars” – leaving unanswered the burning question of whether emission of methane by a microbe qualifies as a fart.

Mars May Have Been Wet, But Never Lively 火星可能有湿气，但从来没有生命 n How’s that for a gift of a segue? Astrobiological speculation about the origin and evolution of life is about as useful and desirable, scientifically speaking, as a – shall we say – sudden eruption of particulateladen vaporous emissions from the lower end of a GI tract. Eat Darwin-brand philosophy with your science, and a certain venting of fogma is predictable. Scientific observations constitute the nutritious part. They are absorbed to become the meat, bone and sinew of scientific understanding. The evolutionary junk food, though, based on hopes, assumptions and improbable expectations – like cotton candy, lacking substance – breaks down into its constituent volatiles.

Mars May Have Been Wet, But Never Lively 火星可能有湿气，但从来没有生命 n When not quickly belched out to the press, the vapor gets refined on its journey, mixed with the methane of storytelling and the hydrogen sulfide of relativism, till it reaches the back orifice, where hordes of journal editors and science reporters await the product. It wrecked ‘em. They thought it would give them a “high” of understanding. Instead, it contributed less to knowledge than to angry partisanship, a kind of global warming. Maybe the planet would benefit from some climate change – in the other direction. Cool it, Charlie. Kick the DIDO habit. Go on a health food diet.

n Gloria Deo 愿荣耀归上帝