Archive for 2001

Antarctic Odyssey

Were the Russians smart, or what? While their colony in Antarctica was obviously one of superlatives, scarcely anybody envied their choice. Established in 1957 in the southeast sector of the continent, it was 1500 km from the coast and definitely the highest, driest and coldest choice possible. Here, in this interior region, the ice pack was extremely deep so that the elevation of the camp was a lofty 3500 m above sea level. Despite all that ice, the climate was very dry indeed. Some have claimed that dry cold does not feel so intense, but at -89C, (the coldest temperature ever recorded on our planet and observed at this site), such arguments mean nothing. Even a more typical -55C in this vicinity is too cold for comfort. As far as the eye could see at Vostok, as the Russians named their camp, there was nothing but bleak cold whiteness. Almost forty years would pass before the Russians discovered that Vostok offered more than desolation. Read the rest of this entry »

Human Genome: What Does It All Mean?

Even the date was significant. On Monday, February 12 (the one hundred ninety-second anniversary of Charles Darwin’s birth), two groups of scientists released the results of their continuing studies into the human genome. This date was chosen since it is the understanding of most modern scientists, that details in the genetic code should give us spectacular insights into the process of evolution. But there were many surprises in the data. What did the results mean? Read the rest of this entry »

It’s Time For a “New” Biology

Among biologists, there have always been mavericks who dared to take a stand for the creation model. Point by point, these scientists have contested evolutionary speculation. But all too often such individuals have seemed like voices crying in the wilderness. The public often perceived creation based arguments as offering little but negativity. It is indeed the case that rearguard skirmishes won’t win a war. What is clearly needed, is a frontal assault on biological thinking. It is time to re-examine the foundations of biology. Thus it was in August 2001 that the Center for Origins Research and Education of Bryan College in Dayton, Tennessee; the Institute for Creation Research in El Cajon, California; and Cedarville University of Cedarville, Ohio — jointly sponsored a conference entitled “Discontinuity: Understanding Biology in the Light of Creation.” Read the rest of this entry »

Much Music

Truly there are few things as thrilling as beautiful music. Was it not Shakespeare who wrote “If music be the food of love, play on!” Indeed music not only fosters romance, but it can also make us laugh, or cry, or move with the rhythm, or all of the above at once. There are few things which play on our emotions the way music does. Music however is not a gift unique to people. There are other created creatures with wonderful musical talents. Consider the songbirds for example. Read the rest of this entry »

Pioneer 10 Just Keeps Going and Going

It seems almost too amazing to contemplate. Measured from its antennae, Pioneer 10 extends less than 3 m (9 feet) and weighs about 270 kg (570 lb.). Its power comes from four nuclear generators each of which provided only 40 watts at launch, 29 years ago. Now that spacecraft is almost 12 billion km alway (7 billion miles). Despite the immense distance and the tiny onboard power source, a message from Pioneer 10 was successfully detected on April 28/01 by a tracking station in Spain. Some people might wonder how signals from Pioneer 10 are recognized from so far away. Apparently there is a new analytical technique based on chaos theory, which may enable scientists to sift real signals out of background noise. Read the rest of this entry »

Smart Weeds

When I think about gardens, a happy little ditty comes into my mind.

You can learn a lot of things from the flowers
Especially in the month of June
You can learn a lot of things from the flowers
All on a golden afternoon. Read the rest of this entry »

So NEAR yet so far

Most of us appreciate the word “young”, especially when it is used to describe us. However there is one class of individual that does not particularly like this adjective. These are astronomers. They don’t mind looking young themselves. However they do not want to hear about phenomena in space which appear recent or young. Many astronomers believe that our solar system is billions of years old. There should not be too many phenomena (or any) in space that are of very recent origin. Read the rest of this entry »

The Fight For American Minds

Advance warning of a spectacular media blitz arrived at PBS affiliates as the past school year ended. The memo, dated June 15/01 was entitled “The Evolution Controversy: Use it or Lose it.” According to the memo, the affiliates should prepare not only to promote the eight hour series entitled Evolution, but they were also to promote the very concept of evolution itself. The series would run in September as the new school year began. This project, which was two years in preparation, was co-produced by WGBH Boston (of NOVA fame) and Clear Blue Sky Productions. The program was declared to be a “comprehensive PBS project, not just a television series.” The objective was to reach as many people as possible (including teachers and ten million students over a ten year period). To that end, a feature-rich web site had been prepared as well as a HarperCollins companion book. Among the target audiences the memo listed religious leaders and government officials. These are not usually expected to pay particular attention to general interest science programming. But this was to be no apple pie and motherhood “beauty of nature” sort of show. Indeed one of the “outreach” objectives was to “co-opt existing local dialogue about teaching evolution in schools.” To support this more serious political agenda, the advertising campaign would include television, print media and “guerrilla/viral marketing” whatever that may be (but it doesn’t sound good). Read the rest of this entry »