The physical and spiritual status of Neanderthals has been hotly debated since the first fossilize of bones were described from Neander Valley in Germany in 1856. Since that time bones from more than 400 Neanderthal individuals have been recovered over a large geographical range (fig 1). Hundreds of published studies on these bones, artifacts... Continue Reading →
The State of Creationism in the Church Today: Reflections on ETS 2014, Part II
Evangelical Christianity, broadly defined, has seen a number of science and faith battles over the past 50 years. For most of those years the debate has focused on the age of the earth and the closely – though not universally - associated debate about the extent of Noah’s Flood. Today, the age of the Earth... Continue Reading →
Reflections on ETS 2014, Part I: An Overview of Origins Related Talks
The landscape of science and faith discussions within conservative evangelical Christianity has shifted noticeably over the past 20 years. Vigorous debates over the meaning of the day of creation in Genesis 1 were common in the 1990s, resulting in study committee reports from conservative denominations like the Presbyterian Church in America, “Report of the Creation Study Committee”... Continue Reading →
NH Notes: Every Breaking Wave – Concretions Resist the Sands of Time
"Every breaking wave on the shore Tells the next one there'll be one more" Bono and Edge, U2 "Every Breaking Wave" 2014 I was in San Diego a few weeks ago attending the Evangelical Theological Society conference. I will report on that later but today I bring you a few pictures I took before hopping... Continue Reading →
How Rare are Stone Age Artifacts? A Visit to a Stone Tool-Making Center at Kathu, South Africa
Hundreds of millions and possibly billions of stone artifacts sit just under parking lots and homes in Kathu, South Africa. A small sample of those artifacts were examined a few years ago in a vacant lot scheduled to be developed into a shopping plaza. A simple trench and pits dug in that lot revealed a... Continue Reading →
A Flock of Genomes Reveals the Toothy Ancestry of Birds
A tidal wave of genomic information seems to wash up on shore each year. In 2014, an especially large wave - in those days long ago! - came ashore in the form of 45 entire genome sequences of birds. The relevance of these genomes and their hundreds of billions of letters of code representing all... Continue Reading →
Ancient DNA Redux: 700-Year-Old Virus Resurrected from Frozen Caribou Dung
Under nine feet of ice, frozen for 700 years, from DNA extracted from bits of caribou dung, a viral genome has been recovered and brought back to life. Don’t worry this isn’t a case of mad scientists resurrecting the black plague for nefarious purposes. This is the story of some inquisitive scientists investigating past environments... Continue Reading →
Curiosity Rover Update: Driving into a Sedimentary Wonderland on Mars
The Mars Curiosity Rover continues to make its way through the basin of Gale Crater on Mars. I've provided periodical updates on its progress as it makes its way toward a large mountain in the center of the crater. Recently it has driven down almost 1000 feet to arrive at nearly the lowest elevation point... Continue Reading →
Origin of a New Parasite? Tasmanian Devil Transmissible Tumors
Can cancer become an infectious disease? Usually with think of cancer as limited to the individual in whom the cancer formed. But what if cancerous cells could infect other individuals. Here is a link to a story on the sad case of what happens when cancer "learns" to infect more than one individual: BBC News... Continue Reading →
Fossil Virus Found in Hamsters Points to an Ancient Origin of Ebola Virus
The Ebola virus has captured headlines around the world. One of the big questions that I see being asked frequently is - where did it come from? Does it have a recent origin or has the virus been with us for a long time but simply not recognized? Clearly it didn't come into existence in... Continue Reading →
The Never Ending Debate: Ken Ham’s Obsession with Bill Nye
Do you remember the debate between Bill Nye and Ken Ham back in February? Probably, but if it is becoming a hazy memory then that's a sure sign you aren't visiting the Answers in Genesis website often enough. For if you were, you could not forget. For a month after the debate AIG had a... Continue Reading →
NH Photography: Fall Insects from Northeast Ohio
Just pictures today. My daughter needs to get 25 pictures of invertebrates for her 11th grade biology class project and they can't be from the internet. We have gone on several walks together in local parks looking for anything without a vertebra. I am currently teaching Flora and Taxonomy and I have taken my students on multiple trips... Continue Reading →
Smoking Gun Evidence of an Ancient Earth: GPS Data Confirms Radiometric Dating
While writing about the origins of the Dead Sea and Jordan Valley I was confronted once again with one of the most striking pieces of evidence for an ancient earth that I am aware of. Take a look at the figure below. This figure shows the smoking gun. Smoking gun evidence of what? That the earth's plates... Continue Reading →
NH Notes: Fossilization Caught in the Act – A Mammoth from Texas
Does fossilization require rapid burial as the result of catastrophic global flooding? Literalist creationists would have us believe so for they point to the fossil record as being proof of a cataclysmic global flood. Look a bit deeper though and you will find that creationists frequently concede there are thousands of exceptions to this general... Continue Reading →
The Age of the Reptiles: A New Dinosaur Fossil Trackway Near Moab
Moab will have yet another dinosaur attraction coming this fall. More than 200 reptilian footprints scattered over an area less than a football field have been uncovered after a resident discovered a few tracks while hiking. Dinosaur tracks are known from dozens of locations in this area but this site is unusual because of the... Continue Reading →