News to Note, January 30, 2010

1. Fossilized Melanosomes Found

Paleontologists have recovered fossilized melanosomes (which are responsible for pigmentation in skin, fur, and feathers) from ancient birds and dinosaurs.

2. Creationists Only Fighting Half the Battle?

If Darwinian evolution is only half the story, does that mean creationists are fighting only half the battle?

3. Echolocation Provides Supporting Evidence for Creationists

Both bats and dolphins (a type of toothed whale) are known for their abilities to “echolocate,” or use sonar to capture prey. This capability, fascinating in its own right, shows that creationists can explain some things that evolutionists cannot.

4. Extraterrestrial Cofounder is Far From Giving Up Search

Despite the ongoing lack of evidence for extraterrestrial life, one cofounder of the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence is far from giving up.

5. Running With or Without Shoes?

Running shoes probably seem like prudent athletic footwear for most of us. But as some African runners have shown, God’s original design is superior.

6. And Don’t Miss . . .

• Evolutionists seek to explain away altruism in nature as merely actions that benefit oneself or one’s own genes indirectly. But observations of West African chimpanzees show acts of altruistic adoption, even though adopting an orphaned chimpanzee is costly and does not aid survival. “Some adoptions of orphans by unrelated adults lasted for years and imply extensive care towards the orphans. This includes being permanently associated with the orphan, waiting for it during travel, providing protection in conflicts and sharing food with the orphan,” one researcher explained.
• Two weeks ago, we wrote about prions, infectious protein particles known mostly for their role in disease. However, a recent study conducted at University Hospital in Zurich suggests that prions do serve a beneficial role.
• Adding to research we covered last October and November, scientists at University of Massachusetts Medical School have learned more about the role of photoreceptor proteins in monarch butterflies’ ability to detect the planet’s magnetic field.
• If you don’t buy Charles Darwin’s theory on the origin of species, it’s unlikely you accept his son George’s theory on the moon’s origin—which researchers have now elaborated on to suggest a nuclear explosion blasted the moon into space.
• We reported last week on the opening of the film Creation in the U.S. But according to one reviewer, at least, it is hardly more than a “lumbering, flat-footed fancy-dress melodrama.” Nonetheless, Creation star Paul Bettany continued his attacks on our Creation Museum in a Long Island Press interview.
• Meanwhile, a Washington Post blog entry focused on a Vanity Fair article that focused on us, and which we also covered last week. The Post’s Ian Shapira wrote of our critic’s article, “Vanity Fair took the cliched route, pointing a huge rifle inside a small bowl full of wriggling fish. The reporter relied on snark rather than a more deeply reported exploration of the museum and, more important, of the lives and mindsets of visitors there.” While Shapira cautions, “I am not a creationist,” we are happy at least one journalist found the Vanity Fair piece unfair.
• Lastly, we note with sadness the recent passing of creationist and leading medical researcher Prof. John Rendle-Short. On Monday on this AiG website, Ken Ham will pay tribute to his good friend and medical pioneer.

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