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News:
August 17, 2004
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Religion in the News
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 and due in stores next month. By Patty Henetz, Associated
Press SALT LAKE CITY.
'Evangelical
Christianity Has Been Hijacked':
An Interview with Tony Campolo.
Police
to probe pastor's Islam outburst
Police today launched an investigation into comments by a Norwich religious
leader branding Islam "an evil religion" (Evening News,
Norwich, England).
When My Son
Was Arrested for Murder
Finding faith under unthinkable circumstances. An excerpt from When I
Lay My Isaac Down, by Carol Kent.
Christian
Athletes to Watch in the Olympics
Sports Spectrum magazine has their eye on the believers competing in Athens
this year. Interview by Rob Moll.
7 Habits
of Racially Mixed Churches
How to achieve ethnic diversity—and die (to self) trying. Reviewed
by Douglas R. Sharp.
Battle
of the true faiths
It's Islam vs. Christianity at ye olde Speakers Corner (Newsweek International).
The
silent (Christian) majority
James Dobson on Bush, Kerry, Thune, gay marriage and the impact of Christians
on the 2004 election (Hugh Hewitt, The Weekly Standard).
Pregnant
by Jesus?
They're called "miracle babies" and for some childless couples
in Britain, they're a dream come true. But doctors and Church of England
officials are worried the babies aren't miracles at all, but either a shortcut
adoption process or a baby-trafficking scheme (BBC).
'No
fraud' in weeping Virgin Mary hoax
A suburban Brisbane community centre did not commit fraud or gain financially
from a weeping Virgin Mary statue hoax, the Catholic Church has found (AAP,
Australia).
Jesus
credit card raises a few eyebrows
A new credit card featuring the Calvary's three empty crosses begs the question:
What's in God's wallet? (KCRG, Iowa City).
It's
rock with redemption
Christian fest offers kids secular sounds, spiritual meaning (The Denver
Post).
The social
history of the afterlife
From heavenly choirs to the circles of Hell, from sitting shiva to waiting
for resurrection, the peoples of the book have evolved their ideas of the
afterlife as they traveled through history. A conversation with Alan Segal,
author of Life After Death : A History of the Afterlife in Western Religion
(Talk of the Nation, NPR).
Science in the News
Archaeology/Anthropology
John
the Baptist cave Discovered?
Archaeologists claim they have found a cave where they believe John the
Baptist anointed many of his disciples – a huge cistern with 28 steps
leading to an underground pool of water. See also John
the Baptist's cave 'found' .
Digging
up the Bible
A new cadre of Bible scholars and archaeologists, some with an overtly political
agenda, has argued that the great Israelite kingdom, depicted in the books
of Samuel, Kings and Chronicles, never really existed (Forward).
US Army helps
restore antiquities associated with Nineveh
Two major historic sites dating back to the 8th century B.C. – the
Nergal Gate and King Sennacherib’s palace – are being restored
with help from the 416th Civil Affairs Battalion.
Astronomy
Old Galaxies
In The Young Universe. Firenze, Italy (SPX) Aug 06, 2004
Current theories of the formation of galaxies are based on the hierarchical
merging of smaller entities into larger and larger structures, starting
from about the size of a stellar globular cluster and ending with clusters
of galaxies.
Chandra Catches
Early Phase Of Cosmic Assembly. Huntsville AL (SPX) Aug 16, 2004
A NASA Chandra X-ray Observatory image has revealed a complex of several
intergalactic hot gas clouds in the process of merging. The superb Chandra
spatial resolution made it possible to distinguish individual galaxies from
the massive clouds of hot gas.
COULD
ASTRONAUTS SLEEP THEIR WAY TO THE STARS?
Space agency plans studies on human hibernation.
Out From
the Shadows: Two New Saturnian Moons. Pasadena CA (JPL) Aug 17, 2004
With eyes sharper than any that have peered at Saturn before, the Cassini
spacecraft has uncovered two moons, which may be the smallest bodies so
far seen around the ringed planet.
Saturn's
Moon Titan: Prebiotic Laboratory. Moffett Field CA (SPX) Aug 12, 2004
Jonathan Lunine, professor of planetary science and physics at the University
of Arizona's Lunar and Planetary Laboratory in Tucson, Arizona, has a longtime
fascination with Saturn's largest moon, Titan. Astrobiology Magazine's Managing
Editor Henry Bortman spoke recently with Lunine about the Huygens mission
slated to descend into Titan's thick atmosphere in early 2005.
Cosmic Cowboy.
Moffett Field CA (SPX) Aug 06, 2004
A brand of researcher can now breathe life into the aura of a patient nomad
who searches the horizon for signs of a new world. McDonald Observatory
astronomer Bill Cochran discusses how a West Texas telescope has begun chalking
up discoveries of extrasolar planets.
What Is A Comet
Made Of? Davis CA (SPX) Aug 10, 2004
A new method for looking at the composition of comets using ground-based
telescopes has been developed by chemists at UC Davis. Remnants from the
formation of our solar system, the makeup of comets gives clues about how
the Earth and other planets formed.
Spirit's
Sojourn Leaves Ancient Lake Hypothesis High and Dry
The Mars Exploration Rover Spirit covered 637 meters in its first 90 Martian
days, or sols (a sol is 40 minutes longer than an Earth day). Its trek through
the Gusev crater has not revealed any evidence for the ancient lakebed that
geologists thought might be there, but water may have played some part in
the formation of certain observed rock features.
MARS
ROVER SNAPS PANORAMIC VIEW
Spirit continues its heroic climb up the Columbia Hills.
Scientists
Discover Ganymede Has A Lumpy Interior. Pasadena CA (JPL) Aug 16, 2004
Scientists have discovered irregular lumps beneath the icy surface of Jupiter's
largest moon, Ganymede. These irregular masses may be rock formations, supported
by Ganymede's icy shell for billions of years.
Hubble Peers Inside
A Celestial Geode. Paris (ESA) Aug 13, 2004
Real geodes are handball-sized, hollow rocks that start out as bubbles in
volcanic or sedimentary rock. Only when these inconspicuous round rocks
are split in half by a geologist, do we get a chance to appreciate the inside
of the rock cavity that is lined with crystals.
Biology
UK
GIVES GO-AHEAD TO THERAPEUTIC CLONING
British researchers receive stem-cell licence.
ALZHEIMER'S
LINKED TO LOWBROW JOBS
Mentally stimulating careers may protect against dementia.
How bacteria fight
antibiotics
Two mechanisms of antibiotic tolerance are demonstrated in separate studies
in Science.
Creation/Evolution
MYSTERIOUS
COSMOS
Why is our universe so exquisitely tuned to host life? using the anthropic
principle to explain the world might be a tempting alternative to invoking
God, but it_s not science, says Philip Ball.
PRIONS
SPEED EVOLUTION
Sloppy proteins may help organisms adapt.
Molecules
Point To Probable Pathways For Chemical Evolution In Space. Green Bank
WV (SPX) Aug 06, 2004
A team of scientists using the National Science Foundation's Robert C. Byrd
Green Bank Telescope (GBT) has discovered two new molecules in an interstellar
cloud near the center of the Milky Way Galaxy. This discovery is the GBT's
first detection of new molecules, and is already helping astronomers better
understand the complex processes by which large molecules form in space.
Ozone Loss
Caused Genetic Mutations At Time Of Mass Extinction. London (SPX) Aug
11, 2004
Research into the world's worst mass extinction, which led to the loss of
90 per cent of living species 250 million years ago, has found that the
historical tragedy also involved some disturbing genetics mutations.
Genetic
analysis of genome-wide variation in human gene expression
MICHAEL MORLEY et al.
DECODERS
TARGET 18 NEW GENOMES
Diverse sequences will illuminate human evolution and the tree of life.
SALMON
GIVE BIRTH TO TROUT
Surrogate sperm technique allows cross-species fatherhood.
ISCID is pleased to announce that its members now receive access to our online research library featuring electronic access to various science journal articles. See http://www.iscid.org/memberservices.php.
Earth Science
Greenland
Ice Core Project Yields Probable Ancient Plant Remains. Greenland (SPX)
Aug 16, 2004
A team of international researchers working on the North Greenland Ice Core
Project recently recovered what appear to be plant remnants nearly two miles
below the surface between the bottom of the glacial ice and the bedrock.
FLYING
DINOSAUR HAD 'BIRD BRAIN'
Skull scan confirms Archaeopteryx had the mind for flight. See also
Early Bird Had the Brains to Fly.
TYRANNOSAURS
HAD TEENAGE GROWTH SPURT
Bone analysis sheds light on dinosaur development.
VENERABLE
DEEP-SEA SUB TO BE REPLACED
Alvin's successor will be able to reach 99% of the ocean floor.
Physics
Physicists To
Mark 20th Anniversary Of First String Theory Revolution. Chicago IL
(SPX) Aug 11, 2004
Twenty years have passed since the first superstring revolution started
in the Aspen Center for Physics in Colorado. Approximately 75 scientists
will meet for a symposium at the center Aug. 12 to celebrate the revolution,
including Jeffrey Harvey, the Enrico Fermi Distinguished Service Professor
in Physics at the University of Chicago.
Psychology
Codependent
No More
When Pleasing Others Is Hurting You addresses the need to be needed.
Reviewed by Cindy Crosby.
SOCIAL
STATUS INFLUENCES BRAIN STRUCTURE
Assertive rats sprout extra nerve cells.
GENE
THERAPY CURES MONKEYS OF LAZINESS
Switching off key gene turns layabout primates into keen workers.
Technology
RNA Could
Form Building Blocks For Nanomachines. West Lafayette IN (SPX) Aug 12,
2004
Microscopic scaffolding to house the tiny components of nanotech devices
could be built from RNA, the same substance that shuttles messages around
a cell's nucleus, reports a Purdue University research group.