2009

This new paper by James Shapiro may be of interest . In it he elaborates on the central dogma of molecular biology. It has become very complex since the old “one gene one protein and all the rest is junk” days. Here is the summary table. Conventional expression of the Central Dogma of Molecule Biology: (DNA ==>2X DNA) ==> RNA ==> Protein ==> Phenotype Contemporary statements of molecular information transfer in cell: 1. DNA + 0 ==> 0 2. DNA + Protein + ncRNA ==> Chromatin 3. Chromatin + Protein + ncRNA ==> DNA replication, chromatin maintenance/reconstitution 4. Protein + RNA + lipids + small molecules ==> Signal transduction 5. Chromatin + Protein + signals ==> RNA (primary transcript) 6. RNA Read More ›

Here’s a great reason for rejecting pop neuroscience, titled “We are neuroscientists and we come in peace”: Peace? Hmmm. Just try coming to war here and see what happens. Just when it seemed things could get no worse, Hank Greely of Stanford Law School pointed to several areas of potential friction between neuroscience research and widely held religious beliefs (findings that point to consciousness, or a form of it, in nonhuman animals, for example, might undermine the notion that humans occupy a unique position in the world) and asked whether neuroscientists might get dragged into the type of culture war waged by evolutionary biologists and creationists. … “What Makes The Human Brain Unique”? What makes the human brain unique?: Has Read More ›

Anika Smith, at the Discovery Institute, informs me that: Those who live in the Los Angeles area are invited to attend a gala premiere screening of Illustra Media’s new documentary, Darwin’s Dilemma: The Mystery of the Cambrian Fossil Record next Sunday, October 25th at 7:00 pm at the University of Southern California. The event is sponsored by the American Freedom Alliance. This premiere was originally scheduled for the California Science Center, but the Center canceled the event just a few days ago, leaving the organizers virtually no time to find a new location. If you live in the Los Angeles area, you can show your support for free speech … That might be a very good idea. Especially if you Read More ›

David Berlinski will be giving a lecture tour around the States this fall. Here are the dates:

October 23 — lecture at King’s College, New York
October 25 — Darwin’s Dilemma screening, USC, Los Angeles
October 27 — lecture and discussion, Beverly Hills Library, Beverly Hills
October 31 — lecture at ID conference, Colorado Springs
November 3 — lecture at Oberlin College, Oberlin, Ohio
November 4 — lecture at Ohio University, Athens, Ohio
November 5 — lecture at University of Akron, Akron, Ohio

Read More ›

Forget all those technical treatises on the evolution of neuronal topology. Here’s all you need to know: “Well you see, Norm, it’s like this… A herd of buffalo can only move as fast as the slowest buffalo. And when the herd is hunted, it is the slowest and weakest ones at the back that are killed first. This natural selection is good for the herd as a whole, because the general speed and health of the whole group keeps improving by the regular killing of the weakest members. In much the same way, the human brain can only operate as fast as the slowest brain cells. Now, as we know, excessive intake of alcohol kills brain cells. But naturally, it Read More ›

So let’s take a look around and see what passes for science today. One article comes to mind as an example of the peculiar, and it’s from The New York Times. This article explains how some scientists, probably considered mainstream, have posited that tiny particles are abhorred by nature, so nature, knowing that physicists will discover these tiny particles in the future, sabotages the equipment the  that the physicists intend on using. More than a year after an explosion of sparks, soot and frigid helium shut it down, the world’s biggest and most expensive physics experiment, known as the Large Hadron Collider, is poised to start up again… I’m talking about the notion that the troubled collider is being sabotaged Read More ›

Science and Faith: Friends or Foes?  Riley Conference Center | Campus of Southwestern Seminary | October 23-24, 2009 Register now — Please contact Riley Center at 817.923.1921 x 2440 Are science and faith at war? Does science undermine or corroborate belief in God? Does faith suppress or inspire scientific research? Explore these questions and more at this two-day conference held at the Riley Center on the campus of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. Sessions will explore a Biblical theology of nature; the role of Christianity in the founding of modern science; the impact of Darwinian Evolution on ethics, society, Biblical studies and theology; and the scientific evidence for intelligent design and its implications for theism. Featured speakers include Dr. William Dembski, author Read More ›

In case we did not know, New Scientist confirms that at the base of the (postulated) tree of life is an extremely complex life form, much like a modern cell. “There is no doubt that the progenitor of all life on Earth, the common ancestor, possessed DNA, RNA and proteins, a universal genetic code, ribosomes (the protein-building factories), ATP and a proton-powered enzyme for making ATP. The detailed mechanisms for reading off DNA and converting genes into proteins were also in place. In short, then, the last common ancestor of all life looks pretty much like a modern cell.” It is easy (or not) to imagine something as simple as that arising by natural processes. here

Yesterday, David Berlinski was interviewed on KBRT radio by Greg Koukl of Stand To Reason. This is one of the best interviews with David I’ve ever heard. Greg is extremely sharp and articulate, and really knows his stuff concerning ID. You can stream the MP3 here. The Berlinski interview begins at 1:52:05.

For Uncommon Descent Question 10: Provide the Code for Dawkins’ WEASEL Program, we have declared a winner – 377 responses later – and it is Oxfordensis: It seems that Dawkins used two programs, one in his book THE BLIND WATCHMAKER, and one for a video that he did for the BBC (here’s the video-run of the program; fast forward to 6:15). After much beating the bushes, we finally heard from someone named “Oxfordensis,” who provided the two PASCAL programs below, which we refer to as WEASEL1 (corresponding to Dawkins’s book) and WEASEL2 (corresponding to Dawkins’s BBC video). These are by far the best candidates we have received to date. Go here for more. Note: Apparently, Bill Dembski is taking care Read More ›

What is evolution? Is it natural selection acting on random biological variation? Is it gradualism or punctuated equilibrium? Is it the slow accumulation of neutral changes that eventually become useful? No, these are all sub hypotheses of evolution. Evolution is the theory that naturalistic causes are sufficient to explain the origin of species.   Read more

Review Of The Eighth Chapter Of Signature In The Cell by Stephen Meyer
ISBN: 9780061894206; Imprint: Harper One

In the middle ages, Moses Maimonides debated heavily with Islamic philosophers over the Aristotlean interpretation of the universe. By looking at the stars and seeing their irregular pattern in the heavens, he concluded that only design could have generated the star arrangements he observed (1). In the process he ruled out necessity and the Epicurean ideology of chance. Centuries later Isaac Newton similarly opted for design as the best explanation for the origins of our solar system. Writing in his General Scholium for example Newton left us with no doubt over where his focus lay:

I have been studying the concept of emergence, especially from Arthur Peacocke, and Michael Polanyi recently. Peacocke was very much influenced by Polanyi, but instead has developed a monistic approach to reality within an emergentist-naturalistic-panentheistic perspective. Peacocke speaks about the process of evolution having ‘creativity’ as does the emergentist process philosopher Ian Barbour who suggested that there is some ‘design’ in the system of evolution. Polanyi believed in an irreducible hierarchy in nature, but one that has arisen through ‘ontogenetic emergence.’ This process was believed to have been driven forward by a ‘creative agent’ or director. (Polanyi (1962) Personal Knowledge, Routledge and Kegan Paul, pp. 393-395  (ontogeny – the development of what exists – as a child develops from an Read More ›

Abuses of Power in Science: An Interview With Darwin Skeptic David Berlinski Mathematician and novelist Berlinski, interviewed here, is always fun. His Devil’s Delusion: Atheism and its scientific pretensions is both sharp and funny. As a secular Jew, he is not arguing for religion, but rather making the point that science is not atheism’s best friend by any means: •Has anyone provided a proof of God’s inexistence? Not even close. •Has quantum cosmology explained the emergence of the universe or why it is here? Not even close. •Have the sciences explained why our universe seems to be fine-tuned to allow for the existence of life? Not even close. •Are physicists and biologists willing to believe in anything so long as Read More ›