There is a very recent form of fossil hunting that I have gotten to partake in to some small extent, and I can do it while sitting in front of a computer screen! With some computer skills and some knowledge of animal genomes it isn't difficult to join this hunt for fossils inside the genome of living organisms.
A small chamber in a deep, dark cave. Tens of thousands of bones. Animal bones and human bones. Buried under dust and dirt and bat dung. Welcome to an ancient chamber of horrors. This is the Pit of Bones (aka Sima de los Huesos). In 1997, scientists discovered this small chamber within a much larger... Continue Reading →
During the last ice age some 12 to 13 thousands years ago a young girl found herself wandering in caves of the Yucatan Peninsula likely looking for water.  Hundreds of feet into a cave something happened and she fell in a deep pit breaking her pelvis. With no escape 100 feet down she died a lonely death.  She... Continue Reading →
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 →
A story is breaking today of a significant fossil find made almost a year ago but kept under wraps until the data could be properly evaluated.  What has now been revealed is that over 100 footprints were found in newly uncovered rocks along a shoreline of England.  Study of these footprints has led to... Continue Reading →
Just how fast are some rocks on Mars eroding? A few months ago I asked a Martian rock that question (see: My Interview with a Martian: A Story of Origins) and I was not given a very satisfying answer. Well, that rock can be excused for being a bit confused about time given how boring... Continue Reading →
There are about 10,000 species of birds alive today. Almost 200 additional species have gone extinct since the year 1500 and there are innumerable fossil species of birds in the geological column. One of the persistent challenges for modern young earth creationists is how to fit the diversity of life on the Noah’s ark.  Answers... 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 →
Update (Nov 2013):  Please be aware this article was written as a first impressions of an ongoing expedition as an outsider onlooker. I updated this information (Rising Star Update) as more data came to light a few weeks later.  It now seems fairly clear that this location will become a significant one in the study of... Continue Reading →
Everything has an origin.* Some stories of origins are relatively simple (eg. Niagara Falls)  while others are much more complex (eg. the Grand Canyon).  The study of origins is the study and reconstruction of past events. We have eyewitness accounts of some events from the past but mostly we use circumstantial evidence left behind as... Continue Reading →
How long would it take for falling dust to accumulate into a mound 2 1/2 miles tall?  Answers in Genesis has commented (Wind, not water, may have built the Martian Mount Sharp) over the weekend on the same research article that I referenced in my post last week (NH Notes: Did Wind and Dust Create a... Continue Reading →
Where did domesticated dogs come from?  That dogs are wolves has been known for some time but which wolves and when did domestication occur has been a more difficult question to answer.  Thousands of dog breeds and wolves have been genotyped to explore this question and that evidence suggests four and possibly more, separate wolf... Continue Reading →
A few days ago I shared some thoughts about the significance of genetic differences that are observed between humans and primates (How Similar is Similar, Part I). I said that it was important that genetic similarity numbers that are frequently used to make a case for genetic uniqueness need to be assessed in the context of... Continue Reading →
A recent paper published by the Answers Research Journal, the research publication of Answers in Genesis, reported a comparison of human and chimpanzee genomes and found that they have, on average, a DNA similarity of  only 70%.  This is a very striking number since the usual numbers you hear thrown about as representing the similarity... Continue Reading →
A reader recently brought the articles linked below from a Seventh Day Adventist (SDA) website to my attention. Â I found them interesting not just because they present a good overview of the challenges that the Greenland ice cores present to young earth creationism but because it raised my own awareness about current discussions in the... Continue Reading →
Naturalis Historia 