One common theme which often permeates discussions pertaining to embryology and developmental biology — particularly (but not limited to) within ID circles — is the idea that an organism’s DNA sequence may not wholly be responsible for the development of the three-dimensional structure and architecture found within cells, organs and body plans. Read More>>>
When Michael Behe visited the UK, back in November, the Humanist Society of Scotland and the British Center for Science Education wrote up a list of “10 + 1 Questions For Professor Behe” which they subsequently distributed to their ranks of faithful followers. I responded, at the time, fairly thoroughly to the arguments made therein here (to which the BCSE retaliated fairly viciously here).
Since PZ Myers has been invited to visit Glasgow next week (one week from today to be specific), to lecture on the embryological evidence for Darwinism, I took it upon myself to draw up this list of “10 + 1 Questions For Professor Myers”. If you happen to be in the area, and are anticipating attending this event next Monday (which will take place in the Crystal Palace, 36 Jamaica Street, from 7pm), feel free to use the following questions as inspiration for the Q&A session which will follow the talk.
In my previous two articles (here and here), I explored some of the background information concerning the integration of retroviral elements into primate genomes and the various arguments for common descent which are based on them. I explored, in some detail, the evidence for common descent based on the shared placement of retroviral sequences. In this final article, I will discuss the two remaining points which are raised in the popular-level article which I have been examining. Read More>>>
Justin Brierley (of the Unbelievable show on Premier Christian Radio) sent me this sketch, which I thought might be of interest, or perhaps amusement, to some of you:
In my previous article, I discussed the background of one of the most commonly made arguments for primate common ancestry. In this article, I want to examine the first of the three layers of evidence offered by a popular-level article written about this subject. Read More>>>
One common argument for common descent which one hears very frequently in the evolutionary literature concerns the placement of endogenous retroviruses (ERVs) in orthologous loci in primate genomes. Read More>>>
Information on the forthcoming five-day UK intelligent design conference, which runs from July 18th to 22nd in Malvern, Worcestershire, and details on how to apply, can be located here.
The programme is aimed primarily at a generalist audience with expertise across the relevant disciplines. Students or graduates in education, engineering, medicine, law, business, IT, theology, the arts and related disciplines are also encouraged to apply. Participants do not need to have a specialist background in science.
The summer school will run from Monday lunchtime to Friday lunchtime. There will be three presentations each day and an evening seminar which will feature a current issue related to Intelligent Design. The afternoons from Tuesday to Thursday will provide free time for sightseeing and other activities. A detailed programme will be available in due course.
The sessions will focus on: Read More ›
Douglas Axe has posted a response to criticisms of his work from Arthur Hunt and Steve Matheson, regarding his 2004 JMB paper, on the Biologic Institute website. In August of 2004 I received an email inquiry from plant biologist Art Hunt. He had written a draft for a blog piece aimed at reviewing a research article of mine that had just appeared in the Journal of Molecular Biology [1], and he wanted to know whether he had understood my work correctly. He clearly aimed to refute claims that were beginning to surface that my paper supported intelligent design, but he also wanted to make sure he wasn’t misconstruing my work in the process. He didn’t expect me to oblige—“I will understand Read More ›
Evolution News & Views is reporting on a rather revealing study of Scottish first year students at Glasgow University who doubt Darwinian evolution. In fact, the Times Education Supplement (TES) article reports that “One in 20 first-year biology students at Glasgow University don’t believe in the theory of evolution, according to new research.” The article further reports that, The study, presented at last week’s Edinburgh International Science Festival, at a “Creeping Creationism” seminar run by the Humanist Society, found that 85 per cent of students who reject evolution and 85 per cent of students who accept it were able to identify the definition most closely describing intelligent design (the most recent alternative to Darwinism). And, When asked why they rejected evolution, Read More ›
Wired Science is reporting on a forthcoming paper which has been posted on the pre-print website, ArXiv. The authors propose that chromosomes might act in a manner synonymous with a radio antennae, involving electrons travelling around DNA loops to produce species-specific wavelengths. Read More>>>
An open letter, signed by some 42 Nobel Laureates, has been sent to the Louisiana legislature and to Gov. Bobby Jindal regarding the 2008 Louisiana academic freedom bill, which offers protection to teachers who encourage critical thinking and objective discussion about evolution and other scientific topics. The statement reads, in part: Dear Members of the Louisiana Legislature, As Nobel Laureates in various scientific fields, we urge you to repeal the misnamed and misguided Louisiana Science Education Act (LSEA) of 2008. This law creates a pathway for creationism and other forms of non-scientific instruction to be taught in public school science classrooms. The warning flags many of us raised about this law have now been proven justified. Members of the Livingston Read More ›
Over on the website of Centre for Intelligent Design (C4ID) UK, director Alastair Noble has posted some remarks concerning the Edinburgh Science Festival held this week just ending. An associated evening event, organised by the Humanist Society of Scotland, addressed “The Threat of Creeping Creationism In Schools In Scotland”. Alastair Noble responds, I recently attended an evening event (21 April 2011) at the prestigious Edinburgh Science Festival. Organised by the Humanist Society of Scotland, it addressed “The Threat of Creeping Creationism in Scottish Schools”. As a proponent of the debate around Intelligent Design (ID), I thought our Centre might feature. I wasn’t wrong. It wasn’t the creeping creationism that worried me. In fact one of the speakers from Aberdeen University Read More ›
I was recently engaged in correspondance with someone who told me that the theory of ID isn’t scientific because it doesn’t make scientific predictions. We’ve all heard it, right? Indeed, most of you are probably bored to tears having had to address, and respond to, this argument over and over, seemingly to no avail. As with so many things in this discussion, the constantly re-iterated response seems to repeatedly fall on deaf ears. So, I took a few moments to ‘brain storm’ and jot down those scientific predictions, made by ID, which immediately came to mind. This is what I came up with: Predictions In Astronomy/Cosmology ID predicts that the Universe had a beginning. ID predicts an increase (and not Read More ›
An interesting research paper was recently published in the Journal Astrobiology by Gayle K. Philip and Stephen J. Freeland, which asks, “Did Evolution Select a Nonrandom Alphabet of Amino Acids?” Read More>>>