News to Note, April 19, 2008

1. “Ken Ham says: “I’m Excited about Expelled!”

By the time you read this, Ben Stein’s Darwinism-questioning film Expelled has been in theaters for more than a day. So, have you seen it yet?

In an e-mail that went out to a number of Answers in Genesis supporters, Ken Ham urged readers to see the new documentary Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed which opened yesterday (April 18):

I have already attended two previews of Expelled, and I look forward to seeing it again—that’s how great this film truly is. It exposes how radical evolutionists will persecute those who don’t accept evolution. It gives many examples of scientists and others whose careers have been ruined by the “evolution police”—yet at the same time manages to be humorous, thanks to its witty host (actor Ben Stein) and the insertion of funny movie clips.

Although it’s important to note that the film does not specifically advocate biblical creation nor discuss our Designer, what it does do is offer overwhelming evidence that Darwinism is dogma masquerading as science, and that suppression of academic freedom is what is keeping Darwinism in place.

You can read our full review of the film and even get a Movie Outreach Kit from our U.S. bookstore. Plus, visit the Expelled website for resources, including a theater locator. You can also view several clips of the film at WingClips.com.

As Ken Ham said, “Your support for the movie could help ensure that millions more people see the powerful evidence for design and learn about the loss of academic freedom at the hands of evolutionists.”

2. Grand Canyon Age Getting Pushed Back through Time of Dinosaurs

Any article on old-age dating methods that begins, “How could everyone have gotten it so wrong?” is obviously going to be of interest to creationists.

3. Scientists Determining Vocal Qualities of Neanderthals

You’re wandering the ominous halls of a secular natural science museum after hours one night. Walking through the “prehistoric” man displays, the model of a 30,000-year-old Neanderthal behind you opens his mouth and ekes out a ghastly sentence: “Evolution . . . is . . . true!”

4. AP: “Possible Ancient DNA Found”

DNA from (supposedly) more than a quarter of a billion years ago may have been found in an underground nuclear waste dump in New Mexico, reports the Associated Press.

The possibly-DNA-bearing salt crystals were extracted from the U.S. government’s Waste Isolation Pilot Planet near Carlsbad, New Mexico. The crystals have been verified to contain cellulose (described as “the microscopic stuff in wood or cotton”) in addition to the possible DNA.

“We did see some ancient DNA in the salt, but not a lot, and we have to continue experiments to try to verify that it is ancient DNA,” reported University of North Carolina School of Medicine professor Jack D. Griffith. Griffith and his team reported on the find in this month’s Astrobiology.

The cellulose, strands of which are only about twice the diameter of DNA, is probably what remains of “ancient” algae. The cellulose and possible DNA were found in saltwater inclusions in the salt crystals and thus were unfossilized.

Griffith and his team think astrobiologists should be looking for cellulose on other planets, because the material is so hardy and abundant (on earth, anyway) that, they presume, it might be the most easily found legacy of life on another world. Yet even if it were possible for life to spontaneously self-organize on a planet, without any sort of guiding Intelligence, why do these scientists think the evolutionary path would have resulted in extraterrestrial life using DNA or producing such molecules as cellulose? But is this idea any less idealistic than expecting to find humanoid aliens on other planets whose cultures parallel our own—though not as absurd as believing that the complexities of even “simple” life-forms could have appeared by chance.

5. Oldest Living Tree Located In Sweden

It’s the world’s oldest living tree, say Swedish researchers—but don’t worry, they didn’t stay up late counting the rings.

6. Is Free Will an Illusion?

It appears free will is an illusion, report researchers this week in Nature Neuroscience.

Remember, if you see a news story that might merit some attention, let us know about it! And thanks to all of our readers who have submitted great news tips to us. If you didn’t catch last week’s News to Note, why not take a look at it now? See you next week!

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