News to Note, June 30, 2012

1. Did the Altruistic "Snuggle for Survival" Help Humans Evolve?

From the first cells to humans, the evolution of life has been a “snuggle for survival,” says Harvard professor Martin Nowak.

2. Australian Aboriginal Art Discovered in Rock Shelter

Aged Australian Aboriginal art discovered at Narwala Gabarnmang rock shelter.

3. Big Bugs and Birds

Big bugs met birds and bit the dust.

4. Batteries Started Life?

In the beginning, batteries begat life?

And Don’t Miss …

• Countering media claims that young earth creationist organizations such as Answers in Genesis typically use unsubstantiated mythological creatures to support our positions, Dr. Georgia Purdom, who holds a doctoral degree in molecular genetics and serves as a research scientist and speaker for Answers in Genesis, explained the Loch Ness Monster is not evidence we use to support creationism. “I think it’s a very poor argument to use. … I don’t like to see things that are mythical being used to support creation and deny evolution,” she told the Christian Post. Dr. Purdom explained that dinosaurs were brought onto the Ark, along with other land animals, and they died out sometime after the global Flood described in Genesis. “There are cave paintings and things like that that we have of creatures that look very dinosaur-like, so it’s possible that these didn’t die out even thousands of years ago, maybe just hundreds of years ago,” she explained. However, a paragraph from an ACE science text suggests sightings of “Nessie” are consistent with a plesiosaur’s appearance and could be evidence that dinosaurs remain alive today. The Washington Post therefore links Loch Ness to “Young Earth Creationists, who believe that Earth was created no longer than 10,000 years ago, not the 4.5 billion years estimated by science,” adding, “They also believe that dinosaurs were on Noah’s Ark.” But as Dr. Purdom explains, we at Answers in Genesis make no such claims about the Loch Ness Monster. We do, however, espouse the biblical truth that God created dinosaurs the same week as He created Adam and Eve, about 6,000 years ago. We maintain a portion of our website to educate everyone about “arguments creationists should not use.”