"Approach, approach, ingenuous youth, and learn the fundamental truth: The Noble science of Geology Is founded firmly in Coprology. For ever be the Saurians blest, Who left us this diluvian test. I claim a grand coronam lauri, For these, Thesauri of the Sauri."
Just how long can DNA survive after the death of a cell or without cellular activity to maintain itself? I addressed this question a few months ago (Young Earth Creationism and Ancient DNA) and suggested that we would learn much more in the coming year. Already we have seen multiple complete genomes from fossil bones... Continue Reading →
When I last updated you on the excursion that the Curiosity rover has been making across the floor of Gale Crater on Mars I noted that the images it has been beaming back had been getting rather routine. But the rover has slowly been moving downhill toward what seems more and more likely to have... Continue Reading →
This fish prefers to be out of water! The Pacific leaping blenny is back in the news again with the publication of further research on how they avoid being eaten by birds and lizards. Whoa, back up a bit you say. A fish living out of water! Yep, and this isn't just a fish that... Continue Reading →
The process of discovery in science can be as fascinating to follow as a sporting event: if we knew how it was going to end we would be much less likely to watch. The Rising Star Expedition has the drama but not the finality, fortunately!, of a sporting event where there is a final score. ... Continue Reading →
Our solar system comes with planets of all sorts of sizes and compositions. Not long ago, it was possible to debate if there were any other planets in the Universe other than those of our solar system. Now, there doesn't seem to be any question that other planets, called exoplanets, do exist. The... Continue Reading →
Curiosity keeps chugging away across the floor of Gale Crater. A few weeks ago we talked to a rock (My Interview with a Martian: A Story of Origins) that it met as it is working its way to the base of Mt. Sharp. I had mentioned that the trip has been a tad boring compared... Continue Reading →
My daughter is very attentive to the insect population around our house. She spends many hours collecting all sorts of insects and other animals. In the fall of 2013 she brought me a leaf that she thought had a caterpillar of some sort on it. She is well aware that bugs make little... Continue Reading →
Who loves pleasant sunny fall afternoons? Most everyone and everything and that includes a large population of gnats in my yard that have also enjoyed a wet northeast Ohio summer. I had a few minutes to do some yard work today but I was distracted when I walked through a cloud of these small... Continue Reading →
Inverted valleys formed from lava "rivers" and ancient stream beds are one of many unusual geological phenomena found in Utah. The rocks speak in Utah and they speak very clearly because they readily reveal so many clues about their origins since they are so visible to us. Some of the most powerful testimonies of... Continue Reading →
How does a hill get a flat top? The picture below is a Google Maps satellite image of St. George Utah. To the left you can see an airport. This airport is on top of a long hill whose top is well over 100 feet above the city below. The airport was built here because... Continue Reading →
We all learned from an early age that earthworms are God's good gift to gardeners. They rework the soil and help to degrade leaf litter thus helping to make nutrients and water available to plant roots. Our appreciation of earthworms can be traced back to Charles Darwin who spent more than 40 years... Continue Reading →
There is a strange circular scar on the earth found amongst the meandering incised canyons of southeastern Utah. Called upheaval dome because it was originally thought to be the result of the slowing rising of a massive salt dome from below, this highly eroded structure has long been an oddity among the many spectacular sandstone... Continue Reading →
Southeastern Utah has an astounding amount of sedimentary rock on full display. Between our stays in Silverton Colorado and Moab Utah we made a trek through this area. One day hardly does this area justice but what we were able to see was amazing. The sedimentary layers are best seen in the gorge of the... Continue Reading →
Yep, dinosaurs are known by more than just their bones. I have been reading quite a few research papers about dinosaurs as I prepare to write a long set of posts about Dr. Schweitzer and the significance of soft-tissue preservation in dinosaur bones. During this reading I got distracted by a discussion about dinosaur coprolites... Continue Reading →
Naturalis Historia 