http://www.ffame.org/sbenner/cochembiol8.672-689.pdf
The opening discussion:
To decide whether life has a common chemical plan, we must decide what life is. A panel assembled by NASA in 1994 was one of many groups to ponder this question. The panel defined life as a ‘chemical system capable of Darwinian evolution’ [16]. This definition, which follows an earlier definition by Sagan [17], will be used here. Read More ›
Excuse the bad pun.
http://news.uns.purdue.edu/UNS/html4ever/2006/060914DeWoodyVole.html
As for genetic evidence…unfortunately it appears our knowledge is fairly limited.
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http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/09/060918202123.htm
Applying techniques derived from classical and quantum physics calculations may radically reduce the time it takes to simulate the way that proteins fold.
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Let’s lighten things up a little: The only way I can think of to connect this to ID in any manner is DaveScot’s contention that evolution will continue via self-modification. Other than that, I just thought it was funny.
http://www.junkdna.com/fractogem/
On the subject of “junk DNA” Dr. Pellionisz believes these sections are caused by DNA being a “FractoGene” (Fractal DNA generating Fractal Organelles). I wouldn’t be surprised if DNA uses recursive mathematics for generating its complexity (plants do this for their structure at a macro level). As he explains it:
“[The] FractoGene approach to DNA, indeed, does not do away with “design”. While “genes” provide the “materials” (“building blocks” of nucleic acids for proteins, much like a building is built by bricks, concrete, steel, glass, wood, tiles, marble, etc.), the “architecture” of a building is *not* in its materials. THE ARCHITECTURE IS IN THE DESIGN. In case of the DNA and organs and organelles, FractoGene provides an *explanation* for the design; that “Junk DNA” provides auxiliary information for each (fractal) recursion how to build a hierarchy of protein structures. The explanation is algorithmic, i.e. it is given in hard terms of mathematics (fractal geometry), that is inherently “software and nanotechnology friendly”. Besides, FractoGene also put forward (quantitative) predictions that are experimentally verifiable or refutable. (Experimental support of the “Fugu prediction of FractoGene” was published in peer-reviewed science journal; see http://www.junkdna.com/fractogene/05_simons_pellionisz.html).”
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20060714/sc_afp/swedenspainscience_060714171218
STOCKHOLM (AFP) – A Swedish-led team of scientists has discovered 400,000-year-old DNA in bear teeth, the Uppsala University in Sweden said.
The team, made up of Swedish, Spanish and German researchers, discovered the remains of the bear in a cave in Atapuerca, northern Spain.“It is usually hard to find DNA that is older than 100,000 years, and work on fossilized DNA mostly focuses on material that is a few tens of thousands of years old, at most,” team leader Anders Goetherstroem said in a statement.
He said the find “pushed back the frontier” concerning the age of DNA that scientists could work with. “It means that it will be possible to subject a large number of extinct animals to DNA analysis,” he said.
Stephen Hawking and Thomas Hertog recently published an article that should be of interest to many of us. When the normal “bottom-up approach” is applied to cosmology, one ends up with a finely tuned universe as we all know. Hawking has apparently been busy trying to find a way around that “problem” with a “top down approach”.
Eryn Brown of The New Republic contacted Bill in regards to whether “there been much other talk about the game[Spore] in ID circles”. Except for the post made here on UD I have not heard much mention of it although that’s most likely due to the game not being available yet. In my reply to Eryn I did note that I thought “there were some comparisons that could be made with Spore. For example, the modular design mentioned by Marc Kirschner can be compared to the animation system of Spore, where various sub-components will dynamically adjust to fit together and function as a new whole.” Read More ›
http://www.nature.com/nature/peerreview/index.html
Peer review is the bedrock of scientific publication (for Nature’s position on peer review, see our Guide to Authors). It is widely considered essential for improving submitted papers and enhancing the credentials of scientists as well as those of the journals in which they choose to publish.
But, like any process, peer review requires occasional scrutiny and assessement. Has the Internet bought new opportunities for journals to manage peer review more imaginatively or by different means? Are there any systematic flaws in the process? Should the process be transparent or confidential? Is the journal even necessary, or could scientists manage the peer review process themselves?
Nature’s peer review process has been maintained, unchanged, for decades. We, the editors, believe that the process functions well, by and large. But, in the spirit of being open to considering alternative approaches, we are taking two initiatives: a web debate and a trial of a particular type of open peer review. Read More ›
This might be one of those relatively “simple” systems that could–like the bacterial flagellum–become a primary example used by ID proponents.
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2006-05/cp-nro050306.php
By using an electronic ultra-high-speed camera, researchers have characterized the explosive discharge of stinging jellyfish nematocytes and show that this event represents one of the fastest cellular processes in nature. The research is reported by Thomas Holstein of the University of Heidelberg and his colleagues in the May 9th issue of Current Biology. Read More ›
For those looking to see if ID returns false positives (ASSUMING that indeed there is additional CSI involved in this immunity, which is apparently unknown at this time).
http://www.pnas.org/cgi/content/abstract/0602382103v1
Spontaneous regression/complete resistance (SR/CR) mice resist very high doses of cancer cells that are lethal to WT mice even at low doses. In this study, we show that this resistance is mediated by rapid infiltration of leukocytes, mostly of innate immunity, in both primary and repeated challenges. Formation of rosettes with infiltrating natural killer cells, neutrophils, and macrophages was required for the subsequent destruction of cancer cells through rapid cytolysis. Highly purified natural killer cells, macrophages, and neutrophils from the SR/CR mice independently killed cancer cells in vitro. The independent killing activity by each subset of effector cells is consistent with the observation that the resistance was abolished by depleting total infiltrating leukocytes but not by depleting only one or two subsets of leukocytes. The resistance was completely transferable to WT recipient mice through SR/CR splenocytes, bone marrow cells, or enriched peritoneal macrophages, either for prevention against subsequent cancer challenges or eradication of established malignancy at distant sites.
http://domino.research.ibm.com/comm/pr.nsf/pages/news.20060425_dna.html
IBM today announced its researchers have discovered numerous DNA patterns shared by areas of the human genome that were thought to have little or no influence on its function and those areas that do.
As reported today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), regions of the human genome that were assumed to largely contain evolutionary leftovers (called “junk DNA”) may actually hold significant clues that can add to scientists’ understanding of cellular processes. IBM researchers have discovered that these regions contain numerous, short DNA “motifs,” or repeating sequence fragments, which also are present in the parts of the genome that give rise to proteins. Read More ›
While reading about Pianka I noticed one statement related to Intelligent Design that has been overlooked amidst the furor:
“Although [Ebola Zaire] Kills 9 out of 10 people, outbreaks have so far been unable to become epidemics because they are currently spread only by direct physical contact with infected blood. However, a closely-related virus that kills monkeys, Ebola Reston, is airborne, and it is only a matter of time until Ebola Zaire evolves the capacity to be airborne.” – Pianka
http://www.pnas.org/cgi/content/abstract/0600591103v1
“We analyzed a very large set of molecular interactions that had been derived automatically from biological texts. We found that published statements, regardless of their verity, tend to interfere with interpretation of the subsequent experiments and, therefore, can act as scientific “microparadigms,” similar to dominant scientific theories. Read More ›
Was reading the new novel “Sunstorm” by Author C. Clarke and I noticed something “interesting”.
“Okay,” Toby said. “So a rogue planet fell into the sun. It’s an astonishing thing to happen, but not unprecedented. Remember Comet Shoemaker-Levy colliding with Jupiter in the 1990s? And–with respect–what does it have to do with Lieutenant Dutt and her theories about extraterrestrial intervention?”
Eugene snapped, “Are you such a fool that you can’t see it?”
Toby bit back, “Now look here–“
Siobhan grabbed his arm. “Just take us through it, Eugene. Step by step.”
Eugene visibly fought for patience. “Have you really no idea how unlikely this scenario is? Yes, there are rogue planets, formed independently of stars, or flung out of stellar systems. Yes, it may happen that such a planet could cross from one system to another. But it’s highly unlikely. The Galaxy is empty. To scale, the stars are like grains of sand, separated by kilometers. I estimate the change of a planet like this coming anywhere near our solar system as being one in a hundred thousand.
“And this Jovian didn’t just approach us–it didn’t just fall near the sun–it fell directly into the sun, on a trajectory that would take it directly toward the sun’s center of mass.” He laughed, disbelieving at their incomprehension. “The odds against such a thing are absurd. No naturalistic explanation is plausible.”
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