News to Note, March 26, 2011

1. Old Views, New News

Believe it or not, the famous Miller–Urey experiment of the 1950s is still making headlines in the creation–evolution controversy.

In the biochemistry experiment, which took place more than half a century ago at the University of Chicago, graduate student Stanley Miller, adviser Harold Urey, and others ran an electric charge through a mixture of gaseous elements thought to replicate the early earth’s atmosphere.

2. More Mutant Pets!

In a society obsessed with youthfulness, wrinkles are features non grata. For some pet lovers, however, it’s the extensive wrinkling of one breed of dog that makes it so adorable.

3. One Power of Prayer

Jesus taught us to pray, “forgive us . . . [a]s we forgive” (Matthew 6:12), and instructed us to “bless those who curse you [and] pray for those who mistreat you” (Luke 6:28). And now, scientists are learning more about the power behind prayer.

4. Martian Ancestry

Evolutionary scientists have spent years—and billions of dollars—searching for Martian life, coming up empty-handed despite their best efforts. Or is the problem their assumption that Martian life would be on Mars at all—instead of, say, Earth?

5. Don't Mention It!

We know evolutionists don’t want science educators to be teaching creation in the classroom—but is it wrong to even mention it?

And Don’t Miss . . .

• A month ago we reported on news that scientists had rejected what had been considered the oldest fossil life on earth, although most scientists still believe the rocks in question contain indirect evidence of ancient life. Answers in Genesis geologist Dr. Andrew A. Snelling tells us, “If fossilized bacteria were to be found in rocks supposedly 3.5 billion years old, it still wouldn’t be a problem to us. As I have argued in my book, such bacteria could have existed since the third day of Creation Week, and elsewhere in the rock record [the indirect evidence of the bacteria] ha[s] been found in reef-like structures that might have been part of a specialised pre-Flood biological community.”
• Readers can almost see the holes in evolutionary theory by reading between the lines of research on the origins of several flying insects. A study that examined the supposed shared ancestry of the mosquito, the March fly, and the common house fly concluded that the species resulted from “fast diversification” and that “living representatives of these early branching groups, such as mosquitoes and March flies, are still with us”—i.e., that these creatures do not appear different from their supposedly ancient ancestors.
• “[R]emarkable preservation” of a reptile—and the help of the latest technology—has allowed University of Manchester scientists to view organic compounds in the fossilized skin of an animal said to have perished an incredible (should we say “unbelievable”?) fifty million years ago.
• Have Israeli archaeologists found evidence of the wall built by Solomon, referenced in 1 Kings 3:1 and 1 Kings? Some researchers warn against “leaning too heavily on the Bible to interpret the findings,” though we would warn against leaning too heavily on the findings to interpret the Bible! While archaeological discoveries such as this can provide powerful confirmations of the Bible’s true history, our faith lies not in uncertain and interpreted evidence, but in God Himself and His Word.
• Creation education won’t be an option for free schools, the British Department of Education has clarified to anti-creationist critics. The British Centre for Science Education wrote the department, expressing its concern that creationists would use free schools in a “concerted attack” on science education. The leader of a free school newly established by a Nottinghamshire church responded, “Creationism will be embodied as a belief at Everyday Champions Academy, but will not be taught in the sciences. Similarly, evolution will be taught as a theory. We believe children should have a broad knowledge of all theories in order that they can make informed choice.”
• Some say that the more you learn, the less you know, and that certainly seems to be the case with scientists’ understanding of genetics. For years scientists believed that heritable characteristics were passed down solely through genes, but biologists continue to learn about so-called “epigenetic” mechanisms of inheritance.
• They may not receive as much attention as chimps, but capuchin monkeys have their own smarts. ScienceNOW reports on clever blonde capuchins that use a crafty technique to harvest termites without breaking their tools. The monkeys first hit the termite nest, then twist a stick in like a screw to gather termites without breaking the stick. It’s another example of the intelligence we see throughout the animal kingdom.
• The latest coverage of the forthcoming Ark Encounter, backed by Answers in Genesis, appears in a rush to emphasize (in the first paragraph) the “skepticism about the projected attendance numbers for the Ark Encounter.” Thankfully, the overall tone and content of the article about a full-size Noah’s Ark to be built in Northern Kentucky is positive in spite of those baseless concerns (which we’ve mentioned previously).
• The Texas legislature is considering a bill written by state representative Bill Zedler designed to protect university faculty and students from discrimination due to “research relating to the theory of intelligent design or other alternate theories of the origination and development of organisms.”
• In the news this week is the headline “Speedy Toads Advance Theory of Evolution.” We explained why the toads don’t advance Darwinism when the news originally broke last October.