Miller quotes, “Indeed the language of neo-Darwinism is so careless that the words ‘divine plan’ can be substituted for ‘selection pressure’ in any popular work in the biological literature without the slightest disruption in the logical flow of argument. –
Robert G. B. Reid, Biological Emergences: Evolution by Natural Experiment, Pp. 37-38” That’s a devastating indictment, given that the whole point of Darwinism was to demonstrate that life could come into existence purely by random processes.
Huge sandstone camel sculptures in Saudi Arabia are much older than thought
At 7,000–8,000 years old, they predate the domestication of camels (so far as we know). Ancient people get smarter every time we run into them.
Paper on bacterial mobility (motility) doesn’t invoke “evolution”
Which raises a question: How much outgassing about “evolution” is intended to stifle curiosity and make it sound like we know things we don’t?
At Mind Matters News: Debate: Former atheist neurosurgeon vs. former Christian activist
In a lively debate at Theology Unleashed, neurosurgeon Michael Egnor and broadcaster Matt Dillahunty clash over the existence of God. Each gets a chance to state his case and interrogate the other.
New find: Cell growth processes are coupled
So the cell grows in a co-ordinated manner.
Sabine Hossenfelder asks, what’s up with neutrinos?
Hossenfelder has stumbled on a telling fact about science journalism. Often, the genuinely puzzling problem is ignored in favour of some a big whoop de do about an incidental find that doesn’t amount to much and may prove an artifact of data collection.
Rob Sheldon: “It from bit” is winning the cosmology wars
Sheldon: Translating, Ethan is saying that the old 20th century materialism that says “entropy” or “information” emerges from the particles is being replaced by a 21st century view that “entropy” or “information” is fundamental and the material particles emerge from the immaterial field.
At Mind Matters News: Can there be a general theory for fine-tuning?
Swedish mathematician Ola Hössjer, who is working on a general theory of fine tuning, sees the beauty of mathematics in the fact that seemingly unrelated features in cosmology and biology can be modeled using similar concepts.
At The Ness: Science is not Just Philosophy
Wait. If atheist neurologist blogger Steven Novella is right, the science presenters in media must be speaking a different language from the rest of us. The impression that he says they don’t convey (“insight into the ultimate nature of reality”), they in fact do — by a variety of means. That’s okay, of course, until the whipped cream hits the fan.
At Quanta: Mathematical Analysis of Fruit Fly Wings Hints at Evolution’s Limits
Apparently, constraint is quite strict. That’s a problem for vast claims about natural selection.
At Lancet: An appeal for an honest debate in science about the origin of COVID-19
We wish Jacques van Helden and his co-authors good luck getting an honest discussion going. It’s not like China is going to become transparent anytime soon. In any event, few virus researchers would want to be told bluntly that, because gain-of-function research in viruses can go badly wrong, they now face controls. Some nations wouldn’t heed the controls. And nature never responds – on her own – to calls for clarification. Most likely, whatever happened with COVID will need to happen again a few more times until a pattern develops. Then we’ll see. It doesn’t help that Lancet itself became politicized in recent years.
At Mind Matters News: Life is so wonderfully finely tuned that it’s frightening
A mathematician who uses statistical methods to model the fine tuning of molecular machines and systems in cells reflects…
Granville Sewell on the first “self-replicating” cardboard box
Sewell: In reality, to be really self-replicating like living things, it would have to go get its own cardboard, so maybe it would need wheels and an axe to cut down trees and a small sawmill to make cardboard out of wood…
New vid from the John 10:10 Project: God is in the details
From the blurb: “In this fascinating video, superb microscopic photography reveals some of the hidden wonders that enable butterflies to thrive on earth, while filling our eyes with unforgettable evidence of intelligent design in the living world.”
Policy analyst: More funding is not going to solve current science problems
Two thoughts: Unclear what Dr. Mills means by a “so-called” “replication crisis.” There IS a replication crisis. They can call it an ice cream cone if they want. Second, more funding, under the circumstances, not only “could” make the problems worse; they almost certainly WILL do so. If systemic issues are not addressed, more funding helps magnify the problem. It’s like giving a gambling addict more money.