The Google Pac-Man Phenomenon
Google celebrated the 30th anniversary of Pac-Man by adding a fully functional game app to it's main search page.
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What Happened to Global Warming?
Yesterday, as Al Gore spoke in Madison about the "inconvenient truth" of global warming, Wisconsin experienced one the the earliest snowfalls in recorded history. Enthusiasts continue to enlist the government to mandate social behavior consistent with their belief in models that appear to have failed.... what happened to global warming:
This headline may come as a bit of a surprise, so too might that fact that the warmest year recorded globally was not in 2008 or 2007, but in 1998.But it is true. For the last 11 years we have not observed any increase in global temperatures.
And our climate models did not forecast it, even though man-made carbon dioxide, the gas thought to be responsible for warming our planet, has continued to rise.
When forecasted data is inconsistent with the related observed phenomenon, the model must be rejected as either invalid or insufficient. Generally, this type of experimental outcome would cause a scientist to change or abandon a hypothesis. Perhaps the global hypothesis is much more to Al Gore than a hypothesis or a theory but involves a belief system that is based upon faith rather than data.
Posted by Blogorithm at 08:03 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Umbilical Cord Stem Cells Successful in Treatment of Type 1 Diabetes
Amazingly, stem cell treatments using umbilical and adult stem cells continue to show great progress.
By Hilary White
CHICAGO, June 29, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) A new US study offers insights into the way stem cells from umbilical cord blood can be used to successfully treat diabetes. Researchers at the University of Florida College of Medicine studied twenty children aged between two and seven with type 1 diabetes, seven of whom were injected with cord blood cells. The researchers concluded that the study suggests that the cells jump-start and correct the patients own immune system.
"This is the first attempt at using cord blood as a potential therapy for type 1 diabetes. We hope these cells can either lessen the immune system's attack on the pancreas or possibly introduce stem cells that can differentiate into insulin-producing cells," said the lead researcher, Dr. Michael Haller.
Continue reading "Umbilical Cord Stem Cells Successful in Treatment of Type 1 Diabetes"
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Diabetes Risk Factors
The top nine are published here.
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Adult Stem Cells Treat Eye Disease
British experts are pioneering a treatment using stem cell therapy to improve the sight of people born with a rare genetic eye disorder. Stem cells taken from dead donors, living relatives or even the patients themselves are grown in a laboratory until they form sheets and then transplanted on to the surface of the cornea. - more here
Yes, chalk another one up for adult stem cells, the kind that don't involve the destruction of a human life.
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Five-fold increase in Diabetes
Investigators in the UK report that the incidence of diabetes among children under the age of five has increase dramatically in recent years:
The number of British children under five diagnosed with a specific type of diabetes has risen five-fold over 20 years due to unidentified environmental factors, a study said on Friday.As mentioned above, they're not certain why but the evidence suggests either and environmental factor and a change in the lifestyle and health of the population.[snip]
"This could either mean that we are being exposed to something new, or that we now have reduced exposure to something that was previously controlling our immune responses," said Professor Polly Bingley from Bristol University.
"We now need to work to identify what these changes might be," she added.
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Hoax of Dodos
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Pro-Life Legislation Reduced Abortion Rates
Between 1985 and 1999 the abortion rate among minors has fallen by 50% and yet has received relatively little attention. According to a new study published by the Heritage Foundation, pro-life legislation is a contributing factor leading to the observed decline in abortion among minors.
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Global Cooling was a Myth
It took 31 years, but Newsweek magazine admitted it was incorrect about climate change. In a nearly 1,000-word correction, Senior Editor Jerry Adler finally agreed that a 1975 piece on global cooling "was so spectacularly wrong about the near-term future."
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Degrading Science
Check out Wesley Smith's insightful commentary on the de-evolution of science:
WHEN CRITICS BEMOAN the politicization of science, they usually point a bitter finger at the Bush administration. Their condemnation should actually be aimed in the opposite direction. Increasingly, it is the scientists themselves--or better stated the leaders of the science sector--who are devolving science from the apolitical pursuit of knowledge into a distinctly ideological enterprise.The creation of a new 527 advocacy PAC called Scientists and Engineers for America (SEA) is the latest example of this phenomenon. SEA claims to be entering the political fray because the nation's leaders "systematically ignore scientific evidence and analysis, put ideological interests ahead of scientific truths, suppress valid scientific evidence and harass and threaten scientists for speaking honestly about their research." But most of the problems SEA identifies on its website as supposedly threatening science are actually disputes about ethics, philosophy, or social theory--areas of human concern that are not within the scientific realm.
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Neil Armstrong said 'a'
The 40+ year debate has apparently ended with speech recognition software confirming what Neil Armstrong maintained all along:
High-tech detective work apparently has found the missing "a" in one of the most famous phrases ever spoken.Houston ChronicleAstronaut Neil Armstrong's first words from the surface of the moon on July 20, 1969, now can be confidently recast, according to the research, as, "That's one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind."
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The Population Crisis
No, not overpopulation, which some labeled as the most daunting challenge mankind faces. The Population Research Institute explains:
The idea that the world population experienced a dramatic boom in the proportion of young people after World War II due to decreased childhood mortality and other improved living conditions, necessitating population control measures that saved us
from an unsustainable infestation of rugrats, is not true. At the world level, the population in 1950 was relatively young, having 34% of its members under age 15 and barely 8% aged 60 or over, says UNDP. This was despite the fertility decline of the Great Depression and the massive loss of young lives in World War II. Between 1950 and 1975, as mortality decline accelerated, particularly in the less developed regions, both the proportion under age 15 and that aged 60 or over increased, to reach 37% and about 9% respectively. Overall, therefore, the population of the world became slightly younger from 1950 to 1975. So the world remained in demographic balance, and major demographic changes did not take place until after 1975after population control and feminism had begun to take firm hold in most of the world.And now population control has lead to the specter of rapid population aging and attendant social and economic decline as fewer and fewer workers attempt to support more and more elderly, first in the First World, then globally. The UNDP urges that action be taken soon, before the crisis gets out of hand. What did those at the pinnacle of the international community in influence and funds have to say on World Population Day 2006?
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Attacking CPCs
For decades pregnancy centers have sustained waves of attacks from abortion providers and proponent groups who routinely seek to discredit their competition. These groups have tried to limit women from accessing comprehensive information on abortion risks and alternatives, which is provided through the free and confidential services offered by the doctors, nurses, and professional volunteers at pregnancy centers.
The latest coordinated string of attacks began late in December 2005 with a report issued by NARAL Pro-Choice Texas entitled Crisis Pregnancy Centers: A Hidden Threat to Women's Health? Since then, the attacks have continued with additional reports issued by the National Abortion Federation and other groups who are angered that pregnancy centers have begun to compete for federal grants that enable them to present abstinence-based educational programs, instead of the "safe-sex" programs that such groups tellingly support. Additional IYD grants have been awarded to a small number of pregnancy centers to enable them to enable them to provide medical services to low income women.
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Federal Judge Dismisses Case Challenging National Motto
A California federal trial judge has dismissed the lawsuit filed by Michael Newdow challenging the constitutionality of our national motto, In God We Trust. Newdow is the atheist who achieved national attention in his previous unsuccessful attempt to remove the Pledge of Allegiance from public schools because it includes the words one nation under God.
The Thomas More Law Center, a national public interest law firm based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, had filed a friend of the court brief seeking the dismissal of Newdows national motto lawsuit.
Continue reading "Federal Judge Dismisses Case Challenging National Motto"
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Religious Mystics
It is characteristic of mysticism that it makes its appeal to the feelings as the sole, or at least as the normative, source of knowledge of divine things. That is to say, it is the religious sentiment which constitutes for it the source of religious knowledge. Of course mystics differ with one another in the consistency with which they apply their principle. And of course they differ with one another in the account they give of this religious sentiment to which they make their appeal. There are, therefore, many varieties of mystics, pure and impure, consistent and inconsistent, naturalistic and supernaturalistic, pantheistic and theistic even Christian. What is common to them all, and what makes them all mystics, is that they all rest on the religious sentiment as the source of knowledge of divine things.
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Jesus: Divine or Da Vinci? A Biblical Response to 'The Da Vinci Code'
Is Jesus the Divine Son of God as recorded in the New Testament? Or is Jesus a mortal man as identified in the popular book The Da Vinci Code? Mahoney Media Group Inc. presents Jesus: Divine or Da Vinci?, an invaluable resource and powerful defense of biblical Christianity. The Jesus: Divine or Da Vinci? DVD can be found in Christian bookstores nationwide and is also distributed internationally.
Continue reading "Jesus: Divine or Da Vinci? A Biblical Response to 'The Da Vinci Code'"
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Intelligent Design Under Fire
In a rare opportunity, leading proponents of the intelligent design movement have invited their critics to ask them the hard questions about the validity of intelligent design theory on Friday, May 12 at Biola University.
The question of intelligent design has flooded the news this year with the Dover, Penn. trial over the place of ID in public education. With many questions still left unanswered about ID theory, this event will allow the public access to hear from top ID experts and its critics.
The event will be held in the format of a press conference. Panelists representing ID include Mike Behe, Professor of Biochemistry, Lehigh University and Senior Fellow Discovery Institute; Paul Nelson, Adjunct Professor, Biola University; Guillermo Gonzales, Assistant Research Professor of Astronomy, Iowa State University; Jonathan Wells, Senior Fellow, Discovery Institute; and Steve Meyer, Director and Senior Fellow of the Center for Science and Culture at the Discovery Institute, Seattle.
Those cross-examining the panelists will include: Antony Flew, noted philosopher; Keith Morrison of Dateline NBC; and faculty from Cal State Fullerton: Bruce H. Weber, Ph.D. Professor of Biochemistry; James R. Hofmann, Ph.D. Professor and Chair, Liberal Studies Department; and Craig M. Nelson, Ph.D. Lecturer, Department of Comparative Religion.
The event will be held in Sutherland Auditorium at Biola University from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. More than 1,000 attendees are expected.
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True Evolution has not been Observed
True evolution, in the macro-sense, has never been observed, only inferred. A population of moths that changes from light to dark based upon environmental pressures is not evolution -- they are still moths. A population of bacteria that become resistant to antibiotics does not illustrate evolution -- they are still bacteria. In the biological realm, natural selection (which is operating in these examples) is supposedly the mechanism by which evolution advances, and intelligent design theory certainly does not deny its existence. While natural selection can indeed preserve the stronger and more resilient members of a gene pool, intelligent design maintains that it cannot explain entirely new kinds of life -- and that is what evolution is. - Dr. Roy Spencer
Morphological similarity cannot be directly tied to common ancestry but instead are assumed to be an indication of an evolutionary relationship.
The fossil record is virtually, if not completely devoid of transitional life forms. This fact motivated Stephen Gould to develop his theory of punctuated equilibria.
This has led many scientists to understand that the theory of evolution is a belief system, resulting in a model for explaining the development of organisms. As such, it is no less faith-based than any other religion. Spencer notes the obvious:
It is already legal to teach intelligent design in public schools. What is not currently legal is to mandate its teaching. The Supreme Court has ruled that this would violate the First Amendment's establishment of religion clause.But I have some questions relating to this: Does not classical evolutionism, based almost entirely upon faith, violate the same clause? More importantly, what about the establishment clause of the First Amendment, which states that Congress shall make no law prohibiting the free exercise of religion?
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How Bees Fly
No, bees do not look aerodynamic and some even fly with their legs (landing gear) down. However, scientists have now discovered method to this madness.
Orchid bees swing their hind legs forward to reach top speed, a new study finds. The legs also generate lift, which keeps the bees balanced and helps prevent rolling."The hind legs resemble airplane wings, which probably explains why they also generate lift," said Stacey Combes of the University of California, Berkeley.
Continue reading "How Bees Fly"
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The Gospel (of Judas?)
The National Geographic is all agog over a newly discovered "Gospel of Judas." It totally changes our view of history's greatest traitor, or so goes the TV promotions. It's almost funny. When was the last time the Geographic crowd found scripture inerrant? This latest farce comes at the same time as the media hype for Dan Brown's beach blanket bestseller, The Da Vinci Code. It's yet another production in the theater of the absurd. So, we are now supposed to believe that Judas betrayed Jesus on orders from Jesus? The "Gospel of Judas" text may be new, but its existence has been known for only about two millennia. It was condemned as a fraud by the early Church fathers. So were many other productions of the sect called the Gnostics. Gnosis is a Greek word meaning secret. There has always been an appeal for such secret news. Grassy knoll conspiracy theorists have been around since the Monday morning after that first Easter Sunday. G. K. Chesterton, the great English writer, explains the reason for all these Jesus-light productions. "Christianity," he said, "has not been tried and found wanting. It has been tried and found difficult." One thing you might notice in all this hype: Those of us who believe in the Gospel of Jesus Christ will not be burning down publishing houses, bookstores, or television studios even as we deplore these unceasing assaults on our faith. We won't be issuing any fatwas calling for the beheading of these infidels. Despite two thousand years of doubters and shouters, His Truth goes marching on.
Source: FRC Newsletter
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Darwin's 'Missing Link'? -- Tiktaalik Raises Unanticipated Problems for Evolution
Scientists have recovered 375-million-year-old fossils of a shallow-water fish in sediments in the Canadian Arctic near the North Pole.
Evolutionary biologists believe that this creature, dubbed Tiktaalik roseae, documents the transition that animals made from the sea to land. Tiktaalik is being touted as one of the most important fossil finds in historyDarwins missing link.
Continue reading "Darwin's 'Missing Link'? -- Tiktaalik Raises Unanticipated Problems for Evolution"
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Henry Morris Passed Away
A great hero of the faith:
Concerned Women for America (CWA) mourns the loss of a good friend, an influential Christian leader, and the founder of the modern creationist movement, Dr. Henry Morris. Dr. Morris passed away in California on Saturday, February 25, 2006, at the age of 87, having led a full and accomplished life."Dr. Morris was a blessing to all who were privileged enough to know him," said Beverly LaHaye, CWA’s Founder and Chairman. "He has left a lasting legacy of faithfulness, intellect, diligence and servanthood. He used the many gifts God gave him to contribute greatly to the kingdom of God."
One of Dr. Morris’ most notable accomplishments was his lifelong, sturdy defense of a literal six-day creation. His publication of The Genesis Flood in 1961 laid the foundation for his work and helped earn him the title "Father of the Modern Creation Movement." Dr. Morris passionately fought the false dichotomy between science and Biblical orthodoxy. He founded the Institute for Creation Research (http://www.icr.org/) and wrote more than 60 books and countless articles.
"I well remember when my husband, Tim, first invited Dr. Morris to San Diego to help found Christian Heritage College – yet another great legacy this hard- working and dedicated man has left to the generations to come," Mrs. LaHaye said. "Who knew then what great things God had in store for him and how much he would do for God’s kingdom? Dr. Morris’ life shows each one of us how much God will use us if only we will let Him.
"We at Concerned Women for America want to offer our deepest condolences to the family and many friends of Dr. Henry Morris," Mrs. LaHaye said. "We will miss him but are comforted to know he is rejoicing in the presence of his Creator and ours."
Concerned Women for America (CWA) is the nation’s largest public policy women’s organization.
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Adult stem cells attack Alzheimers
Canadian researchers said Friday they have uncovered a natural defense mechanism to Alzheimer's disease. Not surprisingly, it involves ADULT stem cells -- those derived from bone marrow... more.
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Hwang Researchers Never Cloned Embryonic Stem Cells
Seoul, South Korea (LifeNews.com) -- Government prosecutors investigating the faked embryonic stem cell research supposedly conducted by Hwang Woo-suk and his colleagues have confirmed that his team never created patient-specific embryonic stem cells that would supposedly overcome rejection issues.
Park Han-cheol of Seoul District Prosecutors' Office, who is leading the Hwang probe, told the Korean Herald newspaper, "there is no possibility that NT-1 is a cloned somatic stem cell."
"There is no doubt about this in the scientific field," he added.
The NT-1 cell formed the basis of the cloning claims in the 2004 paper Hwang's team published in the medical journal science that has been revoked. Hwang and his associates also claimed to have cloned a human embryo and a paper on that topic has been withdrawn as well.
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Ohio Censors Science Options
“Last Tuesday, the Ohio Board of Education took a giant step backwards by sterilizing Ohio public school science standards of any critical analysis of the theory of evolution,” says Finn Laursen, Executive Director of the Christian Educators Association. “The result is inevitably a chilling effect upon intellectual inquiry.”
The Ohio state board voted eleven to four to delete teaching material that would allow students to be able to “describe how scientists continue to investigate and critically analyze aspects of evolution.” Board member Martha Wise led the charge to remove any science not supportive of evolution out of the state’s standards, despite the objections of those, including Laursen, who had been pleading with her to reconsider.
Continue reading "Ohio Censors Science Options"
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Intelligent Design and an Intelligent Creator
Your local newspaper's commentary on "Intelligent Design" in public schools expose the misguided attempts of Christian conservatives to repel the state-mandated atheism and humanism of our public education system. We rightly abhor our public institutions teaching things we despise to our children at our expense. It was Thomas Jefferson who said, "To compel a man to furnish contributions of money for the propagations of opinions which he disbelieves and abhors, is sinful and tyrannical." But we have picked a battle-line in this culture war that would not give us victory even if we won.
In athletic competition, it is good to play by the rules, but in the war of worldviews, defeat is guaranteed if the truth plays by the rules of the liars. Conservatives have tried to play by the rules as we have insisted that our "intelligent design" theories that we attempted to infuse into scientific curriculum in public institutions were not "creationist" nor theistic in nature. Rather than challenge the validity of the "wall of separation of church and state," we have respected it. The courts were unconvinced: intelligent design, U.S. District Judge John E. Jones wrote , "cannot uncouple itself from its creationist, and thus religious antecedents," and thus it violates the wall of the separation. In his decision, Judge Jones forbade the Dover, Pennsylvania, school board from teaching intelligent design as a viable scientific theory in public schools biology classes.
Continue reading "Intelligent Design and an Intelligent Creator"
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Astronomer, Biochemist Say Creation Can Be Science
We've been silent for a while but plan to begin blogging more regularly in the near future. The following press release caught our eye:
Recent court judgments have declared that creationism (Intelligent Design) is not science and has no place in the public school classroom. However the team of scientists at Reasons To Believe (RTB) has demonstrated creation can be formulated and tested as a scientific theory. Over the past twenty years researchers at RTB have developed a verifiable/falsifiable model for creation that is anchored in the scientific method."The RTB creation model embraces all the findings of research science, including the latest discoveries," says astronomer and physicist, Dr. Hugh Ross, founder and president of Reasons To Believe. "It integrates current data not only from paleontology and biology but also from astronomy, physics, geology, chemistry, biochemistry, genetics, and anthropology."
RTB's positive approach emphasizes scientific credibility. "The scientists at Reasons To Believe don’t waste time bashing evolution," says biochemist Dr. Fazale ‘Fuz’ Rana. "We have instead produced a testable creation model that has greater explanatory power and predictive success than do the naturalistic models, including the Darwinian theory of biological evolution." Dr. Rana, a noted expert on origin of life research, is Vice President for Science Apologetics at Reasons To Believe.
Aspects of the RTB model for creation appear in several books: The Creator and the Cosmos, A Matter of Days, Origins of Life, and Who Was Adam? A new book highlighting the scope and features of the model is scheduled for release in September 2006.
"We continue to work on expanding our model—the quantity and quality of its predictions about what future research will uncover as well as the quantity and quality of its explanatory detail," says Ross.
The RTB model has been presented in summary form to faculty and students at some major universities across the country. After attending the presentation at Rice University and reading Ross and Rana's recent books, the late Dr. Richard Smalley, Nobel Prize winning chemist (1996), commented, "Evolution has just been dealt its death blow." He went on to express his wish that other scientists would read and consider Ross and Rana's work.
"All researchers who produce working, successfully predictive models should be granted support and encouraged to further develop and publicly present their theories," says Dr. Ross.
"As the Supreme Court ruled in Edwards v. Aguillard," continues Ross, "schoolteachers already have the constitutional right to ‘supplant the present science curriculum with the presentation of theories, besides evolution, about the origin of life,’ as long as those theories show genuine scientific merit."
Posted by Blogorithm at 07:02 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
City Rejects Intelligent Design
In Dover, PA, the school board attempted to introduce an alternative orgins theory to evolution. They failed.
What's more, all eight incumbant board members were defeated - voted out of office - in Tuesday's elections.
700 Club Founder Pat Robertson responded in a most irresponsible manner, stating, "I'd like to say to the good citizens of Dover: If there is a disaster in your area, don't turn to God. You just rejected him from your city."
Posted by Blogorithm at 09:35 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Creation Expeditions
This is not your average family. The family business name gives it away. The name is "Creation Expeditions," and you can take that literally.
What the DeRosa family doesn't have in paleontology degrees, it makes up with some other crucial elements: knowledge and field skills on the subject, Christian faith and a mission to find and present evidence to support the theory of creationism -- plus results from fossil digs that some university paleontologists would envy.
Continue reading "Creation Expeditions"
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Irreducible Complexity
Life cannot exist without many numerous interdependent complex systems, each irreducibly complex on their own, bringing about a grand pageant for life to exist.
Continue reading "Irreducible Complexity"
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Doctors Decry 'Scientific Inquisition' Against Intelligent Design
Criticizing a "Scientific Inquisition" aimed at squelching debate over exclusively teaching the theory of evolution, the Christian Medical Association (www.cmda.org) today called for fair and open consideration of the scientific merits of intelligent design theory.
Dr. David Stevens, Executive Director of the 17,000-member CMA, noted, "It's hard to reconcile the scientific principles of freedom of exploration, testing hypotheses and evaluating evidence with the tyrannical rhetoric coming from some scientific elites who want to squelch the teaching of intelligent design alongside evolutionary theory."
Continue reading "Doctors Decry 'Scientific Inquisition' Against Intelligent Design"
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Astonishing 88% of Americans Believe in Creation or God-Directed Evolution
Yet it is illegal to teach in publicly funded schools ... LifeSiteNews.com has the story:
PHILADELPHIA, October 17, 2005 (LifeSiteNews.com) - A USA Today/CNN/Gallup Poll reveals that 88% of the US population believes that God had at least some hand in the creation of life. The poll also shows a distinct educational bias towards the atheistic view that God could have had nothing to do with the creation of life. This supports complaints by many that most institutions of higher learning are heavily biased against any religious understanding of the origins of life.
Continue reading "Astonishing 88% of Americans Believe in Creation or God-Directed Evolution"
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Deadly Flu Virus Pandemic is Inevitable
The next human pandemic is "inevitable" and the world must prepare now against bird flu and other potentially deadly viruses, a top U.S. government scientist said on Saturday. [more]
"It's been over 30 years since we've had a pandemic, so inevitably we are going to have a pandemic within a reasonable period of time," said Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
The virus does have the potential to affect large population centers in which there is significant contact between humans and animals. The real danger, however, is that the virus mutates and begins spreading between people.
Posted by Blogorithm at 12:37 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
World's Oldest Noodles Alter View of Ancient Diet
Archeologists continue to uncover that ancient man was technologically advanced. An excavation of an ancient Chinese settlement revealed a small pile of well-preserved noodles inside a clay bowl.
The bowl was buried beneath 10 feet of sediment in Lajia, a small community located by the Yellow River in northwestern China that was destroyed by an earthquake about 4,000 years ago.
The finding pushes the development of the noodle 2,000 years earlier than previously thought.
Posted by Blogorithm at 11:01 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Blood Cord Stem Cells
by Bill Wilson
Several bio-ethics bills, dealing with the controversial issues of cloning and embryonic stem-cell research which involve the destruction of human life, are bogged down in the U.S. Senate.
But another more ethical bill, involving federal funding for cord-blood research, a proven and non-controversial source of stem-cells, is also caught up in the delay. The Bone Marrow and Cord Blood Therapy and Research Act (S1317) would fund an additional 150,000 units of cord-blood and establish cord-blood banks for public use.
California Congressman Dan Lungren would like the Senate to move faster.
"We know that cord blood cell transplants can save lives now. While we may argue about the moral questions dealing with other types of stem cells, we should not allow that to stop us from saving children now."
Posted by Blogorithm at 09:58 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Adult Stem Cells Enhance Cardiac Function in Preclinical Study
Unlike embryonic stem cell research, the use of adult stem cells do not require the destruction of human life. In addition, the latter continues to show concrete results in clinical trials. Here's the latest:
Cytori Therapeutics, Inc. today announced preclinical results that support therapeutic opportunities for adult stem and regenerative cells derived from adipose, also known as fat tissue, in the treatment of cardiac injury following acute myocardial infarction (heart attack). These data, along with three other Cytori presentations, are being featured at the third annual International Fat Applied Technology Society conference September 10-13, 2005 in Charlottesville, Virginia.
Continue reading "Adult Stem Cells Enhance Cardiac Function in Preclinical Study"
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Men are Monkeys?
According to the Washington Post, the completed mapping of the chmpanzee proves the monkey is "humankind's closest cousin."
As predicted by preliminary studies, the human and chimpanzee genetic codes are essentially 99 percent identical, a testament to how fundamentally similar the two species remain.Similarity among diverse species has always existed and led Darwin to assume morphological commonality was indicative of common ancestry. In the same manner, genetically similarity between species has never been directly linked to common ancestry - this is an assumption, not proof.
Posted by Blogorithm at 09:40 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Embryonic stem cells trigger immune rejection
Scientists from Stanford University in the States and Hannover Medical School in Germany have found that embryonic stem cells are rejected by the recipient's immune system after being implanted. Previously researchers have speculated about the possibility that embryonic stem cells may have an immune-privileged state, but new research shows that any future use of ESC is likely to require the use of systemic immunosuppression. This is a major disadvantage. Adult stem cells by contrast do not require immunosuppression if they are taken from the patient's own body.
European Journal of Cardio-Thoracic Surgery Volume 28, Issue 3, September 2005, Pages 461-466
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Most published research findings may be false
Nothing new here ...
"There is increasing concern that in modern research, false findings may be the majority or even the vast majority of published research claims," says researcher John Ioannidis in an analysis in the open access international medical journal PLoS Medicine.
In his analysis, Ioannidis, of the University of Ioannina School of Medicine, Greece, and Tufts University School of Medicine, United States, identifies the factors that he believes lead to research findings often being false.
Continue reading "Most published research findings may be false"
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Fetal Pain Scandal
Recently the news media began reporting on a "study" (actually, a re-interpretation of existing medical literature) published in this week's Journal of the American Medical Association. The authors claim that there is no substantial reason to believe that unborn humans feel pain before the third trimester (after 29 weeks gestational age). Most of these stories have failed to report important information about the study "investigators" [more from NRTL].
The lead author, Susan J. Lee, is a medical student and former NARAL employee, and one of the physician authors, Eleanor Drey, is the director of an abortion clinic in San Francisco [more here and here]. Dr. Drey is also on the staff of the Center for Reproductive Health Research and Policy, a pro-abortion advocacy center at the University of California-San Francisco.
What’s more, these affiliations were not disclosed to JAMA.
More at ProLifeBlogs
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Embryonic Stem Cell Research: Sloppy Science
"The most recent scientific evidence shows the use of human embryos for therapeutic stem cell research to be ineffective and unnecessary," says Dr. Fazale Rana, one of the world's top three leading experts in origin of life research.
Internationally respected biochemist Dr. Fazale Rana calls embryonic stem cell research "sloppy science" and says that the most recent origin of life research shows stem cells derived from alternative sources hold more promise than those taken from human embryos.
Continue reading "Embryonic Stem Cell Research: Sloppy Science"
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Moving Faster Than Light
This is fascinating research with real commercial application ...
A team of researchers from the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) has successfully demonstrated, for the first time, that it is possible to control the speed of light – both slowing it down and speeding it up – in an optical fiber, using off-the-shelf instrumentation in normal environmental conditions. Their results, to be published in the August 22 issue of Applied Physics Letters, could have implications that range from optical computing to the fiber-optic telecommunications industry.
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DDT Ban Led to 50-80 Million Deaths
Some supporters of ban view mosquitoes and malaria as “a natural population control”
August 15, 2005 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Communism and fascism, as horrifically bloody as their legacy has been, have a lesser death count attributed to them than the misguided worldwide ban on DDT enforced by the World Health Organization, international aid organizations and others. So reports John Jalsevac in the LifeSiteNews.com Special Report, Green Hands Dipped In Blood: The DDT Genocide.
Rachel Carson’s book Silent Spring, decrying the supposedly great harm caused by all pesticides to the natural environment and humans was released in 1962 and eventually led to the ban on DDT, still the most effective, cheapest, and arguably the cleanest way to stop the spread of deadly malaria. Jalsevac reveals what has now been proven to be junk science in Carson’s claims and the far less than altruistic motives of those who continue to enforce the unjustified ban on the use of life-saving DDT.
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w.bloggar
The w.bloggar is an application that acts as an interface between the user and one or more blog(s); in other words, it is a Post and Template editor, with several features and resources that the browser based blog editors do not offer.Because w.bloggar runs over the Windows GUI, it allows the user to edit posts without being connected to the Internet. Posts can be saved locally; and anytime the user wants to publish a new text, one click on the w.bloggar icon in the system tray brings up the editor, and one more click will post it to the weblog.Another great advantage of w.bloggar is that it is compatible with most of the weblog systems available, allowing an advanced user to have only one interface to several accounts hosted on several different sites, using different publishing systems.To communicate with the weblog, w.bloggar requires that the blog system have implemented an API (Application Programming Interface.) Currently, w.bloggar is compatible with all tools that implements Blogger API, metaWeblog API, MovableType API and b2 API; all based on the XML-RPC definition.
Posted by Blogorithm at 10:42 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Frist's Support of Embryonic Stem Cell Research
Majority Leader William Frist (R-Tennessee) has followed Sen. John Kerry’s dialectical pattern by supporting embryonic stem cell research and yet claiming to be pro-life. ... more
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Frist No Longer Pro-Life
The New York Times reports that Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN) is scheduled to announce his backing of a embryonic stem cell bill that would increase federal funding for ESC research.
Frist claims, "I am pro-life... I believe human life begins at conception."
However, he now supports killing the very lives he claims to support in his statement "I am pro-life."
HT: ProlifeBlogs.com
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Echinacea Doesn't Stop Infection according to a recent study
FoxNews reports that Echinacea doesn't improve health, according to a new study funded by the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine. "Our study ... adds to the accumulating evidence that suggests that the burden of proof should lie with those who advocate this treatment," wrote Dr. Ronald Turner of the University of Virginia School of Medicine, who led the study, which appeared in Thursday's New England Journal of Medicine.
In the newest experiment, researchers recruited 399 healthy patients who got one of three laboratory-made echinacea plant extracts or a dummy preparation. The patients were then exposed to the cold virus and their symptoms were evaluated.Scientists found no difference in infection rates between the groups who received the herb or placebo. About 90 percent in both groups wound up becoming infected. Symptoms like sneezing, runny noses and sore throat were also about the same, with more than half in both groups showing classic signs of a clinical cold.
However, believers in the positive benefits of the herb are unlikely to be dissuaded. Mark Blumenthal, executive director of the American Botanical Council told the press, "This is not a definitive trial on the efficacy of echinacea, nor should the results be generalized to echinacea preparations widely available."
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Paleontologist Looks at Presuppositions
In this article Dr. Kurt Wise, a paleontologist, reconciles his belief in the Bible as truth and scientific observation. The main issue is one of presuppositions
.“I’m a scientist. I look at the data. But what the Bible actually says is also data to me,” Dr. Wise told Chalcedon recently.
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Scientists Question Darwin
More than 400 scientists from all disciplines have signed onto a growing list of skeptics of claims for the ability of random mutation and natural selection to account for the complexity of life, according to the Seattle-based Discovery Institute.
"Darwin's theory of evolution is the great white elephant of contemporary thought," said David Berlinski, a mathematician and philosopher of science with Discovery Institute's Center for Science and Culture, or CSC. "It is large, almost completely useless, and the object of superstitious awe."
WND via The Black Kettle
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Proving a Universal Negative
Science is ill-equipped to prove universal negatives by virtue of the fact that its participants are not omnipresent and have limited resources. As a result, atheists have not basis beyond faith for the foundation of their belief:
The burden of proof lies with the atheists to prove that there is no God. Because they believe only in what they can see, they have to go everywhere in the universe, throughout time and see for themselves that God doesn't exist. Until they can do this, their assertion that there is no God is merely an expression based on faith just like a religious belief.On the otherhand, significant "evidence" exists to the contrary in the person and work of Jesus Christ and the manifestation of a highly complex and ordered creation that reflects that Master's Design.
Posted by Blogorithm at 06:30 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Curry Spice Supresses Cancer
Turmeric (Curcuma longa), also known as curcumin), is one of the most studied chemopreventive agents. It is a natural compound extracted from Curcuma longa L. that allows suppression, retardation or inversion of carcinogenesis. Curcumin is also described as an anti-tumoral, anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory agent capable of inducing apoptosis in numerous cellular systems (Curcumin-induced apoptosis is known to involve mainly the mitochondria-mediated pathway in various cancer cells of different tissues of origin).
For the past 20 years turmeric has been studied, mostly as an agent to prevent cancer. For instance, some researchers have found an association between diets rich in curcumin and reduced rates of colon cancer. But more recently, the focus has shifted to study the spice as a cancer treatment.
- more from NewHopeBlog
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Darwinian Evolution Incompatible with Catholic Faith
.... says Cardinal and Author of Catholic Catechism
NEW YORK, July 11, 2005 (LifeSiteNews.com) – On July 7, after years of media-generated confusion, Christoph Cardinal Schonborn, a theologian who helped author the 1992 Catechism of the Catholic Church, wrote in the New York Times clarifying the Church’s understanding of human origins.
Since 1996, the world’s secular media have claimed that Pope John Paul II endorsed Darwinian evolution as being “more than a hypothesis.” The remark, taken out of context, established in some minds that the Catholic Church was ready to abandon its adherence to the notion of a personal God who created life, the universe and everything.
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Scientists Continue Analysis of Kennewick Man
This is a very interesting article regarding the analysis of Kennewick man by scientists. Although American Indian tribes claimed the bones, discovered in Oregon, belonged to them and should be rightfully buried, a three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of eight anthropologists who filed a lawsuit seeking to study the remains. The panel decided there was no link between the skeleton and the tribes.
Archaeologists and anthropologists will take measurements and record observations during the 10-day study, attempting to unravel the mystery of how Kennewick Man died and what sort of effects nature had on his bones.More to follow …
None of the scientists was available for comment, said Burke Museum spokesman Mary Anne Barron.
Scientists last month took scans of the skull and the pelvis, which has a spearhead embedded in it, and created a three-dimensional picture that has been used to construct models of the bones.
The models will be used for additional research and to minimize impact to the actual skeleton. Samples taken from fragments of the leg during government studies in 1999 and 2000 will again be analyzed in the coming months.
Posted by Blogorithm at 06:55 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
The Illusion of a Big Moon
During Summers months the moon often looks bigger even though the size of the image remains the same:
When you look at the moon, rays of moonlight converge and form an image about 0.15 mm wide in the back of your eye. High moons and low moons make the same sized spot. So why does your brain think one is bigger than the other? After all these years, scientists still aren't sure why.While Ponzo's explanation makes sense, the same phenomenon is experienced by airplane pliots. More here.A similar illusion was discovered in 1913 by Mario Ponzo, who drew two identical bars across a pair of converging lines, like the railroad tracks pictured right. The upper yellow bar looks wider because it spans a greater apparent distance between the rails. This is the "Ponzo Illusion."
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After 2,000 Years, a Seed From Ancient Judea Sprouts
In an interesting study, a 2,000 year-old date palm seed was germinated by Israeli doctors and scientists:
The seed, nicknamed Methuselah, was taken from an excavation at Masada, the cliff fortress where, in A.D. 73, 960 Jewish zealots died by their own hand, rather than surrender to a Roman assault. The point is to find out what was so exceptional about the original date palm of Judea, much praised in the Bible and the Koran for its shade, food, beauty and medicinal qualities, but long ago destroyed by the crusaders.[snip]
In the time of Pliny, forests of date palms covered the area from Lake Galilee to the Dead Sea and made Jericho famous; a date palm features on ancient coinage, as it does on the current Israeli 10-shekel coin.
The date palm symbolized ancient Israel; the honey of "the land of milk and honey" came from the date. It is praised as a tonic to increase longevity, as a laxative, as a cure for infections and as an aphrodisiac, Dr. Sallon said. But the dates of Judea were destroyed before the Middle Ages, and what dates Israel grows now were imported in the 1950's and 60's from California and originated elsewhere in the Middle East.
Posted by Blogorithm at 09:07 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Multiple Sclerosis Researchers Use Adult Stem Cells
Multiple sclerosis researchers are investigating how hormones and proteins can be used to trigger the body's own stem cells into producing myelin, the protective sheath around nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord that is destroyed by the disease. [more].
"It's really taking a different view of how you can use stem cells. Rather than growing them and transplanting them, we're actually trying to get them to be part of a self-repair, an intrinsic repair," said Samuel Weiss, director of the university's Hotchkiss Brain Institute.This is excellent work and does not involve the killing of another human, as in embryonic stem cell research, to benefit those suffering from multiple sclerosis.
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Leading Biochemist Calls Embryonic Stem Cell Research 'Sloppy Science'
Recent Scientific Discoveries Support President's Ban on Funds for Embryonic Stem Cell Research
"The most recent scientific evidence shows the use of human embryos for therapeutic stem cell research to be ineffective and unnecessary," says Dr. Fazale Rana, one of the world's top three leading experts in origin of life research.
News Advisory, May 26 /Christian Wire Service/ -- Internationally respected biochemist Dr. Fazale Rana calls embryonic stem cell research "sloppy science" and says that the most recent origin of life research shows stem cells derived from alternative sources hold more promise than those taken from human embryos.
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A Theory that cannot be called a 'Theory'
Workers in Cobb County, following a judges order, have begun removing stickers from science textbooks that call the theory of evolution a "theory".
The sticker read: "This textbook contains material on evolution. Evolution is a theory, not a fact, regarding the origin of living things. This material should be approached with an open mind, studied carefully, and critically considered."
Source: Associated Press Article
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Engineers face major challenges to make fuel-cell cars reality
Today, fuel cells for cars cost 10 times more than gasoline and have a life that is only one-fifth that of combustion engines.
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Researchers conclude in an article to be published in June that it could take "several decades" to overcome daunting technical challenges standing in the way of the mass production and use of hydrogen fuel cell cars.
The article notes that "success is not certain" in efforts to develop inexpensive, hydrogen-powered fuel cells and to create the vast storage and transportation infrastructure needed for the vehicles, stressing that hydrogen's "wide-scale use is laden with potential technical, economic and societal impasses." In case fuel cells never do become practical for cars, the researchers conclude, it would be wise for the nation to "maintain a robust portfolio of energy research and development" in other areas.
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Posted by Blogorithm at 01:32 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Cordyceps Sinensis - an interesting fungus
In researching herbs to help a friend fight chronic fatigues I came across Cordyceps sinensis, a bizarre but apparently effective fungus from the far east. It is one of the most rare and treasured herbs andt has been used for about 2000 years in China.
Interestingly, it begins as a parasitic fungus, growing and eventually taking over the body of its host (a worm). It can be found in isolated places in southwestern China, especially in the provinces of Tibet, Sichuan, Qinghai, Guise and Yunnan, in locations over 3,500 metres.
Cordyceps is primarily collected wild, as the grown cordyceps is of lower quality, but the wild cordyceps is usually very expensive and costs up to $1000 for 100 grams.
Although cordyceps became famous because of its alleged powerful aphrodisiac effects, in the ancient China, it was highly recommended as one of the most effective medicines for all illness. Presently, it is know for the following actions/properties/uses: Anti-oxidant, anti-viral, anti-tumor, immunomodulatorm, cardiovascular, respiratory, diabetes, physical performance enhancement, sleep patterns, immune booster, respiratory conditions, diabetes, hepatits B, energy and stamina, Lupus, stress and anxiety, etc...
In general, it is reported that cordyceps helps the body build strength, improve the organic functioning, strengthen the immune system and bring longevity.
I don't believe in miracle cures and doubt that this herb can live up to its reputation, but, there is some scientific evidence that cordyceps improves the immune system and helps overcome chronic fatigue (below).
Source: HealthyHerbs
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CNN's Twenty Five Top Innovations
1. The Internet
2. Cell phone
3. Personal computers
4. Fiber optics
5. E-mail
6. Commercialized GPS
7. Portable computers
8. Memory storage discs
9. Consumer level digital camera
10. Radio frequency ID tags
11. MEMS
12. DNA fingerprinting
13. Air bags
14. ATM
15. Advanced batteries
16. Hybrid car
17. OLEDs
18. Display panels
19. HDTV
20. Space shuttle
21. Nanotechnology
22. Flash memory
23. Voice mail
24. Modern hearing aids
25. Short Range, High Frequency Radio
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Paleontological Art Available on Internet - Dinosaurs Art Online
The Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History has opened a Paleo Art Web page featuring years of artwork from its collections.
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Google Attempts to Patent News Quality Rankings
Web search leader Google Inc. has applied for U.S. and international patents on technology to rank stories on its news site based on the quality of the news source, according to patent applications obtained by Reuters on Thursday.
According to that patent application, factors determining such rankings would include: the amount of important coverage produced by an identified news source; a human opinion of that source; network traffic to the source; circulation statistics; staff size; breadth of coverage; and the number of bureaus the news source operates.
Interesting ... what about reader evaluations and information uniqueness?
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Intelligent Design vs Evolution in Kansas
Pitting evolution against intelligent design, the Kansas School Board of Education is holding its own hearings on what school children should be taught about how life on Earth began.
Six days of courtroom-style hearings are scheduled to begin on Thursday in the capitol Topeka. More than two dozen witnesses will give testimony and be subject to cross-examination, with the majority expected to argue against teaching evolution.
"We're not against evolution," John Calvert, managing director of the Intelligent Design Network, was quoted as saying. "But there is a lot of evidence that suggests that life is the product of intelligence. I think it is inappropriate for the state to prejudge the question whether we are the product of design or just an occurrence."
more ...
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Google Print Revolutionizes Access to Books
Currently in beta testing, Google Print aims to get it there by putting book content where you can find it most easily – right in your Google search results.
Try it.
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One Plane to Rule them All - Airbus A380 Makes Historic Maiden Flight
An 800 person flying capacity is truly amazing. Unfortunately, Airbus is still about 100 orders away from the 250 place break even point.
The world's biggest airliner, the European Airbus A380, flew for the first time on Wednesday in a new challenge to U.S. rival Boeing Co. in the battle for the global aviation market.The double-decker A380, designed to carry 555 passengers but with room for more than 800, touched down smoothly almost four hours after soaring into sunny skies on its maiden flight above Airbus headquarters near Toulouse in southern France.
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Purdue Researchers Examine Random Number Generators
Everything we do to achieve privacy and security in the computer age depends on random numbers. Every time you establish an SSL connection to, say, PayPal, there's a string of digits working hard behind the scenes.
Computers use pseudorandom number generators which guarantee that a particular sequence will not be repeated for a long time. A sequence is considered random if no patterns can be recognized in it - the longer the string, the stronger the encryption.
In the 20th century, the demand for random numbers exploded. Pollsters use the sequences to help select representative samples of the public; scientists to model chaotic molecular behavior; physicists to conduct simulations of nuclear detonations. Random numbers also play a crucial role in lotteries and gambling. [see Wired News for more]
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Gene Therapy Gives Hope for Alzheimer's Patients
The first study to use gene therapy to treat Alzheimer’s disease shows the therapy markedly reduces the rate of cognitive decline seen in these patients. [more]
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Exploding Toads Baffle Scientists
Creation often baffles scientists, sometimes in the most bizarre ways. However, I don't think I've ever seen this before:
Hundreds of toads have met a bizarre and sinister end in Germany in recent days, it was reported: they exploded.Some are guessing the phenomenon is caused by a virus or fungus....According to reports from animal welfare workers and veterinarians as many as a thousand of the amphibians have perished after their bodies swelled to bursting point and their entrails were propelled for up to a metre (three feet).
It is like "a science fiction film", according to Werner Smolnik of a nature protection society in the northern city of Hamburg, where the phenomenon of the exploding toad has been observed.
"You see the animals crawling on the ground, swelling and then exploding."
More here from the Washington Post
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DNA to trace journey of human race
This is fascinating:
The National Geographic Society launches a massive project today to trace the migratory history of humans.The main question I have is what assumptions is the study based upon? More later ...The five-year effort will involve the collection and analysis of DNA from more than 100,000 people worldwide.
“We already have a general view of the very early Paleolithic migrations,” said geneticist Spencer Wells, a National Geographic explorer-in-residence who will lead the project. “Humans spread out of Africa, then moved out of Eurasia, but it gets very hazy after that. We're going to nail down the details of that story.”
- more
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Medical Device Reduces Blood Pressure
Researchers at the University of Rochester Medical Center are the first in the nation to test an investigational medical device that lowers blood pressure by activating the body’s natural blood pressure regulation systems.
The landmark procedure, performed March 31, is part of a Phase II clinical research trial to be conducted by a limited number of medical centers in the United States. Called the Rheos Trial, it is funded by CVRx Inc. of Minneapolis. Karl A. Illig, M.D., chief of the Division of Vascular Surgery, is principal investigator for the Rochester trial site. Cardiologist John D. Bisognano, M.D., Ph.D., associate professor of Medicine, who has been involved in development of this technology, and nephrologist James A. Sloand, M.D., associate professor of Medicine, serve as primary co-investigators.“The Rheos System works by electrically activating the baroreflex system based in the carotid arteries in the neck, regulating blood pressure in a manner similar to a pacemaker regulating heart rhythm,” Illig says. “Low-level electrical stimulation to this area sends signals to the brain, ‘telling’ it to take action to lower blood pressure through a variety of mechanisms, including blood vessel dilatation, heart rate reduction and promotion of fluid excretion by the kidneys. In this way, the Rheos System provides a physiologic approach to reducing high blood pressure by allowing the brain to direct the body’s own control mechanisms.” - more
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Dwarf and Tiny Pre-Human
Tiny pre-humans who lived on an Indonesian island until about 12,000 years ago had brains so surprisingly sophisticated that the creatures may represent a previously unrecognized species of early humans, or hominids, scientists reported on Thursday. - more
This "pre-human" was said to be related to other "pre-humans" on the basis of structural similarities. Yet, one has to ask whether or not all of these "pre-humans" differ beyond the possible range of morphological diversity of existing humans.
Posted by Blogorithm at 04:19 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Missing Matter a Matter of Faith
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Two monster cosmic clouds could hold the solution to the mystery of the missing matter -- immense amounts of celestial stuff that somehow has eluded detection. ...How do scientists know that this matter must exist? Because it is a necessary consequence of the models that are presently being used to explain the origin and formation of the universe. Yes, they believe in their models, they have faith.Astronomers have good estimates of how much ordinary matter was in the universe 10 billion years ago, but a large fraction -- almost half -- of this matter has somehow vanished.
Posted by Blogorithm at 11:18 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Images Returned from Saturn's Mystery Moon
Eerie glimpses of Saturn's mystery moon Titan have scientists at the European Space Agency reveling in the weekend's successful landing of its Huygens probe.
"I have to say I was blown away by what I saw," says ESA science director David Southwood.
In landing on Titan, the most distant locale ever touched by humankind, "Huygens shows Europe can deliver when it comes to space," Southwood says. The success contrasts with the fate of the United Kingdom's Mars-bound Beagle 2 lander, which was lost in 2003 after its release from ESA's Mars Express orbiter.
Unblemished data transmitted by Huygens exceeded scientists' wildest hopes, despite a glitch that disabled one of the probe's radio channels. ESA plans an inquiry.
- More
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City Allows Creationism, Feels the Heat
The heavens declare the glory of God,and the sky proclaims the work of His hands. - Ps. 19:1
There was a time when not teaching about God and His creation would have led to an outcry. The Grantsburg, WI School Board has taken a courageous stand against the intolerant naturalists and is feeling the pressure. The issue? The school board is allowing more than one theory of origins [read belief system] to be taught.
GRANTSBURG, Wis. - The city's school board has revised its science curriculum to allow the teaching of creationism, prompting an outcry from more than 300 educators who urged that the decision be reversed.School board members believed that a state law governing the teaching of evolution was too restrictive. The science curriculum "should not be totally inclusive of just one scientific theory," said Joni Burgin, superintendent of the district of 1,000 students in northwest Wisconsin.
Last month, when the board examined its science curriculum, language was added calling for "various models/theories" of origin to be incorporated.
The decision provoked more than 300 biology and religious studies faculty members to write a letter last week urging the Grantsburg board to reverse the policy. It follows a letter sent previously by 43 deans at Wisconsin public universities. [more]
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Embryonic Stem Cell Research and Parkinson's Disease
This is an older study from 2001 but remains relevant to the current debate on embryonic stem cell research [hat tip: Back of the Envelope via Prothesis]
A carefully controlled study that tried to treat Parkinson's disease by implanting cells from aborted fetuses into patients' brains not only failed to show an overall benefit but also revealed a disastrous side effect, scientists report.
In about 15 percent of patients, the cells apparently grew too well, churning out so much of a chemical that controls movement that the patients writhed and jerked uncontrollably.
The researchers say that while some patients have similar effects from taking too high a dose of their Parkinson's drug, in this case the drugs did not cause the symptoms and there is no way to remove or deactivate the transplanted cells. [See also the NY Times]
Posted by Blogorithm at 10:53 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Amazing Volcanic Eruption
A SPECTACULAR volcanic eruption beneath Iceland’s biggest glacier has spewed a column of ash and gas more than seven miles into the air, forcing airlines to divert flights to avoid the blast.
At least ten transatlantic flights have been rerouted south of Iceland to skirt the plume rising from the Gríms- vötn volcano in the east of the island, which began to erupt on Monday and continues to spout noxious fumes and debris. [more]
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Another Adult Stem Cell Success Story
A Canadian-led research team has shown it is not only possible, but relatively easy, to harvest stem cells from human eyes that could help fight blindness and degenerative eye disorders. [article - subscription required]. More of the article is quoted by Musings who also gets a Hat Tip.
Here is another adult stem cell success from from Prosthesis:
Lorraine Iacovitti of the Farber Institute of Neurosciences and her team of researchers at Jefferson Medical College have found a new way to convert adult bone marrow stem cells into brain cells, according to this article. Iacovitta says, "If we can now appropriately direct the differentiation of bone marrow stem cells, these cells could provide an abundant source of adult human neurons for use in the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases."
Posted by Blogorithm at 01:09 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Bioethicist is Put to the Test, Comments on Stem Cell Research
Kelly Hollowell is is a scientist, patent attorney and adjunct law professor of bioethics. She recently wrote a must read article about a phone that changed her life and put her faith and training to the test.
Her credibility, in my opinion, is quite high. Here is what she writes about embryonic stem cell research:
- So to recap my top ten list of what is wrong with Stem Cell Research:
- We are divided over who or what are embryonic stem cells
- Terms are grossly misused
- Despite what politicians say, there is a clear link and overlap between ESCR and human cloning
- The current status of ESCR is unsettled
- There is law that prohibits research on human embryos
- Public understanding is lacking
- We are growing humans for body parts in ESCR
- The influence of money, power and fame cannot be overlooked
- The science behind ESCR doesn’t support the claims
- Current clinical applications of adult stem cells is curing thousands and has been for years
For all these reason my conclusion is that more dollars ought to be poured into adult stem cell research and the macabre research associate with ESCR should be abandoned entirely.
Well done, Kelly. My prayers are with you and your unborn child.
Posted by Blogorithm at 10:15 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Adult Stem Cell Research Continues to Progress
Adult stem cells are used regulary and are increasingly showing substantial potential for treating additional diseases. For example,
The possible discovery of adult stem cells in the pancreas could offer hope for diabetics who take insulin shots to make up for defective cells.Scientists from the University of Toronto believe they have found adult stem cells in the pancreas of mice that are capable of creating insulin-producing beta cells. Those cells can compensate for defective pancreatic islets, which are comprised mostly of beta cells. [LifeNews]
Reuters reports:
"Infusing patients with bone marrow cells can reinvigorate their dying hearts and grow tiny new arteries and heart muscle tissue, a treatment that may one day make many heart transplants unnecessary, Brazilian researchers said on Friday.Dr. Hans Fernando Dohmann, coordinator of the research carried out at the Pro-Cardiac Hospital in Rio de Janeiro, told Reuters four patients out of the five studied no longer needed transplants after being treated with stem cells.
'It was the first time we saw that stem cells actually generate new arterioles, although we have indirectly observed that before via tests. That eliminated the need for transplants in four patients who had had indisputable transplant indications,' he said.
The experiment, to be detailed to a weekend meeting of heart researchers and submitted to the journal Circulation, adds to a growing body of research that suggests such treatments can someday avoid the need for many transplants…."
With good reason, Sozo states, "Adult stem cells continue to yield pleasantly surprising results while those of the embryonic variety are not delivering as much as promised. Pragmatism would dictate that the research dollars get spent on what works, but that doesn't seem to be the case. Why is that?"
Posted by Blogorithm at 02:35 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Adult Stem Cell Research
"Adult stem cell research is the best science and is thoroughly moral at the same time," says FRC's Dr. Prentice
Washington D.C. - Senator Brownback (R-KS) will be sponsoring hearings today to discuss the controversy surrounding embryonic stem cell research. Expert witnesses include FRC's Dr. David Prentice.
"Proponents of embryonic stem cell research have little evidence to support the destruction of nascent human life which necessarily takes place in embryonic stem cell research," explains Dr. Prentice.
"To date, there are over 45 treatments that have been achieved with adult stem cells, taken from patients without harm to the patient or the destruction of innocent human life. In a recent study, adult stem cells were taken from fat to treat heart disease. Who would have ever thought that fat would cure hearts?"
"Embryonic stem cell research has not yielded a single cure," says Dr. Prentice. "We need to focus on science that really works and that is truly ethical. Those of us who support adult stem cell research face no ethical quandaries. Adult stem cell research is the best science and thoroughly moral at the same time. It's the most effective option for patients." - Family Research Center
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bLogorithm Up and Running on Movabletype 3.1
My posts have been infrequent because I have been converting over to Movabletype 3.1. Over time I'll make slight adjustments to the site and build a number of links. If you link to blogorithm send me a note and I'll reciprocate (at my discretion of course). My email address is tim at blogorithm.com.
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A Moral Vaccum
From a debate between two evolutionists: Lanier is a computer scientist; Dawkins is a professor at Oxford and an ardent atheist.
Jaron Lanier: ‘There’s a large group of people who simply are uncomfortable with accepting evolution because it leads to what they perceive as a moral vacuum, in which their best impulses have no basis in nature.’
Richard Dawkins: ‘All I can say is, that’s just tough. We have to face up to the truth.’
– Evolution: the dissent of Darwin, Psychology Today, p. 62, January–February 1997.
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Care for the Weak? Evolution versus Christianity
Charles Darwin is a well known humanist who is often credited with the conception of evolution. While modern evolutionists are inconsistent in their application of a man-centered philosophy Charles Darwin was not. He writes:With savages, the weak in body and mind are soon eliminated; and those that survive commonly exhibit a vigorous state of health. We civilised men, on the other hand, do our utmost to check the process of elimination; we build asylums for the imbecile, the maimed and the sick; we institute poor laws; and our medical men exert their utmost skill to save the life of everyone to the last moment. There is reason to believe that vaccination has preserved thousands who, from a weak constitution, would formerly have succumbed to smallpox. Thus the weak members of civilised society propagate their kind. No one who has attended to the breeding of domestic animals will doubt that this must be highly injurious to the race of man. It is surprising how soon a want of care, or care wrongly directed, leads to the degeneration of a domestic race; but, excepting in the case of man himself, hardly anyone is so ignorant as to allow his worst animals to breed. The aid which we feel impelled to give to the helpless is mainly an incidental result of the instinct of sympathy, which was originally acquired as part of the social instincts, but subsequently rendered in the manner previously indicated more tender and more widely diffused. Nor can we check our sympathy, even without deterioration in the noblest part of our nature ... We must, therefore, bear the undoubtedly bad effects of the weak surviving and propagating their kind.’ – Charles Darwin, The Descent of Man, Second edition, pp. 133–134, 1887.Certainly abortion, euthanasia and other obviously reprehensible practices follow directly from Darwin's philosophy of man. One wonders why scientists (humanistic ones) are trusted for answers that motivate social engineering. Contrast Darwin's statements with Christianisty, in which the strength of God is shown through ministry to the weak and oppressed:
Continue reading "Care for the Weak? Evolution versus Christianity"
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Missing the Link from the 6 Million Year Old Chimp
A chimp-sized human ancestor walked upright 6 million years ago, far earlier than anyone had been able to show before, researchers reported on Thursday. [more] Among the many interesting claims expressed by this article is the claim that researchers have linked a 6 million year-old fossil with humans. On what basis is the claim made? I suppose there is morphologically similarity – the same rationale that Darwin used in the Origin of the Species. But, is morphological similarity indicative of a common ancestry? Is there any other evidence that this chimp is a human ancestor other than the belief that he is?
Beside the obvious “missing” link, there are logical errors [more] that must be considered before making the cavalier claim that the fossils of a monkey are a human ancestor. Among the other issues with this chimp ancestor is that man was made in the image of God, not animals, and was set apart by God to rule over them. There is the problem of sin. That is, sin entered the world through Adam and by it death came to man. However, an evolutionary ancestor requires death prior to Adam.
The point is that while this fossil is an exciting discovery it is a "leap of faith" to consider it an ancestor of man.
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Peer Reviewed Intelligent Design Article Provokes Outrage
Dr. Steven Meyer's got more than he bargained for after publishing a peer-reviewed scientific journal artical that defended "Intelligent Design"; he was met with "hysteria, name-calling and personal attack." [more]
On August 4th, 2004 an extensive review essay by Dr. Stephen C. Meyer, Director of Discovery Institute's Center for Science & Culture appeared in the Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington (volume 117, no. 2, pp. 213-239). The Proceedings is a peer-reviewed biology journal published at the National Museum of Natural History at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington D.C.
In the article, entitled “The Origin of Biological Information and the Higher Taxonomic Categories”, Dr. Meyer argues that no current materialistic theory of evolution can account for the origin of the information necessary to build novel animal forms. He proposes intelligent design as an alternative explanation for the origin of biological information and the higher taxa.
Dr. Meyer concludes:
An experience-based analysis of the causal powers of various explanatory hypotheses suggests purposive or intelligent design as a causally adequate--and perhaps the most causally adequate--explanation for the origin of the complex specified information required to build the Cambrian animals and the novel forms they represent. For this reason, recent scientific interest in the design hypothesis is unlikely to abate as biologists continue to wrestle with the problem of the origination of biological form and the higher taxa.The response of the scientific community to this peer reviewed and thought provoking article is revealing. Dr. Meyer is not asserting scientific creationism but rather addresses the inadequacy of current theories to explain the oring of biological information.
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The Goals of Science
Discussions begin with definitions. Despite popular impressions of science, it is not the goal of science to answer all questions, only those that pertain to physical reality (measurable empirical experience). Also, science cannot possibly address all possible questions, so the choice of which questions to answer becomes important. Science does not and can not produce absolute and unquestionable truth. Rather, science consistently tests the currently best hypothesis about some aspect of the physical world, and when necessary revises or replaces it in light of new observations or data.
Science does not make any statements about how nature actually "is"; science can only make conclusions about our observations of nature. The developments of quantum mechanics in the early 20th century showed that observations are not independent of interactions, and the implications of wave-particle duality have challenged the traditional notion of "objectivity" in science.
Science is not a source of subjective value judgements, though it can certainly speak to matters of ethics and public policy by pointing to the likely consequences of actions. However, science can't tell us which of those consequences to desire or which is 'best'. What one projects from the currently most reasonable scientific hypothesis onto other realms of interest is not a scientific issue, and the scientific method offers no assistance for those who wish to do so. Scientific justification (or refutation) for many things is, nevertheless, often claimed.
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Predictable Distortion and Fear
Despite changing trends that indicate a reduction in energy usage per capita (and carbon dioxide output), environmentalists continue to scare the public about imminent doom [more]. “If governments fail to act, . . . the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere will triple in 50 years. Keeping it below a doubling is a heroic task,” states one notable researcher.
What these individuals continually fail to consider is that linear models that assume exponentially increasing consumption of energy and production of carbon dioxide fail on the basis of their assumptions.
Research papers that argue against the end-of-the-world scenarios are difficult to shepherd through to publication even as problems with submissions touting apocalyptic scenarios either are glossed over or ignored.
Let us not respond in fear to reports of destruction and doom but rather consider carefully the stewardship man has been given over the earth and trust that God is imminent in the working together of all things according to His good pleasure.
More...
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Contradictions in Radiometric Dating
Dr. Walt Brown is well known for his work on creationism. One of the interesting sections of his book, In the Beginning, addresses assumptions that are held by those who apply radiometric dating to support the evolutionary origin of man. He writes,
The public has been greatly misled concerning the consistency and trustworthiness of radiometric dating techniques (the potassium-argon method, the rubidium-strontium method, and the uranium-thorium-lead method). For example, geologists hardly ever subject their radiometric age measurements to "blind tests." a In science, such tests are a standard procedure for overcoming experimenter bias. Many published radiometric dates can be checked by comparisons with the evolution-based ages for fossils that sometimes lie above or below radiometrically dated rock. In more than 400 of these published checks (about half of those sampled), the radiometrically determined ages were at least one geologic age in error—indicating major errors in methodology. One wonders how many other dating checks were not even published because they, too, were in error.More generally, scientists are often very reluctant to examine the philosophical basis and the epistemological foundation of their belief system. As Dr. Brown implies, this will certainly yield a different hypothesis, experimental design, and conclusion.
Posted by Blogorithm at 11:21 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
John the Baptist's Cave?
KIBBUTZ TZUBA, Israel (AP Article) - Archaeologists said Monday they have found a cave where they believe John the Baptist anointed many of his disciples - a huge cistern with 28 steps leading to an underground pool of water.
While interesting, links to John the Baptist came from drawings made 400-500 years later. Fueling controversy and hype, the same archeologist has speculated that maybe Jesus used the cave too and refers to the "cult" of John the Baptist. A lot can happen during a period of 4-5 centuries that can create folklore out of nothing. The most reliable and important record of John the Baptist is found in the New Testament:
1 In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea, 2 And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. 3 For this is he that was spoken of by the prophet Esaias, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. 4 And the same John had his raiment of camel's hair, and a leathern girdle about his loins; and his meat was locusts and wild honey. 5 Then went out to him Jerusalem, and all Judaea, and all the region round about Jordan, 6 And were baptized of him in Jordan, confessing their sins. (Matt. 3)What is important is that John was an actual individual, who lived and Baptized. He proclaimed the Gospel message and was witness to the Savior of Mankind, Jesus Christ.
Posted by Blogorithm at 11:19 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Environment - Getting Better
Danish author Bjorn Lomborg raised an international hullabaloo two years ago with his "don't worry, be happy" approach to mounting evidence of impending global environmental catastrophe.
In his book The Sceptical Environmentalist, the Danish university statistician argued that, in many ways, the world's environment was getting better, not worse. ()
Backing him up are three new bombshell papers that indicate that the surface temperature measurements that have been made may be in error:
The surface temperature record shows a warming rate of about 0.17¢ªC (0.31¢ªF) per decade since 1979. However, there are two other records, one from satellites, and one from weather balloons that tell a different story. Neither annual satellite nor balloon trends differ significantly from zero since the start of the satellite record in 1979. These records reflect temperatures in what is called the lower atmosphere, or the region between roughly 5,000 and 30,000 feet.Maybe this will damper the spirit of environmentalists who are suing utilities to save the world. Before you take this blog as an endorsement for pollution, let me state my belief that, "The earth is the LORD's, and all it contains, The world, and those who dwell in it (Ps. 24:1)." Responsibility and environmental policy should reflect this fact.
Posted by Blogorithm at 11:18 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Scientific Theories and Change
After 29 years of thinking about it, Stephen Hawking says he was wrong about black holes.
The renowned Cambridge University physicist formally presented a paper Wednesday arguing that black holes, the celestial vortexes formed from collapsed stars, preserve traces of objects swallowed up and eventually could spit bits out "in a mangled form." Last week, in an interview with the British Broadast Corp., he revealed he had changed his long-held thinking on black holes. (complete story)
What are the implications of this reversal? One immediate and important note is that science is filled with uncertainty and theories change. Belief systems based upon science will also change as scientists refine their useful yet approximate theories about "truth".
Continue reading "Scientific Theories and Change"
Posted by Blogorithm at 11:16 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Abortion and Elections
Is it possible that Al Gore lost the 2000 election because the very people who would have voted for him were killed by abortions years ago? That’s the theory behind an article by writer Larry L. Eastland that was printed by The Wall Street Journal June 28.
Eastland says that there were 12,274,368 people of voting age population missing from the 2000 election. Given current statistical models representing voting trends and the greater prevalence of abortions among democrats, Al Gore lost 882,000 more votes than George Bush due to abortion.
Of course, when considering the topic of abortion, which is the murder of the innocent, elections should be the least concern. However, pondering the prevalence of abortion and the impact on society is staggering and motivates prayer and action to end this diabolical practice.
Proverbs 24:11 Deliver those who are being taken away to death, And those who are staggering to slaughter, Oh hold [them] back.
Posted by Blogorithm at 11:15 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (1)
Endangered Species Does Not Exist
The Preble's Meadow Jumping Mouse has been on the endangered species list since 1998, putting large areas of Colorado and Wyoming off limits for development by human beings. The problem is, a scientist has demonstrated by DNA analysis that the mouse doesn't exist. Denver biologist Rob Ramey has shown that the animal, first discovered in 1954, before genetic testing was possible, is just a Bear Lodge Meadow Jumping Mouse. And there are plenty of those. Nevertheless, environmentalists are resisting taking the Preble's mouse off of the endangered species list, insisting that the restrictions have been good for the environment. (Source: Worldmagblog)
What else should we question?
Continue reading "Endangered Species Does Not Exist"
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Behe Responds to WSJ
Behe's letter in the WSJ responding to Feb. 13 article by Sharon Begley
By: Michael J. Behe
The Wall Street Journal
February 27, 2004
"We should reject, as a matter of principle, the substitution of intelligent design for the dialogue of chance and necessity; but we must concede that there are presently no detailed Darwinian accounts of the evolution of any biochemical system, only a variety of wishful speculations."
So lamented Colorado State University biochemist Franklin Harold in "The Way of the Cell" (Oxford University Press, 2001). Ms. Begley reports the very latest "wishful speculations." The flagellum, an astonishingly complex biological outboard motor that some bacteria use to swim, has in recent years been found to be even more sophisticated. Not only does it have a rotary nanomotor that has been dubbed "the most efficient machine in the universe," but we now know it also contains intricate protein pumps that allow it to construct itself, something no human-made machine can do. With breathtaking chutzpah but bizarre logic, a few rather unreflective Darwinists are spinning the increased complexity, which they neither predicted nor explained, as a public relations reprieve for their moribund theory. It's like contending that, although wheels, chassis and a steering column give a car the appearance of intelligent design, when the fuel pump is discovered then happenstance is a better explanation.
The Darwinian imagination is a marvel to behold. No wonder Darwinists try to rule out intelligent design "as a matter of principle." It surely can't be ruled out by the evidence.
Michael J. Behe
Professor of Biological Sciences
Lehigh University
Bethlehem, Pa.
Continue reading "Behe Responds to WSJ"
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Thoughts on Control
Using thought alone and with some electrodes placed on the surface of the brain, four volunteers were able to control a video game, U.S. researchers reported on Monday. (Reuters)Now, if we could only control our thoughts ...
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Eugenics, Evolution and Abortion
There is a side to evolution that few acknowledge or discuss; perhaps because the Judeo-Christian heritage of Western scientists leads to a sense of morality that is inconsistent with Naturalism. A belief that man ultimately evolved via the process of mutation and the survival of the fitness necessarily devalues the life of some and exalts the strong in preference to the weak.
Eugenics is dedicated to the proposition that all men are created unequal and the food is running short; that, in the struggle for food, those who have an inherited advantage prevail and pass the advantage on to their children who prevail even more; that this is how evolution, Yale and the English aristocracy happened.
This is a philosophy diametrically opposed to Christianity in which the weak are protected and all human life is valued. I'm not suggesting that all or even most evolutionists support eugenics. However, I would propose that there is a great inconsistency between belief in evolution and the accepted moral practices of society, for which I am most grateful. Unfortunately, the practice of abortion and the organizations who fight for it (e.g. planned parenthood) are indicative of a deteriorating cultural change and moral decline. Where will the trajectory of this decline lead?
Posted by Blogorithm at 11:11 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Creation Science Directory
The Arizona Christian directory has been published with a category dedicated to Creation Science. Consider adding your site (click here.
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Jellyfish Fossils Lead to Questions
What a storm it must have been! News reports said that hundreds of giant jellyfish once lived about 500 million years ago, but were ‘stranded by a freakish tide or storm’ on an ancient beach. Sand later buried them, forming fossils.1,2 With many specimens measuring over 50 cm (20 in) across, these are the biggest fossil jellyfish known.
Found in a Wisconsin sandstone quarry, it must have been an extraordinary set of circumstances that preserved them, geologists say, for fossilized impressions of jellyfish, which have no skeleton or other hard parts, are extremely uncommon.
Posted by Blogorithm at 11:08 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
UFOs or Lightening?
Is this strange phenomenon lighting balls or UFOs? While UFO enthusiasts are claiming "proof" of extraterrestrial life, there is a good reason the objects were invisible and could only be picked up by an infrared camera. And that reason points to the "weather". Of course, this is what the government wants you to believe. ;-)
Posted by Blogorithm at 11:07 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Global Warming and a Wetter World
While activists and politicians attempt to stem the tide of global warming through regulations, the "Earth" is changing, showing a robustness with respect to "greenhouse gases".
SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australian scientists have found the Earth may be more resilient to global warming than first thought, and they say a warmer world means a wetter planet, encouraging more plants to grow and soak up greenhouse gases.As a child in the 1970s I recall being warned about the coming ice age due to pollution. On this basis laws were enacted and regulations imposed that changed the course of business and effected the world economy. One has to wonder about the true extent of the global warming crisis given the exaggeration of activists, the complexity of the world environment, the limited data and our track record of prediction.
Posted by Blogorithm at 11:06 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
The Human Embryo and Research
Here is a recent posting on research involving human embryos. A central idea is that the humanity of the pre-born is outside the realm of science and must be considered prior to the pragmatic approach that researchers are taking (e.g., if "sacrificing" an embryo helps treat disease then it is morally acceptable). Interestingly, the pre-born are protected by law (when they are wanted).
Posted by Blogorithm at 11:04 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Obesity and Your Health
Here is a fascinating article regarding the detrimental effect of fat cells in obese individuals. Research suggests that the over-sized cells "churn out of stew of hormones and other chemical messengers ... that assault many organs in ways that are bad for health."
Research into the biology of fat is turning up some surprising new insights about how obesity kills. The weight of the evidence: It's the toxic mischief of the flesh itself.Thus, in addition to straining one's heart and joints, those extra-pounds may have more serious affects.
Continue reading "Obesity and Your Health"
Posted by Blogorithm at 11:02 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Modern Hummingbird Lived 30 Million Years Ago
A fossil of a "modern" hummingbird, found in Germany, has been given a date of nearly 30-million-years. The find is remarkable because the oldest prior hummingbird fossil was dated at 1 million years. In addition, the fossil is nearly identical to the modern species which is regarded as complex and highly developed. "The amazing thing about this fossil is that it's essentially a modern hummingbird," Margaret Rubega of the University of Connecticut was quoted as saying. "My mind is a little blown." (story)
What conclusions might a scientist draw from the discovery of a fossil, nearly identical to a modern species? The discovery is radical because hummingbirds are highly complex and thought to be a relatively new "product" of evolution.
Continue reading "Modern Hummingbird Lived 30 Million Years Ago"
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Coffee and Diabetes
Should those at risk for diabetes drink coffee? Recent studies indicate it could be beneficial.
Posted by Blogorithm at 10:59 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Go High Fat?
The study we've all been waiting for is reported to suggest that high fat diets are healthy. Scientists fed a small population of healthy individuals a diet high in fat and observed an increase in HDL and a decrease in LDL cholesterol levels.
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - A relatively high amount of fat in the diet may be a boon to a healthy person's cholesterol levels, a small study suggests. On the other hand, limiting fat intake too much could have the opposite effect.Researchers at the State University of New York at Buffalo found that when 11 healthy but sedentary adults followed a very low-fat diet (19 percent of calories from fat) for three weeks, they saw a drop in their HDL cholesterol -- the "good" cholesterol believed to protect against heart disease
I suppose one might criticize the study by suggesting that the number of individuals was small and the duration was short. In addition, the question has to be raised about ancillary variables that might have influenced the outcome. For example, did the addition of fat displace a different type of food that was not considered? Also, why does this result contradict more elaborate prior studies? What was different?
Posted by Blogorithm at 10:58 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Imaginary Monstor Legally Protected
If an animal does not exist is it extinct?
News Story - STOCKHOLM, Sweden - A government watchdog has asked a regional council why it placed a mythical monster on Sweden's endangered species list. The Parliamentary Ombudsman's office in Stockholm also asked the environment court in the Jaemtland province of central Sweden to explain why a businessman, who said he wanted to raise monster babies, was denied permission to search for its purported eggs.
Posted by Blogorithm at 10:57 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Digital Picture Processing
Recently I tried Winkflash for processing my digital camera picutres. Here is my short review.
Posted by Blogorithm at 10:56 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Science and Progress
I found the following quote insightful. Although society often looks to Science for answers, it is not the driving force behind progress - the belief system of the society drives advancement.
- There is a strong faith in science and technology in the West, but especially in the United States. I do not share it. My faith is in the religious, moral, cultural, and legal environment that puts science and technology to work for the consumer. Remove these factors, and science will not flourish. Technology can produce great weapons, but it will not bring prosperity without a legal and social system that rewards risky innovation with wealth.
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James Clerk Maxwell (Quote)
Continue reading "James Clerk Maxwell (Quote)"
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Will Noah's Ark Change You?
"We're telling people we're 98 percent sure," said McGivern, a member of the Hawaii Christian Coalition. "In one image we saw the beams, saw the wood. I'm convinced that the excavation of the object and the results of tests run on any collected samples will prove that it is Noah's ark. " - quote from Daniel McGivern, a businessman and Christian activist leading an expedition to investigate the Mt. Arafat next Summer (2004).
If this exploration reveals a giant Ark what difference will it make in your belief system? Will it change your views about the Bible and Christianity? If you are a Christian will it strengthen your faith? If you are an atheist will it cause you to doubt your chosen faith?
More resources:
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NASA successfully launches Gravity Probe B
Gravity Probe B — a NASA mission to test two important predictions of Albert Einstein's Theory of General Relativity — launched Tuesday, April 20, from Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif., aboard a Boeing Delta II expendable launch vehicle. The solar arrays are deployed, and initial data indicates all systems are operating smoothly. Managed by the Marshall Center, Gravity Probe B seeks to answer some of the most important questions about the structure of our universe.
Continue reading "NASA successfully launches Gravity Probe B"
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The Miraculous Appearance of Age
At a wedding feast Jesus’ first recorded miracle was turning water into wine. In fact, it was “fine” wine. The historicity of this event is not in question because Jesus is capable of performing the miraculous. He did so on numerous occasions before witnesses. From a scientific perspective, one might ask, “How long did it take Jesus to turn the water into wine?” Perhaps a scientist at the wedding, who tasted the wine and was not informed about its miraculous origin, would consider this very question. He might understand the necessary steps of fermentation and aging required to produce the fine wine and would postulate a fairly significant time period for its production– probably at least one year. If he were told that the wine was only minutes old he would scoff and confidently assert, based on his experience, that the scientific principles behind fermentation and aging would make this impossible.
In this hypothetical situation, the scientist lacked a fundamental presupposition that was necessary for deriving the truth. A similar situation exists today in modern science.
By its very nature, miraculous creation bears an appearance of age that will confound scientific endeavors that do not consider God as the creator. Of course the universe has an appearance of age. It was created, fully functional and inhabitable. Attempting to consider the question of origins without the essential belief in God is as futile as trying to discern the origin of the wedding wine without knowledge of the work of Jesus.
Posted by Blogorithm at 10:50 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Search for Noah's Ark
"We are not excavating it. We are not taking any artifacts. We're going to photograph it and, God willing, you're all going to see it . . ."
AP WASHINGTON - An expedition is being planned for this summer to the upper reaches of Turkey's Mount Ararat where organizers hope to prove an object nestled amid the snow and ice is Noah's Ark.
Posted by Blogorithm at 10:49 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Forgotten Chernobyl
Eighteen years ago today, the explosion of the reactor in Chernobyl, the greatest industrial disaster in the history of humankind, released one hundred times more radiation than the atom bombs dropped over Hiroshima and Nagasaki. In addition to the reactor’s immediate surroundings – an area with a radius of about 30 km – other regions were contaminated, particularly in Belarus, Russia and Ukraine.
At the time of the accident, about 7 million people lived in the contaminated territories, including 3 million children. About 350 400 people were resettled or left these areas. However, about 5.5 million people, including more than a million children, continue to live in the contaminated zones.
Many remain highly critical of the response, the lack of information and cover-up following the disaster (click here).
An eerie look at the Chernobyl area today is given here. I found staggering the deserted towns and estimated casualties.
Posted by Blogorithm at 10:48 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Mice and Men
Media hype and bias are evident in reporting scientific research. The following headlines and lead paragraphs appeared in international news reports regarding the use of parthenogenesis to breed a mouse lacking male DNA. The stories are presented in a manner to gain readership but result in significant alternations to the scientific findings.
- Of mice and useless men
PROVING that males are a biological frill, Japanese and Korean scientists have created a healthy mouse born with no male genetic material at all.
- Scientists conceive mouse with two moms
NEW YORK (AP) -- Men, your gender just took a hit in the animal kingdom. Scientists report they've created mice by using two genetic moms -- and no dad.
- Mice Created With 2 Genetic Moms, No Dad
Just ahead of Mother's Day, scientists have found a way to cut dads out of the picture, at least among rodents: They have produced mice with two genetic moms — and no father. It is the first time the feat has been accomplished in mammals.
- The mouse that roared: Virgin Birth!
Scientists' breakthrough raises prospect of fatherless babies
A mouse has been created in the laboratory by a technique that does away with the need for males in reproduction, a breakthrough that raises the prospect of fatherless babies.
- Mice born without a dad’s DNA
Mutant mother helps produce offspring, scientists say; technique could have implications for stem cells
Men, your gender just took a hit in the animal kingdom. Scientists report they’ve created mice by using two genetic moms — and no dad.
Of course, Tomohiro Kono, the scientist at Tokyo University who led the research, dismissed the possibility of using parthenogenesis on humans as a "senseless question". In addition, "Scientists said the technique cannot be used on people, for reasons both technical and ethical. In fact, one of the mouse mothers was a mutant newborn, whose DNA had been altered to make it act like a male's contribution to an embryo."
When I first read the headlines I began to become concerned, what if I'm not longer needed? These mice experiments are aimed at men! A closer look reveals a contradiction between the scientists' statements and the reporters' interpretation. I noted that the BBC and Reuters did not utilize the same hyped-up lead paragraph and seemed to have a more balanced report of the research.
I would add that these endeavors pose an ethical minefield which our society is simply not equipped to deal with and, together with the media, are eroding the sanctity of life through an irreverent and callused observation of Life's beginnings. The current experiments are performed on mice but the target application is humans.
Posted by Blogorithm at 10:47 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
The Beginning of Life
What makes research valuable? In an article about “fatherless mice”, this question was answered by the statement, “But the research could improve understanding of genetic imprinting and what causes abnormalities in embryos, as well as knowledge about the beginning of life.”
What an amazing statement – laboratory research on mice can provide knowledge about the beginning of life? Assuming genetic evolution, how can a researcher realistically use the scientific method to see backward through billions of genetic mutations to the spontaneous generation of the first single celled life form? The fact is that they cannot. Current stem cell research, along with the evolution hypothesis, enables scientific speculation that is used to further substantiate the prevailing humanistic belief system.
Scientists are not objective and are driven by faith to the same extent as any “religious” philosopher. The difference is that most modern scientists are not epistemologically self-conscience.
Posted by Blogorithm at 10:45 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Gravity Probe Launch Successful
At 9:57:24 AM PDT today, the Gravity Probe B spacecraft was successfully launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base in South-central California. The countdown went smoothly, and at the moment of launch, a packed auditorium here at Stanford University broke into cheers and applause. The launch is proceeding perfectly,exceeding all of our expectations. The initial visual images from the various tracking stations were heart-warming and beautiful to behold--surpassed perhaps only by the extraordinary images from the two cameras on-board the second stage, which showed the separation of the spacecraft from the launch vehicle more than 300 miles above the Earth.
A few interesting facts: The experiment took 40 years and $700 million to develop. The satellite includes a container of 645 gallons of liquid Helium (to cool). Only one gyroscope is needed but four were deployed to ensure accuracy. Einstein's theory was made 89 years ago.
Posted by Blogorithm at 10:45 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Insecticide Safety
For those of you that use an in-home bugspray, especially those with children, this link will dramatically improve chemical safety for your family. The most commonly used(and the only available insecticide sold at Home Depot or Lowe's) in-home insecticide -Durisban- has been banned as of the end of this year by the EPA for causing neural damage in humans. Durisban is an organophosphate, as are many "nerve gas" chemical weapons, that attacks the central nervous system of bugs... and humans.
A safe alternative is D-limonene, the major component in orange peel extract. It is approved by the EPA for use around children, pets and food. Unfortunately, LOWES not longer carries it, neither does home dump. I suspect after observing their(LOWES) increased stock of Durisban products that they are profiting from selling Durisban -a banned product of reduced cost to them- before the deadline. This link and others available(just use the keyword "D-limonene" and "insecticide" in a google search). I can attest to the effectiveness of the orange peel extract as it has killed every bug sprayed with it. It also has a 3-4 week repellent function.
According to the makers of Orange Guard, "All ingredients can be found on the FDA GRAS list (generally recognized as safe) and are food grade. Orange Guard for Ornamental Plants is OMRI listed (Organic Materials Review Institute) as allowed for use in organic production.
However, there are other alternatives. At the same time, Dursban remains on store shelves. While the EPA claimed to have banned Dursban, it did not recall the product already in circulation. It also did nothing to limit the use of dozens of chemically related pesticides called organophosphates that are still on the market. According to this In 1996 alone, 1,109 people reported being sickened by exposure to Dursban, and one person died. Some victims who are especially vulnerable to the pesticide suffer chronic problems ranging from learning and memory deficits to anxiety and fatigue. "
Continue reading "Insecticide Safety"
Posted by Blogorithm at 10:44 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Societal Progression
Does scientific and technological advancement equate to societal progression? A recent study by Duke University and the Foundation for Child Development found that the emotional and spiritual well-being of children in the U.S. has not improved since the 1980s.
The study found that children today, although safer than they were nearly 30 years ago, are more likely to be obese, impoverished, suicidal and living in single-parent families. Parents tend to spend less than 40 minutes a week engaging in meaningful conversation with their children, who typically spend long hours in front of the TV, which is on in the average home some 49 hours a week.
For more information: click here
Posted by Blogorithm at 10:41 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Gravity Satellite Mission Delayed
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (Reuters) - NASA (news - web sites) postponed the launch on Monday of a $700-million satellite mission designed to test an obscure tenet of Albert Einstein's theory of general relativity.
Actually, the "tenet" is not so obscure - it is tied into what may be called the mainstream of relativity - and the satellite mission will provide a means for directly testing whether or not "time" is affected by gravity... see also: the BBC article.
From the NASA Website
Mission: Gravity Probe B
Launch Date: April 20, 2004
Launch Time: 12:57:24 p.m. EDT (instantaneous)
Launch Vehicle: Delta II
Launch Pad: SLC-2
Location: Vandenberg Air Force Base, California
Gravity Probe B is the relativity gyroscope experiment being developed by NASA and Stanford University to test two extraordinary, unverified predictions of Albert Einstein's general theory of relativity.
The experiment will check, very precisely, tiny changes in the axis of spin of four gyroscopes contained in an Earth satellite orbiting at 400-mile altitude directly over the poles. So free are the gyroscopes from disturbance that they will provide an almost perfect space-time reference system. They will measure how space and time are warped by the presence of the Earth, and, more profoundly, how the Earth's rotation drags space-time around with it. These effects, though small for the Earth, have far-reaching implications for the nature of matter and the structure of the Universe.
Gravity Probe B is among the most thoroughly researched programs ever undertaken by NASA. This is the story of a scientific quest in which physicists and engineers have collaborated closely over many years. Inspired by their quest, they have invented a whole range of new technologies -- technologies that are already benefiting other branches of science and engineering.
Posted by Blogorithm at 10:40 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Pig Manure Crude Oil
A University of Illinois research group is developing a method for turning pig manure into a form of crude oil that could be refined to heat homes or generate electricity (see the AP Article). Accourding to statements made by the lead researcher, Dr. Yanhui Zhang to the associated press, this represents a strategic renewable energy source that will reduce American dependency on foreign oil. Energy conscience environmentalists applaud the important contribution of Dr. Zhang's research in the area of renewable energy.
Unfortunately, pigs produce dangerous and deadly byproducts, likely to cause global devastation, as well as perturbed neighbors, should pig farmers respond by increasing manure through-put. Nitrous oxide emissions, from urine, is a well-known greenhouse gas. There are also more notable emissions. One scientist stated, "Methane is a very potent greenhouse gas - around 21 times more potent in greenhouse terms than carbon dioxide." Finally, the odor of pig farms have a profound effect on the senses, especially that of smell. The potential implication of millions of smell challenged people on the already burgeoned healthcare system and the fragile food industry is staggering. Environmentalist, concerned about the environment, protest the dangerous potential of pig manure crude oil.
Posted by Blogorithm at 10:37 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Oxygen Crisis Alert
The Amazon, an area of continuous tropical forest that is larger than Western Europe, has been described as the "lungs of the world" because of its vast capacity to produce oxygen. - Recent AP Article
Of course, oxygen makes up about 21% or 210,000 ppm of the atmosphere and a very tiny percentage of the earth's total atmospheric oxygen is produced each year by photosynthesis, i.e. 36.5 ppm is only 0.017% of total atmospheric oxygen.
Not that I'm for the destruction of the rainforests ...
Posted by Blogorithm at 10:36 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
The Certainty of Belief
In a Reuter News article about deadly asteroids, journalist Maggie Fox wrote, “Objects certainly have hit the planet. An asteroid, or several asteroids, are believed to have kicked up so much dust and set off so much volcanic activity 65 million years ago that the resulting climate change wiped out the dinosaurs.” Notice the link between “certainty” and “belief.” Deadly objects have certainly hit the earth because scientists believe.
Posted by Blogorithm at 10:35 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Relativity Tested by Upcoming NASA Spacecraft
A NASA spacecraft designed to test two important predictions of Albert Einstein's general theory of relativity is set to launch from Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif., at 1:09 p.m. EDT, April 17.
NASA's Gravity Probe B mission, also known as GP-B, will use four ultra-precise gyroscopes, orbiting the Earth in a unique satellite, to experimentally test two extraordinary predictions of Einstein's 1916 theory that space and time are distorted by the presence of massive objects. The two effects being tested are: The geodetic effect, the amount by which the Earth warps local spacetime in which it resides, and the frame-dragging effect, the amount by which the Earth drags local spacetime around with it as it rotates.
"Gravity Probe-B has the potential to uncover fundamental properties of the invisible universe, a universe which seems very bizarre and alien to our everyday perceptions yet one that Einstein tried to show us almost a century ago," said Dr. Anne Kinney, director of the Astronomy and Physics Division in NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington. "Testing the key aspects of Einstein's theory, such as GP-B will do, will provide crucial information to science just as it has already helped America by pushing technological progress in developing the tools needed for these ultra-precise measurements," she added
Continue reading "Relativity Tested by Upcoming NASA Spacecraft"
Posted by Blogorithm at 10:34 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Global Warming
Resources on Global Warming from Skepticism.net:
- If some environmentalists are to be believed, we are on the verge of massive global climate change which will see a significant rise in sea levels, chaotic weather patterns, and catastrophic droughts all caused by small increase in global average temperature.
This site provides links to resources skeptical of those sort of doomsday scenarios. The articles linked to here are written by a wide variety of people, from scientists to laypeople, and their inclusion here should not be read as an endorsement of their positions.
Just as when dealing with things coming out of the environmentalist camp, you need to use your brain and decide for yourself to what extent global warming poses a threat to humanity.
Posted by Blogorithm at 10:33 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Water on Mars
"WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Parts of Mars were once "drenched" with so much water that life could easily have existed there, NASA (news - web sites) said on Tuesday."
WASHINGTON - Mars may once have been a wet place where life could flourish, according to NASA (news - web sites) scientists who say a robot rover has found evidence that rocks on the Red Planet "were once soaked with liquid water."
I wonder what else might be necessary for life to easily exist on mars in addition to a suitable environment? Early reports indicated that the discovery of water (actually the signs that water existed) "were not direct evidence of life on mars." By implication the existence of water is indirect evidence?
Posted by Blogorithm at 10:32 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Professionals and Prime Numbers
How various professionals prove all odd numbers greater than two are prime (adpated from here):
- Mathematician: 3 is a prime, 5 is a prime, 7 is a
prime, and by induction - every odd integer higher than 2 is a prime.
- Physicist: 3 is a prime, 5 is a prime, 7 is a prime,
9 is an experimental error, 11 is a prime,...
- Engineer: 3 is a prime, 5 is a prime, 7 is a prime,
9 is a approximately prime, ...
- Programmer: 3 is a prime, 5 is a prime, 7 is a prime,
7 is a prime, 7 is a prime,...
- Salesperson: 3 is a prime, 5 is a prime, 7 is a prime,
9 -- we'll do for you the best we can,...
- Computer Software Salesperson: 3 is prime, 5 is prime,
7 is prime, 9 will be prime in the next release,...
- Biologist: 3 is a prime, 5 is a prime, 7 is a prime,
9 -- results have not arrived yet,...
- Advertiser: 3 is a prime, 5 is a prime, 7 is a prime,
11 is a prime,...
- Lawyer: 3 is a prime, 5 is a prime, 7 is a prime,
9 -- there is not enough evidence to prove that it is not a prime,...
- Accountant: 3 is prime, 5 is prime, 7 is prime, 9
is prime, deducing 10% tax and 5% other obligations.
- Statistician: Let's try several randomly chosen
numbers: 17 is a prime, 23 is a prime, 11 is a prime...
- Professor: 3 is prime, 5 is prime, 7 is prime, and
the rest are left as an exercise for the student, …
- Computational linguist: 3 is an odd prime, 5
is an odd prime, 7 is an odd prime, 9 is a very odd prime,...
- Psychologist: 3 is a prime, 5 is a prime, 7 is
a prime, 9 is a prime but tries to suppress it,...
- Politician: 3 is a prime, 5 is a prime, 7 is
a prime, I can neither confirm or deny that 9 is a prime, …
- Football player: what’s a “prime”, …
- Manager: 3 is a prime, 5 is a prime, 7 is a
prime, … Bob will show that nine is a prime, …
- Program Manager: 3 is a prime, 5 is a prime, 7
is a prime, the schedule shows that nine is overdue to be prime, 11 is a prime, ...
- Consultant: 3 is a prime, 5 is a prime, 7 is a
prime, and 9? Is it prime to you?, …
- Pastor: 3 is a prime, 5 is a prime, 7 is a prime,
were praying for 9, 11 is a prime, …
- Patent agent: the sequence is intellectual property
and cannot be disclosed
- Venture Capitalist: 3 is a prime, 5 is a prime,
7 is a prime, how much do you want for 9?, ...
Posted by Blogorithm at 10:29 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
The Hilltop Algorithm
The algorithms employed by Google to generate search results continue to be elusive. The notorious Florida update of 2003 changed certain dynamics of the evolving internet and led to wild speculation about the motives of Google's algorithm jocks. One of the most rational explanations for the change is the implementation of the Hilltop algorithm as described on SEORank. Here is an excerpt from the latter article:
The Hilltop algo calculates a ‘score of authority’ of web pages (over-simplified) as follows:vide an example of a beneficial mutation. He replied, "presumably a mutation that led to higher intelligence would be considered beneficial, that's all I'm saying."
- Run a normal search on the keyphrase to locate a ‘corpus’ of expert documents. The qualifying rules of ‘expert documents’ are stringent so the ‘corpus’ is a manageable number of web pages.
- Filter affiliate* sites and duplicate sites from the experts list.
- Pages are assigned a LocalScore of ‘authority’ based on number and quality of votes they get from these expert documents. Pages are then ranked based on their LocalScore.
Posted by Blogorithm at 10:26 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
A Beneficial Mutation
"Only rarely is a mutation beneficial — such as better disease resistance or higher intelligence — although those rare ones are the ones that drive evolution along new paths. But, mostly, we are mutants, an accumulation of errors. " Kenneth Chang, "Every One's a Mutant," ABC News, January 27, 1999.
As reported, the ABC News article "objectively" reports that beneficial mutations "drive evolution." I had the opportunity to correspond with Mr. Chang and asked him to pro
Posted by Blogorithm at 10:25 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
In the Image of God
So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. Gen. 1:27
The greater part, and nearly all, conceive that the word image is to be distinguished from likeness. And the common distinction is, that image exists in the substance, likeness in the accidents of anything. They who would define the subject briefly, say that in the image are contained those endowments which God has conferred on human nature at large, while they expound likeness to mean gratuitous gifts. 86 But Augustine, beyond all others, speculates with excessive refinement, for the purpose of fabricating a Trinity in man. For in laying hold of the three faculties of the soul enumerated by Aristotle, the intellect, the memory, and the will, he afterwards out of one Trinity derives many. If any reader, having leisure, wishes to enjoy such speculations, let him read the tenth and fourteenth books on the Trinity, also the eleventh book of the “City of God.” I acknowledge, indeed, that there is something in man which refers to the Fathers and the Son, and the Spirit: and I have no difficulty in admitting the above distinction of the faculties of the soul: although the simpler division into two parts, which is more used in Scripture, is better adapted to the sound doctrine of piety; but a definition of the image of God ought to rest on a firmer basis than such subtleties. As for myself, before I define the image of God, I would deny that it differs from his likeness. For when Moses afterwards repeats the same things he passes over the likeness , and contents himself with mentioning the image. Should any one take the exception, that he was merely studying brevity; I answer, 87 that where he twice uses the word image, he makes no mention of the likeness. We also know that it was customary with the Hebrews to repeat the same thing in different words. besides, the phrase itself shows that the second term was added for the sake of explanation, ‘Let us make,’ he says, ‘man in our image, according to our likeness,’ that is, that he may be like God, or may represent the image of God. Lastly, in the fifth chapter, without making any mention of image , he puts likeness in its place, (Genesis 5:1.) Although we have set aside all difference between the two words we have not yet ascertained what this image or likeness is. The Anthropomorphites were too gross in seeking this resemblance in the human body; let that reverie therefore remain entombed. Others proceed with a little more subtlety, who, though they do not imagine God to be corporeal, yet maintain that the image of God is in the body of man, because his admirable workmanship there shines brightly; but this opinion, as we shall see, is by no means consonant with Scripture. The exposition of Chrysostom is not more correct, who refers to the dominion which was given to man in order that he might, in a certain sense, act as God’s vicegerent in the government of the world. This truly is some portion, though very small, of the image of God. Since the image of God had been destroyed in us by the fall, we may judge from its restoration what it originally had been. Paul says that we are transformed into the image of God by the gospel. And, according to him, spiritual regeneration is nothing else than the restoration of the same image. (Colossians 3:10, and Ephesians 4:23.) That he made this image to consist in righteousness and true holiness, is by the figure synecdochee ; 88 for though this is the chief part, it is not the whole of God’s image. Therefore by this word the perfection of our whole nature is designated, as it appeared when Adam was endued with a right judgment, had affections in harmony with reason, had all his senses sound and well-regulated, and truly excelled in everything good. Thus the chief seat of the Divine image was in his mind and heart, where it was eminent: yet was there no part of him in which some scintillations of it did not shine forth. For there was an attempering in the several parts of the soul, which corresponded with their various offices. 89 In the mind perfect intelligence flourished and reigned, uprightness attended as its companion, and all the senses were prepared and moulded for due obedience to reason; and in the body there was a suitable correspondence with this internal order. But now, although some obscure lineaments of that image are found remaining in us; yet are they so vitiated and maimed, that they may truly be said to be destroyed. For besides the deformity which everywhere appears unsightly, this evil also is added, that no part is free from the infection of sin.
- John Calvin, Commentary on Genesis 1:27
Posted by Blogorithm at 01:19 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
The First Entry
This is my first attempt at a true web entry.
Posted by Blogorithm at 01:17 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
For His Glory
It pleased God the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, for the manifestation of the glory of His eternal power, wisdom and goodness, in the beginning to create, or make of nothing, the world, and all things therein whether visible or invisible, in the space of six days; and all very good. - Westminster Confession of Faith
The opening words of the Bible present us with the most important principle of human knowledge: God created the universe. He created it out of nothing, by the power of His will. God created the universe by fiat, meaning by the power of his command. Creation is that free act of God whereby He, according to His sovereign will and for His own glory, in the beginning brought forth the whole visible and invisible universe, without the use of pre-existent material, and thus gave it an existence, distinct from His own and yet always dependent on Him. The biblical account of creation is the revelation of the relation of man to his God. It stresses that the fact that God is the origin of all things, and that all things belong to Him and are subject to Him. The knowledge of it is derived from Scripture only and is accepted by faith.
Psalm 19:1 The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handiwork.
From beginning to and, the created world bears the mark of God’s handiwork -- all creation is inescapably personal.
Heb. 11:2 -- Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.
According to Scripture, God has created all things. The impress of God’s plan is upon His whole creation. We may characterize this whole situation by saying that the creation of God is a revelation of God. God revealed himself in nature, and God also revealed himself in the mind of man.
Continue reading "For His Glory"
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Contra Creation
"Evolution comprises all the stages of the development of the universe. Attempts to restrict the concept of evolution to biology are gratuitous. Life is a product of the evolution of inorganic nature, and man is a product of the evolution of life."
Has science "proven" evolution? No. Evolution has never been observed. Evolution is a presupposition scientists hold when they explore the universe. If the universe is 10-20 billion years old and we have observe 2000, what does this say about our ability to determine the origin and process of life and matter?
Posted by Blogorithm at 01:11 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Weakening Greenhouse Effect
A new study appearing in the January 10 issue of Geophysical Research Letters has found that the greenhouse effect may be weakening due to changes in cloud cover that do not correspond with climate model predictions.
Posted by Blogorithm at 01:09 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Beginnings and Foundations
Logic and reason are far from being incompatible with biblical Christianity. Rather, they are essential. Without them it is impossible to deduce anything from the true propositions of the 66 books of Scripture, the Christian’s final authority. This applies to Creation, one of the foundational doctrines of Christianity. Examples of valid and fallacious reasoning are discussed, with emphasis on showing how logical reasoning can support the truth of biblical creation, and demonstrate the fallacies in many evolutionist’s arguments.
| Answers in Genesis |
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