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Of the five senses which keep us in touch with the world, most of us are particularly aware of eyesight and hearing. Of course we are very thankful for these gifts. One sense that we tend to take for granted however, is the sense of smell. This sense does not seem very complicated or amazing. Nevertheless a little research reveals that our sense of smell is not only exquisitely designed, but it is also poorly understood by biologists. Of all our senses, that of smell seems to be the most complicated. Read the rest of this entry »

No sea animal elicits such fear and terror in the common people as do sharks. Gruesome shark attacks on humans are part of both the folklore and history of many cultures, including our own. Their predatory skill both fascinates and frightens us. Even though sharks rarely attack humans, when an attack occurs, it tends to be widely publicized by the mass media. Ironically, their very survival is now threatened by human-related activities, such as net fishing.

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A recent list of the 100 most important “scientific discoveries that changed the world” lists Rick Smalley’s discovery of Buckyballs (English, 2014, p. 13). But who was this man? Richard (Rick) Smalley (June 6, 1943-October 28, 2005) was Professor of Chemistry, Physics, and Astronomy at Rice University. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1996 (along with Sir Harry Kroto and Robert Curl) for the discovery and research on a new allotrope (form) of carbon. He called this unique soccerball-shaped molecule buckminsterfullerene, nicknamed buckyballs. Soon a more comprehensive category called fullerenes was proposed to include nanotubes. Read the rest of this entry »

Imagine that you found a hockey card. The pictured individual looks just like most other hockey players but you don’t recognize the name. It doesn’t look that exciting does it? You might be tempted to throw the card in the nearest garbage can. Your friend however advises caution. Why not investigate the value of the card? Suppose for the sake of argument that your card turns out to be extremely rare and worth a lot of money. Suddenly, what previously looked like junk, has now become a wonderful possession. The card has not changed, but your appreciation of what the card represents, has changed drastically. Such situations sometimes occur in real life. Not all of these instances involve things, some involve living creatures. Read the rest of this entry »

Commercial movies come and go and many are soon forgotten. Of those movies that I saw as a university student, there is only one that I remember. Inherit the Wind was the lesser feature on a double bill in a small theatre in Quebec. But the content packed a powerful message! The story line was about a trial involving Christian townsfolk in an American town who were ignorant and boorish, as opposed to evolution supporting educators there who were informed and civilized. Everyone understood that the movie claimed to portray an actual event, the Scopes Trial of July 1925 in Dayton, Tennessee. Thus, we reflect on the centenary of this trial which some claim represents the most significant trial of the century. What was it all about, and what is its legacy?

Have you ever seen a plant growing inside a cage? We saw such a sight at the Royal Botanic Gardens in Sydney, Australia. It makes you stop and think doesn’t it? Is the cage there to protect the tree or to protect the people? Is this some sort of carnivorous threat or what? The little evergreen tree inside the cage is actually a very non-threatening 50 cm tall. The cage is there to prevent anyone from running off with the rarest known tree species on earth. The existence of this highly unusual tree, known as the Wollemi Pine, was just discovered in late 1994. Scientists are still dancing with delight. Read the rest of this entry »

The giant panda, one of the most popular and lovable zoo animals, is in the top ten of animal favourites. Called a super large teddy-bear, the panda has appeared as toys and dolls, on calendars, and thousands of other items. Reasons why it is so popular include its cute baby bear face, its cuddly soft roundness, and its clumsy playfulness. It was called a white bear for years because it has black fur on its legs, ears and around its eyes on an otherwise white body. Read the rest of this entry »

Pelicans are large water birds with a giant throat pouch designed for storing fish catches. This feature makes pelicans unique compared to all other birds (Burton, M and R. 1977. Inside the World Animal World. Quadrangle). The pelican’s famous foot-long bill, the longest of any living bird, can hold a hundred or more fish (Scott, J. 1975. That Wonderful Pelican. Putnam). The volume of its full bill is up to 11.4 liters, (3 gallons), a size larger than that of most entire birds (Fitzgerald, D. B. 2010. A Critical Evaluation of Origin of Species. TEACH Services, Inc. p. 35). It has a specially designed bone and muscle system it uses to operate its beak and pouch. The pouch normally folds conveniently under its bill, but expands when fishing. These versatile fishermen can scoop up fish with their bills and can store them in their pouch, which can stretch many times their original size.  Read the rest of this entry »

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 »

Nature is so full of wonderful creatures that it must be hard to focus on one for special study. However in recent years, a strange assortment of animals have enjoyed a brief moment of scientific attention. In each case the occasion for this special fame was the publication of the genome of that organism. The genome consists of details concerning the DNA molecules in each cell of the organism. DNA, or the genetic information, is made up of four special molecules (called nucleotides) strung together. It is the order of the nucleotides, like beads on a string, which determines the information content of the DNA for each particular organism. Read the rest of this entry »

A lot of people in these COVID times, especially young people, are growing tired of the same old scene, the same four walls, the same view out the windows. No matter how beautiful the scene, it soon ceases to interest us if that is all we see. Nevertheless, even in our same old environments, it is still possible to maintain the flame of interest in the creation. Some young people in Alberta recently shared with me some of their interests in the creation. Clearly their stories show how they are keeping their interests alive. Indeed, these stories can help enhance our appreciation of the creation too. Read the rest of this entry »

We have seen scientists in the past, like famous evolutionist Stephen Jay Gould, who declared that “science” and “ethics” including religion, were separate issues, each with their own spheres of influence. The implication was that everyone should be free to support the philosophy of one’s choice. Well that was then, and this is now. Today, with ethical issues as with everything else, it seems there is only one respectable position, that of the secular scientist. To support any other views is to fight “all of science.” Read the rest of this entry »

Have you ever noticed that everybody seems to place a high value on problem solving? I can well imagine one’s mother saying “This room is way too messy! How are you going to manage your clothes, toys, electronic gadgets (or whatever) so that this does not happen again?” She clearly expects you to come up with a plan and to follow it! Possibly you may come up with some way to organize your treasures in order to keep mum happy. Read the rest of this entry »

Pterosaurs (Greek pteron and sauros, meaning “wing lizard”) are constructed from a combination of the characteristics of mammals, birds and dinosaurs with one of the weirdest looking beaks possible added on. This example points to the problem of taxonomy, the science of classifying life. Pterosaurs fly like birds and can flap their “wings” like a bird. They also can soar like an eagle using bat-like wings made from a flap of skin stretched between their body and a long fourth finger called the wing finger. They also have many body traits like dinosaurs. For this reason, they are often referred to as flying dinosaurs, or dragons of the air (Unwin, 2006, p. 2). Ironically, they are classified as reptiles likely because birds supposedly evolved after them.

Pterosaurs were first discovered in 1784 in the German Solnhofen limestone quarries. This is the same location where another strange creature, Archaeopteryx, originally identified as a pterosaur, was found (Clarey, 2015, p. 66). Twenty-nine pterosaur species, over 26% of the 110 pterosaur species currently known (in about 85 genera), have been found in Solnhofen limestone quarries alone.

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Have you ever wondered how this transformation takes place?  The caterpillar makes his cocoon (or chrysalis) and out pops the butterfly – pretty simple, right?  Simple – until you realize that nearly every single organ in the caterpillar body is destroyed and then remade into a beautiful butterfly.  Eat leaves? Now change your diet to drinking nectar.  Those tiny suction-cupped feet?  Forget those – now you can fly with wings that make the whole world envious of your beauty.  Read the rest of this entry »