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News:
Top Stories of 2004
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Religion in the News
FAMED ATHEIST PHILOSOPHER, ANTONY FLEW, NOW BELIEVES IN GOD
In my college class in philosophy, Antony Flew was required reading. His
writings tempted me to doubt the very existence of God. So I was shocked
to learn that he now believes in God. Interview with him at Atheist
Becomes Deist. See also Sorry,
says atheist-in-chief, I do believe in God after all and Famous
Atheist Now Believes in God.
The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind, 10 Years Later
Historian Mark Noll's The
Scandal of the Evangelical Mind has arguably shaped the evangelical
world (or at least its institutions) more than any other book published
in the last decade. In the October issue of First Things, Noll looks at
what
has changed and what remains in his critique: "The scandal of the
evangelical mind is that there is not much of an evangelical mind."
(First Things has devoted much
space to discussing the book over
the years.)
DNA
research and Mormon scholars changing basic beliefs
Plant geneticist Simon Southerton was a Mormon bishop in Brisbane, Australia
when he woke up the morning of Aug. 3, 1998 to the shattering conclusion
that his knowledge of science made it impossible for him to believe any
longer in the Book of Mormon. Two years later he started writing Losing
a Lost Tribe: Native Americans, DNA and the Mormon Church, published by
Signature Books.By Patty Henetz, Associated Press SALT LAKE CITY.
Da
Vinci Code Debunked?
The best-seller's author says its shocking twist is true. Humbug, say historians
who've analyzed the evidence.
Science in the News
Scientists get their own Google
New search engine ranks papers by importance, and finds the free versions.
See http://scholar.google.com.
Archaeology/Anthropology
Biblical Archaeology
Bible texts on silver
amulets dated to First Temple period
U.S. and Israeli researchers claim to have discovered proof that the Five
Books of Moses were in existence during the First Temple period. (Ha'aretz,
Israel) In a scholarly report published this month, the research team concluded
that the improved reading of the inscriptions confirmed their greater antiquity.
The script, the team wrote, is indeed from the period just before the destruction
of Jerusalem in 586 B.C. by Nebuchadnezzar and the subsequent exile of Israelites
in Babylon.
Scholars
Debate ''The Cave of John the Baptist''
Archaeologists say they found the cave where John baptized many of his followers;
Scholars keep a critical yet hopeful eye on the discoveries. See also John
the Baptist’s cave: speculation & sensation and Bring
Me the Stead of John the Baptist?
Anthropology
Hobbit-Like
Human Ancestor Found in Asia October 27, 2004
Scientists have found skeletons of a human species that grew no larger than
a three-year-old modern child. The species lived with pygmy elephants and
giant lizards on a remote island in Indonesia.
Ancient
African Skull Fills Gap, Fuels Debate
Remains of the hominids that lived in Africa between a million and half
a million years ago are frustratingly rare in the fossil record. Bones from
this time period have been recovered in Europe and Asia, but the paucity
of finds from Africa has prevented a full understanding of just what members
of the species Homo erectus looked like. A new discovery is helping to fill
the fossil gap.
Astronomy
Spirit
Finds Water-Signature Pasadena CA (JPL) Dec 17, 2004
Scientists have identified a water-signature mineral called goethite in
bedrock that the NASA's Mars rover Spirit examined in the "Columbia
Hills," one of the mission's surest indicators yet for a wet history
on Spirit's side of Mars.
ESA's Huygens
Probe Set To Detach From Cassini Orbiter Pasadena CA (SPX) Dec 22, 2004
The highlights of the first year of the Cassini-Huygens mission to Saturn
can be broken into two chapters: first, the arrival of the Cassini orbiter
at Saturn in June, and second, the release of the Huygens probe on Dec.
24, 2004, on a path toward Titan.
SpaceShipOne
Wins Ten-Million-Dollar X Prize October 4, 2004
SpaceShipOne, the world's first privately built manned spacecraft, completed
its third round-trip journey to space today, laying claim to the ten-million-dollar
(U.S.) Ansari X Prize.
Biology
In search
of the 'God gene'
Dr. Dean Hamer, a molecular geneticist, argues persuasively that genes predispose
humans to believe that "spirituality is one of our basic human inheritances,"
and that, indeed, there is a specific individual gene associated with faith
(The New York Times). The
God Gene: How Faith Is Hardwired into Our Genes.
Scientists
working on ways to deny death
Cambridge University biogerontologist Dr. Aubrey de Grey reckons "we
have a 50-50 chance of developing a human rejuvenation therapy that works"
(David Yount, Scripps Howard News Service).
Cracking
The Genomic Code: Gene Decoding Revealed At Atomic Level
A recent finding by a North Carolina State University biochemist advances
the fundamental biology of how genetic information, encoded in DNA, is decoded
for the production of proteins.
Creation/Evolution
Creating Creationism
by Ron Numbers
The roots of the modern creationist moverment started with Ellen G. White's
vision of creation. Ellen White founded the 7th day Adventists. Her vision
of the solar system is way off. Ron Numbers writes about the history of
the label creationist which may surprise you.
Was
Darwin wrong?
No. The evidence for evolution is overwhelming says National Geographic's
cover story.
Research
points to new theory driving evolutionary changes
Researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas have used canine
DNA to identify a genetic mutation mechanism they believe is responsible
for rapid evolutionary changes in the physical appearance of many species.
Earth Science
Day
After Tomorrow Movie: Could Ice Age Occur Overnight? May 18, 2004
To environmentalists, there is more than a kernel of truth in the catastrophic
scenarios depicted in the upcoming summer flick The Day After Tomorrow.
Some activists hope the movie, in which global warming leads to a new ice
age, will spark debate about the environmental damage the Earth is suffering.
Possible
Answer To Earth's Magnetic Field Reversal Arlington VA - Apr 08, 2004
Earth's magnetic field reverses every few thousand years at low latitudes
and every 10,000 years at high latitudes, a geologist funded by the National
Science Foundation (NSF) has concluded. Brad Clement of Florida International
University published his findings in this week's issue of the journal Nature.
The results are a major step forward in scientists' understanding of how
Earth's magnetic field works.
Bacteria Discovered
In 4,000 Feet Of Rock Fuels Mars Comparison. Corvallis - Jan 01, 2004
A team of scientists has discovered bacteria in a hole drilled more than
4,000 feet deep in volcanic rock on the island of Hawaii near Hilo, in an
environment they say could be analogous to conditions on Mars and other
planets.
Physics
Scientists
Successfully Observe Elusive Neutrino Oscillation. Irvine CA (SPX) Jul
08, 2004
A new analysis of atmospheric neutrino data by a team of international scientists
has shown for the first time the distinctive pattern of neutrino oscillation
that has eluded researchers until now. Standard
Model Upended With Discovery Of Neutrino Oscillation, Mass.
As World Turns
It Drags Time And Space With It Baltimore MD (SPX) Oct 22, 2004
An international team of NASA and university researchers has found the first
direct evidence the Earth is dragging space and time around itself as it
rotates. The researchers believe they have measured the effect, first predicted
in 1918 by using Einstein's theory of general relativity, by precisely observing
shifts in the orbits of two Earth-orbiting laser-ranging satellites. See
also Relativity tested on a shoestring budget.
Dark Matter
And Dark Energy May Be Different Aspects Of Single Force. Nashville
TN (SPX) Jul 02, 2004
In the last few decades, scientists have discovered that there is a lot
more to the universe than meets the eye: the cosmos appears to be filled
with not just one, but two invisible constituents - dark matter and dark
energy - whose existence has been proposed based solely on their gravitational
effects on ordinary matter and energy.
Psychology
Single
gene removes gender differences in mice brains
Significant structural differences in male and female brains may result
from selective cell death orchestrated by just one gene.
New
Views On Mind-Body Connection
Studies into placebo effect and empathy suggest how the brain encodes subjective
experience.
Researchers
Make Promiscuous Animals Monogamous By Manipulating Genes. ATLANTA
Researchers at the Yerkes National Primate Research Center of Emory University
and Atlanta's Center for Behavioral Neuroscience (CBN) have found transferring
a single gene, the vasopressin receptor, into the brain's reward center
makes a promiscuous male meadow vole monogamous. This finding, which appears
in the June 17 issue of Nature, may help better explain the neurobiology
of romantic love as well as disorders of the ability to form social bonds,
such as autism. In addition, the finding supports previous research linking
social bond formation with drug addiction, also associated with the reward
center of the brain.
Technology
Nanoelectronics
in 15 years New York (UPI) Dec 21, 2004
In order to keep computers advancing in power as they have for decades,
a new U.S. research initiative partnering industry, academia and government
has now launched to hunt in nanotechnology - science and engineering on
a molecular scale - for a successor to today's dominant chipmaking method.
Zoology
Up from the deep: World's oceans yield thousands of new species.
Threat
of Extinction Plagues More Than 15,000 Species
The annual report card on the state of the planet's species contains some
sobering statistics. According to this year's Red List of Threatened Species,
compiled by the World Conservation Union (IUCN), a total of 15,589 species
are currently at risk for extinction, with more than 3,330 new threatened
plants and animals added to the roll since last year. As it stands now,
one in three amphibians, one in four mammals and one in eight birds stand
to disappear permanently.