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"Origin of Life" Article Items

Fossil Apes
The theory that humans developed from apes has a difficult fossil record.

Posted on May 19, 2021 by

Categories: Biology, Science

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Fossil Apes and Man The prevailing scientific narrative regarding human evolution is that humans originated from the great apes and that this evidence is clear.  The 150 years since Darwin speculated that human originated from the monkeys as seen the number of proposed human ancestors explode in number.  There is little agreement in the scientific community concerning the origins of the human lineage (“hominins”) due to the large number of putative ancestors. The prestigious peer-reviewed journal Science has taken a look at this controversy.  Paleoanthropologists have attempted to reconstruct the physical characteristics of human ancestors, where this ancestor originated, and how… Read More »

Long Term Evolution Experiment

Posted on March 6, 2021 by

Categories: Biology, Science

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The long-term evolution experiment is one of the most interesting studies done on the feasibility of evolution to produce complicated metabolic systems and new systems of information within cells. Evolution holds that mutations occur through natural processes which by chance produce advantageous changes.  These changes enhance the organism’s ability to survive and thus over time become dominant within the population. The problem with trying to substantiate evolution is that these changes take considerable time to accumulate within a population and show a survival benefit. Since people reproduce every 25 years, the time required to see inherited beneficial mutations accumulate with… Read More »

Repetitive DNA

Posted on February 27, 2021 by

Categories: Biology, Science

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Much of the non-protein-coding portions of DNA consists of repetitive DNA sequences.  This seemingly wasteful repetition of DNA sequences has been taken as support for evolution.  Certainly, a wise and intelligent designer would not have included nonsensical repetitive sequences of nucleic acids in the DNA molecule. This support for evolution was proposed by Kenneth Miller when he noted that, the human genome is littered with so many repeated copies of pointless DNA sequences that it cannot be attributed to anything that resembles [an] intelligent design. Francis Collins, an evangelical Christian and believer in theistic evolution, acknowledge this DNA feature in… Read More »

Willful Blindness
RNA and DNA are very similar in structure although they perform different functions in the cell.

Posted on February 23, 2021 by

Categories: Intelligent Design, Philosophical

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Willful Blindness Preconceived notions can prevent otherwise intelligent and discerning people from observing the obvious. The editor of an obscure journal Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington decided to publish a paper making the case for intelligent design.  Intelligent design is a controversial theory that suggests that life is too complex to have been self-assembled by accident.  Instead – as with all extremely complex machines that perform a function – it was put together by an intelligent designer. The Smithsonian Institute helps to fund and run this journal, and within hours voiced its intense displeasure that any favor would… Read More »

Pseudogenes
The chemical pathways for the production of DNA, RNA, proteins, and other life molecules is unknown.

Posted on February 17, 2021 by

Categories: Biology, Science

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Pseudogenes have been a hot topic for discussion since their original discovery about fifty years ago.  They were originally found in frog DNA and were found to be apparently inactive copies of genes found elsewhere. They were called “pseudogenes” as they were thought to not make active proteins but represented mutated trash.  Thousands of other pseudogenes were subsequently found in humans and many other animals and plants.  Many mammals have now been found to have as many pseudogenes as actual protein-coding genes. Importance in Evolution Evolutionists jumped on the pseudogenes as showing changes consistent with natural evolution, and inconsistent with… Read More »

Junk DNA
RNA and DNA are very similar in structure although they perform different functions in the cell.

Posted on February 14, 2021 by

Categories: Biology, Science

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Finding Junk DNA in your DNA Watson and Crick discovered the chemical structure of the DNA molecule.  These brilliant scientists were able to determine the structure consisted of two complementary strands wrapped around each other, with one strand going in one direction while the other strand went in the other direction. Each of these strands was composed of subunits called “nucleotides,” each strand containing a sugar molecule (deoxyribose in the case of DNA) attached to a phosphate group and one of four bases: adenine, thymine, cytosine, or guanine. The Code for Life DNA is really an immensely complicated code for… Read More »

Irreducible Complexity
The origin of life has been a hotly debated topic for years; scientists are no closer to explaining how life could have started on earth.

Posted on February 1, 2021 by

Categories: Biology, Science

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Irreducible Complexity The theory of natural selection proposes that small changes over millions of years can gradually produce increasing amounts of complexity through the gradual accumulation of beneficial mutations. The incremental accumulation of beneficial mutations gradually producing increasingly complex structures or pathways.  Those mutations which are not beneficial will lessen the organism’s ability to survive and will be gradually bred out. The gradual accumulation of increasingly complex functionality might produce some beneficial changes over long time frames – theoretically. The atheist Richard Dawkins has attempted to provide computer evidence that evolution could spontaneously produce new information in a closed system…. Read More »

Cellular Factories
The chemical pathways for the production of DNA, RNA, proteins, and other life molecules is unknown.

Posted on November 8, 2020 by

Categories: Biology, Science

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Cellular Factories Cellular factories are present in every living cell, making the vast amounts of organic molecules required for life.  The cell can be likened to a factory where components required for cellular functions are continually made on-demand, and waste products are simultaneously packaged for disposal.  It is a very tightly controlled factory with very little wasted activity. Enzymes control much of this functionality, with multiple feedback loops controlling whether a particular cellular product is needed. It is very complicated.  It is rather like a fractal painting – the closer you look, the more detail you see – the most… Read More »

Zircon Crystals
The early Earth was bombarded by a series of asteroids which periodically liquefied the rocks on Earth.

Posted on October 16, 2020 by

Categories: Archaeology, Historical Evidence

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Zircon Crystals and Earth’s Age Zircon crystals are thought to represent some of the oldest surviving materials on earth.  The ancient earth was a very inhospitable places imaginable with soaring heat due to the constant bombardment of our planet by asteroids and comets.  The surface was molten rock, constantly heated by these collisions releasing huge amounts of heat which quickly melted any solidifying rock. Zircon crystals are some of the toughest materials on the planet.  Scientists have located some of these crystals in ancient rock sprouting from the ground in the Jack Hills range located in Western Australia.    These… Read More »

Information
The Earth seems to have been designed for exploration of the cosmos with its clear atmosphere, position in the solar system and universe, and clear nights.

Posted on October 8, 2020 by

Categories: Biology, Science

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Information and Life All life on earth is made from organic molecules. An organic compound is any chemical compound containing carbon-hydrogen bonds.  The propensity for carbon to form chains and complex structures means there are millions of organic molecules possible. Only a minuscule portion of the possible organic molecules possible are used in all life; these are referred to a life organic molecules.  Examples of these would be glucose or simple sugar, and proteins which are chains of other organic molecules called amino acids. Biology textbooks frequently suggest that given enough time under the right condition, the right organic molecules… Read More »

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