News to Note, February 26, 2011

1. Pollution Evolution

Another prominently reported example of “evolution” illustrates just the opposite—and supports the creationist critique of Darwinian evolution.

2. Skin Color and Natural Selection

The differences in human skin color provide another example of how natural selection is different from evolution.

Penn State University anthropologist Nina Jablonski has told colleagues at the annual American Association for the Advancement of Science meeting that “The mechanism of evolution can be completely understood from skin color” and therefore “we can teach the principles of evolution using an example on our own bodies.”

3. BBC News: “Vatican’s Space Mission”

What existed before the big bang? And can secular scientists and the Roman Catholic Church team up to answer that question?

A website run cooperatively by the Vatican and the Italian Space Agency aims to attract readers who are interested in a “greater understanding” of both scientific and religious answers to deep questions like, “If the [b]ig [b]ang was the start of everything, what came before it?”

4. We Aren't Worth Their Time

A panel at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science tackled the often rocky relationship between science and religion.

And Don’t Miss . . .

• National Geographic News reports the incredible discovery of what must be a post-Flood mastodon and human skull at the bottom of an underwater cave in Mexico.
• What is thought to be the world’s oldest fossil life may have never been alive, after all. Researchers had believed that rocks in northwestern Australia held the remains of 3.5-billion-year-old cyanobacteria. But a new analysis of those rocks by researchers at the University of Kansas confirmed a previous study suggesting the “bacteria” were actually hematite and quartz, nullifying the evidence of such ancient life.
• The majority of individuals in a “locked-in” state—who are fully conscious but are completely paralyzed except for eye and eyelid muscles—are happy, a survey finds. Compared to seventy-two percent who report being happy, only four respondents (seven percent) expressed a desire for euthanasia. The researchers conclude that “patients recently struck by [the syndrome] should be informed that, given proper care, they have a considerable chance of regaining a happy life” and that “shortening of life requests . . . are valid only when the patients have been give[n] a chance to attain a steady state of subjective wellbeing.” In our view, this enhances the argument against euthanasia by disproving the idea that severely impaired individuals can no longer live happy or meaningful lives.

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, the 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!

(Please note that links will take you directly to the source. Answers in Genesis is not responsible for content on the websites to which we refer. For more information, please see our Privacy Policy.)