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News:
September 28, 2003
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News Clippings From Around the World
Triassic Park Work Day
We have set aside Saturday October 18, 2003 as a work day at Triassic Park
in St. Peters, PA. Everyone that wants to help out is welcome to come and
lean a hand. We want to put up some fence, put down some gravel, clear some
brush, knock down some blocks, and pick up trash. If it rains, we will postpone
it until October 25, 2003. Bring some work gloves. Come any time between
11 AM and 5 PM. See http://triassicparkofpa.com
for directions. If you might be able to help you can send us an e-mail at
ibss@comcast.net
French Creek Mines
The Institute for Biblical and Scientific Studies, a non-profit, tax-exempt
organization, still has a great opportunity to save the French Creek Mines
in St. Peters, PA from destruction by land developers. The French Creek
Mines are famous for their unusual mineral specimens. We want to preserve
and restore the mines. The mine shaft itself would remain buried. We would
like to restore the old railroad station as a museum with mineral displays
from these mines. The cost of the property is $85,000. We can obtain half
of this money with easement grants, but we still need to raise at least
another $40,000 before the property is sold to others. There may be some
that could give a donation for a tax write off to help us save the mine,
or could loan us some money. If you know anyone that might be interested
in helping us out financially to save the French Creek Mines, please let
me know. You can contact Dr. Meyers by e-mail at ibss@comcast.net.
Pictures of the mines are at http://triassicparkofpa.com/french_creek_mines.htm
Religion in the News
Kenneth Hagin,
'Word of Faith' Preacher, Dies at 86
His life and beliefs.
'Rumors'
about people who say they're 'spiritual but not religious'
Yancey's latest isn't directed at Christians, but toward those who are in
what he calls "the borderlands of belief" (The Tennessean, Nashville).
New
Mormon aim: Reach out to blacks
It's a tricky feat. In the not-too-distant past, the Mormon faithful were
routinely taught that blacks were an inferior race (Los Angeles Times).
Billions of
government dollars no longer off-limits to faith-based organizations
The White House yesterday announced regulatory changes that will make it
easier for religious organizations to compete for federal funds. In addition,
it proposed six other rules to "level the playing field" in funding
social services. See h
A Reformer's
Agony
A high-caliber film shows how messy it was when Luther helped change the
course of history.
Luther, reviewed by Chris Armstrong.
Science in the News
New Audio clips from Dr. Meyers with the Institute for Biblical & Scientific Studies:
- Is the Bible Scientific?
- Bible and archaeology: Proof or Problem
- Is the earth old or young?
- My Journey to the dark side, or right side?
Creation/Evolution
Divining
nature's plan
A generation after his pioneering work in the Burgess Shale, Conway Morris
is convinced that far from being a random, directionless process, evolution
shows deep patterns, and perhaps even a purpose (U.S. News & World Report).
Fruit
Odors Lure Some Flies To Evolve Into New Species (September 23, 2003)
For apple maggots, the dating scene is simple -- flies only mate on a specific
host fruit. Using new technology developed at the New York State Agricultural
Experiment Station, Cornell University researchers have demonstrated that
this fact of fly life has resulted in the emergence of two distinct races
of the pest in just 150 years.
Monkeys strike
for justice
Getting the short end of the stick tends to tick people off. It turns out
the same is true for monkeys. Scientists report that capuchin monkeys become
upset when they feel they've been treated unfairly. The findings suggest
that the animals have an innate sense of justice, a trait previously thought
to be unique to humans.
Doubts
Over Evolution Continue to Mount as 60 Biologists Express Skepticism with
Central Tenet of Darwin’s Theory.
(From Discovery Institute).
Mythbusters!
Discovery channel program to expose urban legends.
Archaeology/Anthropology
Bones of Contention
Why I still think the James bone box is likely to be authentic.
By Ben Witherington. I would strongly disagree with him. The box is genuine,
but the writing on it is fake.
What Do the
Stones Cry Out?
Beware of claims that archaeology disproves—or proves—the Bible
is true. By Christian M. M. Brady.
Top Ten New
Testament Archaeological Finds of the Past 150 Years
How do shrouds, boats, inscriptions, and other artifacts better help us
understand the Christ of the Ages? By Ben Witherington III. I strongly disagree
with him about the Shroud of Turin which is clearly a fake.
Listening
to the Fifth Gospel
The sun-baked ruins of the Holy Land have a story to tell. By David Neff.
Why We Dig
the Holy Land
If biblical archaeology is not reinvigorated, Scripture-illuminating evidence
will remain buried in the Middle East. A Christianity Today Editorial by
David Neff.
Faces
of the Pyramid Builders.
They were not aliens or Adam.
Neanderthal
hunters rivaled human skills
A new study challenges the theory that Neanderthals died out because they
were greatly inferior hunters.
Earliest
European Modern Humans Found (September 24, 2003)
A research team co-directed by Erik Trinkaus, professor of anthropology
at Washington University in St. Louis, has dated a human jawbone from a
Romanian bear hibernation cave to between 34,000 and 36,000 years ago. That
makes it the earliest known modern human fossil in Europe.
Amazon was settled
before Columbus' time
Excavations and maps confirm forest housed advanced society.
Astronomy
NASA's
Galileo Space Probe Disintegrates Over Jupiter. Washington (AFP) Sep
22, 2003
NASA's Galileo space probe, which revolutionized scientists' understanding
of Jupiter and its moons, made its last transmissions Sunday and then disintegrated
spectacularly in Jupiter's atmosphere. National Aeronautics and Space Administration
technicians in charge of Jupiter's final mission lost contact with Galileo
shortly after 1940 hours GMT Sunday. However, the probe was lost almost
a hour before this, as it took some 52 minutes for Galileo's transmissions
to reach earth.
Distant Star
Bursts Provide Key To The Origin Of Galaxies. Edinburgh - Sep 19, 2003
Revealing images produced by one of the world's most sophisticated telescopes
are enabling a team of Edinburgh astronomers to see clearly for the first
time how distant galaxies were formed 12 billion years ago.
Chandra
Solves Mystery of Moon's Dark Side
Astronomers have found a new use for the Chandra X-ray observatory:
probing the surface of the moon. New observations provide direct evidence
of lunar composition. Knowing exactly what elements make up the satellite
and how they are distributed will help researchers determine just how our
satellite was formed. In addition, the data may clear up a decade-old debate
about the dark regions of the moon.
Early Mars Was Frozen - But Habitable: Part II. Moffett Field - Sep 24, 2003 - Early Mars was cold - very cold, says Chris McKay, a planetary scientist at the NASA Ames Research Center. But that doesn't mean it was incapable of supporting life. McKay has extensively studied life in some of the harshest environments in the world: the Antarctic dry valleys, the Arctic, and the Atacama desert.
Hubble
Uncovers Smallest Moons Yet Seen Around Uranus.
Astronomers have discovered two of the smallest moons yet found around
Uranus. The new moons, uncovered by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope, are about
8 to 10 miles across (12 to 16 km) — about the size of San Francisco.
Biology
Old-Fashioned
Cures for Common Ailments. Sept. 14 (HealthDayNews)
Some old-fashioned home remedies may work as well, or better, than commercial
remedies for treating common childhood aches and pains.
Tumor-Busting
Viruses
Some scientists are now genetically engineering a range of viruses that
act as search-and-destroy missiles: selectively infecting and killing cancer
cells while leaving healthy ones alone. This new strategy, called virotherapy,
has shown promise in animal tests, and clinical trials involving human patients
are now under way. Researchers are evaluating virotherapy alone and as a
novel means for administering traditional chemotherapies solely to tumor
cells. They are also developing methods to label viruses with radioactive
or fluorescent tags in order to track the movement of the viral agents in
patients.
Opening A File
Card On All Life forms. Arlington - Sep 24, 2003
The National Science Foundation (NSF), in cooperation with the ALL Species
Foundation, has announced an important new strategy to discover, describe
and classify Earth's species. By some estimates as many as 90 percent of
living species are unknown to science, and traditional approaches to discover
them are unacceptably slow, scientists say.
Danger
On Chromosome 15
Unstable Region Yields Genes For Prader-Willi/Angelman Syndromes And
Spastic Paraplegia. While it might have given our ancestors an evolutionary
advantage, an "unstable" region on human chromosome 15 is also
the source of a set of inherited neurological diseases.
Genes
Can Individualize Treatment For High Blood Pressure (September 25, 2003)
Genes that cause hypertension may also determine which blood pressure-lowering
drugs are most effective for different people, according to research presented
at the American Heart Association's 57th Annual High Blood Pressure Research
Conference.
Exercise
Can Reduce Prevent Diabetes For People Of Any Weight, Say Pittsburgh Researchers
(September 25, 2003)
Taking a brisk half-hour walk every day can decrease a person's risk of
developing diabetes regardless of their weight, report researchers from
the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health (GSPH) in
the Oct. 1 issue of the American Journal of Epidemiology.
Trans
Fatty Acids: What Are They And Why Shouldn't You Eat Them? (September
24, 2003)
Just what is the skinny on those trans fatty acids that are so bad for you?
Donuts, stick margarines, French fries, cookies and other tasty snacks are
loaded with them. And this summer the Food and Drug Administration decreed
that as of Jan. 1, 2006, manufacturers must break the trans fats category
out of the total fat listing on labels.
Earth Science
Built-In Eyeshade
Offers Clue To Prehistoric Past. Edmonton - Sep 19, 2003
A new, rare fossil of a prehistoric sea creature bearing eyes like "twin
towers" sheds light on how it lived more than 395 million years ago,
says a University of Alberta researcher. Dr. Brian Chatterton, one of the
world's leading experts on trilobites and a professor in the U of A's Faculty
of Science, reports on the discovery of the only known complete specimen
of a particular trilobite in this week's edition of the prestigious scientific
journal Science.
Grand Canyon born
on East coast
Uranium-dating reveals origin of western US sandstone. Traditionally, geologists
have looked at a sandstone's grain types to discern its rocky parentage.
Other clues, such as which way the wind or water that deposited the grains
was flowing, pointed them in the right direction. So Dickinson and Gehrels
instead scrutinized grains of zircon, a uranium-bearing mineral, in the
sandstones. As soon as zircon crystallizes from molten magma, its radioactive
uranium begins to decay into lead. The amount of lead in a zircon grain
therefore reveals when it formed. These ages can then be matched to zircon
ages from different mountain ranges. Half of the Grand Canyon samples were
formed either around 1.2 billion years ago or around 500 million years ago.
These ages match granite in the Appalachian Mountains. Only a quarter of
the grains came from the Ancestral Rockies; the rest hark from the interior
of Canada. Nature 16 September 2003.
Largest Arctic
Ice Shelf Breaks Up, Draining Freshwater Lake. Quebec City - Sep 24,
2003
The largest ice shelf in the Arctic has broken, and scientists who have
studied it closely say it is evidence of ongoing and accelerated climate
change in the north polar region. The Ward Hunt Ice Shelf is located on
the north coast of Ellesmere Island in Canada's Nunavut territory and its
northernmost national park. This ancient feature of thick ice floating on
the sea began forming some 4,500 years ago and has been in place for at
least 3,000 years.
An
Arctic mammal fauna from the Early Pliocene of North America
RICHARD H. TEDFORD AND C. RICHARD HARINGTON. The ecological
affinities of the plant and beetle remains contained in the peat indicate
that winter temperatures on Ellesmere Island were nearly 15 °C
higher and summer temperatures 10 °C higher than they are today.
Gamma
rays may have devastated life on Earth
One of the world's worst mass extinctions, 443 million years ago, may have
been caused by a burst of gamma rays from space, suggests fossil evidence.
Paleontologist
Offers New Theory On Dinosaur Extinction. Princeton - Sep 26, 2003
As a paleontologist, Gerta Keller has studied many aspects of the history
of life on Earth. But the question capturing her attention lately is one
so basic it has passed the lips of generations of 6-year-olds: What killed
the dinosaurs?
Scientists:
Ancient Himalayas Even Older. Sept. 22, 2003
The world's highest mountains may be almost nine times older than previously
believed, Arizona geologists said. The Himalayas were thrust up when India
collided with Asia 55 million years ago — and continue to build from
the ongoing collision of the Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates. But within
the tangled, tortured rocks of the gigantic mountain range are rare and
tantalizing clues of what appears to have been mountains building 450 million
years ago.
Northern
Climate, Ecosystems Driven By Cycles Of Changing Sunlight.
Emerging geochemical and biological evidence from Alaskan lake sediment
suggests that slight variations in the sun's intensity have affected sub-polar
climate and ecosystems in a predictable fashion during the last 12,000 years.
Physics
A
test of general relativity using radio links with the Cassini spacecraft Nature
September 23, 2003
p.374 B. BERTOTTI, L. IESS & P. TORTORA.
Psychology
Anticonvulsant
Drug Promising Therapy For Cocaine Abuse (September 23, 2003)
Research funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, the National Institutes
of Health, suggests that gamma vinyl-GABA (GVG)--a drug used to treat epilepsy--may
prove to be an effective treatment for cocaine addiction.
Technology
First
power station to harness moon opens
The first commercial subsea station to capture the energy of the tides has
opened in Norway.