14
May
2009
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It’s been some time since we (creationists) have heard much from the evolutionist camp about origin of life experiments. New York Times science reporter, Nicholas Wade, fills us in on the latest research showing Darwin was right after all. Life started in a warm pond.
The United Kingdom newspaper, The Independent, gave it full page coverage and declared the problem solved!
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Key to the origin of life?
By Nicholas Wade (New York Times)
Star Tribune, p. A4
May 14, 2009
The first living cells. “It is precisely because thiswork opens up so many new directions for research that it will stand for years as one of the great advances in prebiotic chemistry,” Jack Szostak of the Massachusetts General Hospital wrote in a commentary in Nature, where the work was published today. How did RNA molecules form?
Scientists have long suspected that the first forms of life carried their biological information not in DNA but in RNA, its close chemical cousin. Though DNA is better known, RNA performs many of the trickiest operations in living cells. If the first forms of life were based on RNA, then the issue is to explain how the first RNA molecules were formed.
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Scientists solve the mystery of how the Earth was transformed
By Steve Connor (Science editor)
The Independent (UK), p. 15.
May 14, 2009
OF ALL the scientific mysteries, this is probably the greatest one of all – how did life on Earth begin? We are not talking about how it evolved into the diversity of lifeforms we see today. We are talking about how it originated in the first place.
For all his immense insight into evolution, Charles Darwin himself was stumped. He suggested that whatever the mechanism was that had led to the first replicating lifeforms, it most probably arose in some “warm little pond”, a primordial soup of pre-biotic ingredients where the seed of life first germinated on the early Earth.
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12
May
2009
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As Hugh Ross is to progressive creationism, Francis Collins is to theistic evolution.
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Evolving faith can mess with the mind
by Kathleen Parker
Chicago Tribune, p. 21.
May 11, 2009
KEY WEST, Fla. — If only William Jennings Bryan had known Francis Collins.
Maybe Bryan, who died just five days after leading the prosecution in the Scopes monkey trial, might have lived longer. Although he won the case, his sudden death suggests the proceedings, during which he was savaged by the press, may have taken a toll.
And who knows? We might never have argued at all about whether evolution should be taught in public schools had Collins been around. Timing.
If Collins is not familiar, he should be. He is the physician-geneticist who led the Human Genome Project for the National Institutes of Health and is noted for his discoveries of disease genes. Alas, he came along about eight decades too late for Bryan. But he may have entered the zeitgeist just in time for thousands (millions?) of others who have trouble embracing both Darwin and God without, as Collins puts it, their brains exploding.
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12
May
2009
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Enemies of creationism may be hindering science teachers
by Andrew Brown
The Guardian (UK), p. 30
May 12, 2009
A district court judge in southern California has ruled that a teacher who described creationism as “superstitious nonsense” was making a religious statement, which is impermissible in US public schools. On the face of it, this is completely absurd, even for southern California. Creationism is superstitious nonsense, and teachers should be able to say so. But when you look at the background, the case becomes in some respects less absurd, but also more threatening – especially for hardline rationalists such as Richard Dawkins, who would like to dismiss creationism as beneath contempt.
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15
Apr
2009
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Canadians divided on creation, evolution
By Misty Harris (Canwest News Service)
Leader-Post (Canada), p. B8.
April 11, 2009
The chicken-or-the-egg question of human existence is looking more and more like a philosophical omelette, with a new poll revealing a jumble of Christian beliefs when it comes to creation and evolution.
The survey conducted for Canwest News Service and Global National for Easter found 30 per cent of Canadians who believe in God also believe in evolution. Another 23 per cent of believers say they agree with ideas put forth by both creationists and evolutionists.
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31
Mar
2009
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The trial of Mt. Vernon, Ohio grade school science teacher, John Freshwater (accused of teaching intelligent design/creationism) took an unusual twist on Thursday, March 28, when a student offered testimony contradicting previous testimony. Read the article below for more details.
I haven’t been following this story/trial very much, except to note the anti-creationist evolution bloggers at the Seed magazine science blog “ghetto” and Panda’s Thumb are all a twitter over the attacks on this Christian public school teacher. They’ve been offering blow by blow commentary delighting in the attempts to fire the teacher and painting him as some evil, out-of-control teacher. It’s remarkable to watch them spin these contradictions about what actually happened!
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Attorney highlights contradictory story
by Dean Narciso
Columbus Dispatch, p. B3.
March 28, 2009
A former student of John Freshwater’s told investigators last year that his eighth-grade science teacher preached in class and burned crosses on his and other students’ arms.
But that’s not the story Ben Nielson gave during testimony Thursday.
The apparent contradiction was pointed out yesterday during cross-examination of an investigator hired by the school district.
On Thursday, Nielson said Freshwater never discussed creationism or intelligent design in class and that the teacher burned a small line, not a cross, on his friend’s arm with an electric lab instrument
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