News to Note, February 27, 2010

1. Where Small Dogs Evolved

You may not have been asking, but some scientists think they have the answer to where small dogs “evolved.”

2. Poor Planet WASP-12b

Pity poor planet WASP-12b: its host star not only heats it to more than 4,700˚F (2600˚C), but also is in the process of eating it.

3. Animal Intelligence

Several news stories this week examine aspects of various animals’ surprising levels of intelligence—though this shouldn’t come as a surprise to regular News to Note readers, considering our frequent coverage of this fascinating topic. The animals included here are no surprise, however: dolphins, chimps, crows, elephants, and whales, all animals already renowned for their smarts.

4. Four Dinosaur Skulls Reveal Sauropod Dinosaur

Four dinosaur skulls recovered from Utah’s Dinosaur National Monument reveal Abydosaurus mcintoshi, a huge sauropod dinosaur thought to have swallowed its meals whole.

5. And Don’t Miss . . .

• Harvard scientists have shown how a few mathematical rules may be responsible for all the variation in the beaks of Darwin’s finches. This simplicity eases the birds’ ability to adapt and shows how relatively straightforward genetic variation can cause a wide range of morphological variation.
• In Israel, a politician responsible for education has insisted that a governmental chief scientist’s views on evolution and global warming are “unacceptable.” The reason for the scientist’s censure? He spoke out against the dogmatic teaching of both.
• Giant frogs and menacing crocodiles, while said to date from different time periods, both give us an idea of the wondrous and often fearsome creatures our human ancestors would have had to deal with before—and perhaps after—the Flood.
• LiveScience provides an interesting overview of a molecular motor that functions inside the body’s cells, working as a tiny seesaw—which creationists and evolutionists agree is a great example of “design,” whether intelligent or not!
• A Hebrew University archaeologist has unearthed what may be another physical remnant of biblical accounts: an ancient Jerusalem wall, which the archaeologist matches with the wall described in 1 Kings 3:1.
• Two sources you might not expect to present views quite similar to Answers in Genesis’s nonetheless did so this week: in the New York Times, Stanley Fish argues that even “secular” decision-making presupposes certain (religious) values, and for National Public Radio, Christopher Joyce documents how presupposed beliefs may determine one’s views on science.
• A new study by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life shows that according to most measures, American “Millennials” (those born after 1980) are “considerably less religious than older Americans”—even compared to earlier generations’ when they were equivalent in age.

Remember, if you see a news story that might merit some attention, let us know about it! (Note: if the story originates from the Associated Press, Fox News, MSNBC, New York Times or another major national media outlet, we will most likely have already heard 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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