News to Note, July 7, 2012

1. Dairy Products Among Early Saharan Inhabitants

Dairy products prominent among early Saharan inhabitants.

2. Finding “The Missing Cornerstone of Physics”

Physicists applaud around the world as CERN scientists announce finding “the missing cornerstone of physics.”

3. Cold-Blooded or Warm-Blooded?

Study proves growth rings in bone cannot be used to determine whether an animal is cold-blooded or warm-blooded.

4. Clue to How Human Behavior Evolved

Gentle gorilla "gestural motherese" said by some to be a clue to how human behavior evolved.

5. Selfish Gene vs. Social Conquest

Dawkins’ Selfish Gene versus E. O. Wilson’s Social Conquest

And Don’t Miss . . .

• The writer of a Yahoo News blog that was posted this week chose to present attendance figures for the Creation Museum, here on the outskirts of Cincinnati in Petersburg, Kentucky, as if the Creation Museum were “evolving” to extinction. Her article, “The Creation Museum evolves: hoping to add a life-size ark project, the museum hits fundraising trouble,” also presented the $22 million already raised for the Ark Encounter as a failure. In truth, museum attendance figures have far exceeded the 250,000 projected for the first year every year. Attendance at new museums and zoos typically drops after their first year of operation and their highly publicized openings. The Creation museum drew 400,000 people the first year (2007), and has been averaging around 300,000 annually since, which was to be expected. Furthermore, daily attendance numbers this summer, despite the heat, the bad economy, and high gas prices, have typically exceeded those from last year. The Creation Museum certainly does not consider the 1.6 million visitors during its first five years of operation to be a sign of failure or a predictor of doom! And while the Ark Encounter does not yet have a definite date to begin construction, the fact that $22 million has already been raised in donations and investments in a year and a half (and during difficult economic times!)—compared to the 7 years required to raise the $27 million required for the Creation Museum project—is a positive, not a negative. Be sure to read Ken Ham’s response to the Yahoo blog writer’s clear agenda.