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News:
November, 2005
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Religion in the News
Exploring
a Parallel Universe
Why does the word evangelical threaten so many people in our culture? by
Philip Yancey.
Should senators
ask Alito about the role of his faith?
If confirmed, he would become the fifth Catholic among the nine justices
on the Supreme Court (The Christian Science Monitor).
Evangelicals
in a Secular Society
Ted Haggard says Galatians bars us from using the law to create a Christian
nation. Interview by Stan Guthrie.
GOP's
fundamentalism hurts U.S., Carter says
In a new book, the former president expounds on politics past and current
(Tammy L. Carter, The Orlando Sentinel)
Narnia
film set to premiere as a big plug for Christianity
Zondervan, the evangelical imprint for publishing giant HarperCollins, is
calling New Zealand's $219 million Narnia movie, The Lion, the Witch
and the Wardrobe, one of the year's "biggest religion stories."
(NZPA, New Zealand)
Michael
Scanlon: How to "bring out the wackos"
Here's something that should at least temporarily replace "poor, uneducated,
and easy to command" as the most outrageous characterization of conservative
Christians.
Britain
lifts ban on Rev. Sun Myung Moon
Britain lifted a 10-year-old ban that kept the Rev. Sun Myung Moon from
entering the country, saying Friday that the controversial religious leader
was unlikely to threaten public order. (Associated Press)
Charles
Colson's Christian-based prison project on trial in Iowa
Prison Justice Ministries' InnerChange Freedom Initiative is a 'government-funded
conversion program' says Americans United's Barry Lynn. (Bill Berkowitz,
MediaTransparency.org)
Billy
Graham association says no more crusades
Though long-assumed, the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association on Thursday
gave its first official word that the ailing evangelist would no longer
hold crusades (WCNC, Charlotte, N.C.)
Friendliest
book in the world
Tony Campolo sets his record straight on Bibles and endorsements. (Gene
Edward Veith, World)
Egypt
arrests blogger
Abdolkarim Nabil Seliman, a 21-year-old law student at Al-Azhar University,
was critical of Muslims who rioted against Christians. (News24.com,
South Africa)
The Raputure Exposed: The Message of Hope in the Book of Revelation.
Science in the News
Science
of the Bible
In the series Science of the Bible, the quest is to find what modern
science can prove about the stories of the Bible and what most likely really
happened—from Jesus' birth to crucifixion—according to history,
archaeology and forensics. National Geographic channel program on Sunday
2 PM and Wednesday 10PM (EDST).
Archaeology/Anthropology
Where was
Jesus Born?
Theologians question biblical accounts of the Nativity. Now archaeologists
are doing the same. by Aviram Oshri.
When
Giants Roamed the Earth
In the golden age of hoaxes, petrified men came to life. (The Cardiff Giant)
by Mark Rose. Also see Do You Believe in Giants? The Great Cardiff Giant Hoax.
Ancient
Church Found at Israeli Prison
The ruins of a church, which archaeologists say could be the oldest Christian
church in Israel, were recently discovered on the grounds of that nation's
Megiddo Prison.
Founder
Mutations
Special genetic changes that can cause (and protect against) diseases enable
scientists to trace human migrations over thousands of years. By Dennis
Drayna.
Astronomy
Next
Stop Venus: Europe's Express Probe Launches Toward Earth's 'Twin'
A European probe is bound for the planet Venus on a mission to peel
back the shroud of the planet’s thick atmosphere after successfully
launching into space atop a Russian rocket.
Two
New Moons Discovered Orbiting Pluto
Scientists have discovered two new moons circling Pluto, an ice-shrouded
chunk of rock that will soon lose its status as the only unexplored planet
in the solar system. A NASA spacecraft called New Horizons is being prepared
for launch to Pluto in January.
Infrared
Glow of First Stars Found
When NASA's infrared Spitzer Space Telescope snapped pictures of a distant
quasar in the Draco constellation in October 2003, the photo shoot was only
intended to calibrate the instrument. Those images, however, just may have
provided a glimpse of the very first stars in the universe.
Lichen Survives
In Space
Leopoldo Sancho from the Complutense University of Madrid, indicate that
lichens have the capacity to resist full exposure to the harsh space conditions,
especially high levels of UV radiation. Analysis post flight showed a full
rate of survival and an unchanged ability for photosynthesis.
Ripples
in a Galactic Pond
The beautiful shapes of galaxies are essential consequences of their growth
and development. By Françoise Combes.
Chinese Company
Closed For Selling Land On The Moon Beijing (AFP) Nov 07, 2005
A Chinese company has had its license suspended after it tried to make money
by selling land on the moon, state media reported Monday.
Take a Virtual Trip to the Moon.
Biology
Drug
Cuts Deaths after Heart Attack
Taking a blood-thinning drug in addition to aspirin daily after a heart
attack significantly reduced the risk of death, follow-up heart attacks
and strokes, according to a six-year study of nearly 46,000 patients in
China. Researchers found that the drug, clopidogrel, increased overall survival
by 9 percent.
Flu Chip
May Help Combat Future Epidemics, Pandemics Boulder CO (SPX) Nov 08,
2005
A novel "Flu Chip" developed at the University of Colorado at
Boulder that can determine the genetic signatures of specific influenza
strains from patient samples within hours may help world health officials
combat coming epidemics and pandemics.
Malaria
Vaccine Proves Effective in Clinical Trial
A new vaccine stimulated human immune cells to recognize and kill malaria
parasites in a recent clinical trial. The vaccine proved effective in both
infected human blood samples and mice whose immune systems had been modified
to mimic that of humans.
The
Land of Milk and Money
The first drug from a transgenic animal may be nearing approval.
Creation/Evolution
Evolution
Slate Outpolls Rivals
All eight members up for re-election to the Pennsylvania
school board that had been sued for introducing the teaching of intelligent
design as an alternative to evolution in biology class were swept out of
office yesterday by a slate of challengers who campaigned against the intelligent
design policy.
UCSD
Study Shows 'Junk' DNA Has Evolutionary Importance (October 20, 2005)
Genetic material derisively called "junk" DNA because it does
not contain the instructions for protein-coding genes and appears to have
little or no function is actually critically important to an organism's
evolutionary survival, according to a study conducted by a biologist at
UCSD.
Vatican:
Faithful Should Listen to Science. VATICAN CITY
A Vatican
cardinal said Thursday the faithful should listen to what secular modern
science has to offer, warning that religion risks turning into "fundamentalism"
if it ignores scientific reason.
Professor
defends 'Intelligent Design'
A biology professor who supports classroom discussion of "intelligent
design" testified Friday that major peer-reviewed scientific journals
shun articles on the concept because it is a minority view (Associated Press)
Can biology
do better than faith?
Religions continue both to render their special services and to exact their
heavy costs. Can scientific humanism do as well or better, at a lower cost?
(Edward O. Wilson, New Scientist)
Bird flu, Bush, evolution - and us: by Steven Salzberg.
Natural
Selection Has Strongly Influenced Recent Human Evolution, Study Finds
(October 23, 2005)
The most detailed analysis to date of how humans differ from one another
at the DNA level shows strong evidence that natural selection has shaped
the recent evolution of our species.
Picky
Female Frogs Drive Evolution Of New Species In Less Than 8,000 Years
(October 28, 2005)
Females typically have the upper hand in choosing mates, and this choice
can rapidly give rise to new species
Adult
Stem Cells May Be Just Remnants Of Evolution (November 2, 2005)
Researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Heart and Lung Research in
Bad Nauheim, Germany have now demonstrated, in a study published in the
journal Molecular and Cellular Biology, that at least some adult stem cells
could be the mere remnants of former embryonal differentiation processes,
or, in other words, "footprints" of evolution.
Flipped
Genetic Sequences Illuminate Human Evolution And Disease (October 30,
2005)
Chunks of inverted DNA are hundreds of times more common in primates than
previously thought. These large structural changes in the human and chimpanzee
genomes, called inversions, may account for much of the evolutionary difference
between the two species. They may also shed light on genetic changes that
lead to human disease.
Earth Science
New
Method Of Dating Oceanic Crust Is Most Accurate So Far (November 1,
2005)
A newly developed method that detects tiny bits of zircon in rock reliably
predicts the age of ocean crust more than 99 percent of the time, making
the technique the most accurate so far.
Microfossils
Show Promise In Prospecting Climate History (October 31, 2005)
Has global warming flipped a switch and returned us to a hurricane regime
unseen for 1000 years? An analysis of 6,000 years of sediment layers taken
from a back-barrier marsh in South Carolina shows a record of storm washovers
that could only come from major hurricanes -- identified by the presence
of foraminifera shells originating in ancient off-shore deposits. The result
tentatively shows a long record of elevated hurricane activity prior to
the last millennium.
The
Workings of an Ancient Nuclear Reactor
Two billion years ago parts of an African uranium deposit spontaneously
underwent nuclear fission.
The
rise of oxygen levels over the past 205 million years (part 1) &
(part
2) (audio tape, Hugh Ross)
See also Paul G. Falkowski, et all, "The Rise of Oxygen over the Past
205 Million Years and the Evolution of Large Placental Mammals," Science
309 (2005): 2202-2204.
Popping
Rocks Reveal New Volcano Oct. 27, 2005
Noisy popping rocks hauled up from the deep Pacific seafloor off northern
Mexico appear to be from a very young undersea volcano, say U.S. and Mexican
geologists.
A
Cool Early Earth?
Our planet might not have spent its first half a billion years drenched
in magma. Oceans, proto-continents and opportunities for life may have formed
much earlier. By John W. Valley.
Physics
The
Illusion of Gravity
The force of gravity and one of the dimensions of space might be generated
out of the peculiar interactions of particles and fields existing in a lower-dimensional
realm.
Antineutrinos
emerge from within Earth (audio tape, Hugh Ross)
See also T. Araki et al., "Experimental
Investigation of Geologically Produced Antineutrinos with KamLAND,"
Nature436 (2005): 499-503.
Crossbar
Nanocomputers
A future generation of microchips might not need transistors but would instead
use crisscrossing wires only a few atoms thick.
Psychology
The
Neurobiology of the Self
How does the brain's activity give rise to a constant sense of being oneself?
Biologists are slowly teasing out an answer.
Zoology
Mice
Found to Woo Mates with Song
Mice may not sing for their supper but male mice seem to sing to their prospective
mates. Researchers made this discovery when they eavesdropped on male mice
that had been exposed to the scent of female urine.
Warmer-Blooded
Shark Found Oct. 28, 2005
Salmon sharks from the Gulf of Alaska have heat-hungry swimming muscles
more like those of mammals than their scaly kin, say marine scientists.