Michael J. Behe's Blog, page 127

December 16, 2021

James Webb telescope as a secular answer to Genesis

Launching in the coming days, JWST is on a mission to look deeper into the Universe – and therefore further back in time – than even the legendary Hubble Space Telescope, which it succeeds.

Jonathan Amos, “” at BBC News (December 14, 2021)

From David Coppedge at CEH headlines (with a background: in this stuff):

Long delayed and way over budget, the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) may finally make its debut Christmas Eve (see countdown page). Unlike the Hubble Space Telescope (HST), whose continuing career has reached legendary status, the JWST will take pictures primarily for astronomers. Its sensors are in the infrared spectrum, lending its imagery to hot spots that do not look realistic to human eyes, nor nearly as pretty. Astronomers, though, feel that the heat maps generated by its 6-meter-wide mirror (HST was 2 meters) will open up new vistas for theorists. Because the instruments must be kept cold, the telescope is expected to only last 5-10 years, compared to the 30 years of the HST so far.

As Yogi Berra allegedly quipped, it’s tough to make predictions, especially about the future. Citizens who remember the near disaster with Hubble when its first images came back out of focus should beware of hyped expectations until JWST actually gets launched and makes it through a deployment period (two weeks). First images will not arrive till the end of the commissioning period (about six months). Nevertheless, some reporters are salivating already about what this instrument will show. They are making predictions not just about the future but about the past: what this new instrument will reveal about the history of the universe, earth and life.

David Coppedge, “The James Webb Space Telescope Will Not Tell Us Where We Came From” at Creation– Evolution Headlines

With any luck, we’ll all be here to see what happens.

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Published on December 16, 2021 18:05

New excerpt from Animal Algorithms

Eric Cassell’s book is Animal Algorithms: Evolution and the Mysterious Origin of Ingenious Instincts (2021) Here’s the excerpt:

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Scientists typically specialize, and a biologist who does this may see problems for evolutionary theory in his or her own subdiscipline but then figure those problems are the exception and that evolutionary theory has things well in hand elsewhere in the life sciences. For this reason, it is vital to step back and take in the broader picture. Doing so reveals that while evolutionary theory nicely accounts for some things in the history of life, it runs into significant problems in many other areas. This should give us pause and encourages an objective consideration of how the theory of intelligent design holds up by comparison. Figure 7.1 summarizes such a comparison. A check mark indicates the theory or theories consistent with the observations related to the given category. The remainder of the chapter explains the basis for the comparisons.

Metric Blind Evolution Intelligent DesignMicroevolutionXXSimilarities across taxaXXDesign flawsXXAbrupt appearance XEngineering design XGenetic changes XOrigin of information XTeleology XConvergence XSimple explanation XPredictions and Retrodictions X

Figure 7.1. Comparison of discriminators for two proposed causes for the origin of complex programmed behaviors.

—

More:

Eric Cassell, “Complex Programmed Behaviors — Intelligently Designed” at Evolution News and Science Today (December 16, 2021)

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Published on December 16, 2021 17:21

Researchers: Endothermy (warmbloodedness)could have started over 300 million years ago

Pushing back the time things could have happened just by accident (a million monkeys typing)…

The evolutionary origin of endothermy (the ability to maintain a warm body and higher energy levels than reptiles), currently believed to have originated separately in birds and mammals, could have occurred nearly 300 million years ago.

Emeritus Professor Gordon Grigg said their hypothesis is that endothermy is ancient, with a shared origin in the common ancestry of mammals and birds. One of the reviewers said that is ‘a bold hypothesis’, but it is based on very good evidence. It implies a new frame of reference for thinking about the evolution of endothermy and could lead to a clearer understanding of how body temperature is regulated in humans and other mammals, and birds.

“Endothermy permits sustained aerobic work and a favourable body heat, and contrasts strongly with the low energy, lower and more variable temperature lifestyles of today’s reptiles. We assembled evidence from palaeontology showing that endothermy has been widespread in the two vertebrate lineages that diverged from the first land-dwelling animals very early on — one leading to the living birds, lizards, and crocodiles (the sauropsida) and the other lineage leading to monotremes, marsupials, and placental mammals (the synapsida).

“Our main hypothesis is that endothermy in mammals and birds has a common ancestry and is much older than has been accepted previously, evolving not long after the first amphibians came onto land,” he said.

“This is likely to be controversial, but we think, and hope, that it will spark some great conversations and it could lead to a change in our understanding of the ways body warmth is maintained.”

University of Queensland, “Warm-bodied ties between mammals and birds more ancient than previously recognized” at ScienceDaily (December 13, 2021)

The paper is open access.

This is the current theory, for what it is worth:

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Published on December 16, 2021 16:38

A millipede with more than 1000 legs

First millipede with more than 1,000 legs discovered

A ventral view of the legs of a male Eumillipes persephone. Credit: The first true millipede—1,306 legs long, Paul E. Marek, Bruno A. Buzatto, William A. Shear, Jackson C. Means, Dennis G. Black, Mark S. Harvey, Juanita Rodriguez, Scientific Reports.

Yes, of course, that’s completely ridiculous. And yet… Well, that’s what they say and, it is NOT April 1. Check your calendar:

Paul Marek and colleagues discovered the millipede 60 meters underground in a drill hole created for mineral exploration in the mining area of the Eastern Goldfields Province of Australia. It has 1,306 legs—more than any other animal—and belongs to a new species that has been named Eumillipes persephone. The millipede’s name derives from the Greek word eu- (true), the Latin words mille (thousand) and pes (foot), and references the Greek goddess of the underworld, Persephone. The authors measured four members of the new species and found that they have long, thread-like bodies consisting of up to 330 segments and are up to 0.95mm wide and 95.7mm long. They are eyeless, have short legs, and cone-shaped heads with antennae and a beak.

Analysis of the relationships between species suggests that E. persephone is distantly related to the previous record holder for the greatest number of legs—the Californian millipede species, Illacme plenipes. The authors suggest that the large number of segments and legs that have evolved in both species may allow them to generate pushing forces that enable them to move through narrow openings in the soil habitats they live in.

Nature Publishing Group, “First millipede with more than 1,000 legs discovered” at Phys.Org (December 16, 2021)

he paper is open access.

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Published on December 16, 2021 15:55

December 15, 2021

Flies do vector math?

Well then…

Neurons in the fly brain appear to literally perform vector math in order to signal the direction in which their bodies are traveling, regardless of which way their heads are pointing. … “Not only do these neurons signal the fly’s direction of travel, but they do also so in a world-centered reference frame,” says Rockefeller neuroscientist Gaby Maimon. What’s remarkable, adds first author Cheng Lyu, a graduate student in the Maimon lab, is that these insects are transforming body-referenced sensory inputs into a world-referenced signal, allowing the fly to know that it is traveling, for instance, 90 degrees to the right of the sun or northward.

Rockefeller University, “How a fly’s brain calculates its position in space” at ScienceDaily (December 15, 2021) The paper is closed access.

When they are explaining stuff like this, you have to know that they are not talking about Darwinian evolution. Whatever they may claim.

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Published on December 15, 2021 18:56

Is Sarah Salviander going to make a difference in science?

Here’s her website and here’s her story:

Apologist. I came to Christian faith through my scientific work, and it is my passion to help other Christians reconcile their beliefs with modern science. Visit my 6DS Ministries website here. I am also working with the Defending Christianity apologetics group at Hill Country Bible Church in Austin. Visit the HCBC apologetics website here.

Astrophysicist. I have a PhD in Astrophysics and worked for many years in academia as a scientific researcher. Though I am currently focused on ministry work, I am still active in astrophysical research. Visit my research page here.

Author. I am a published author of scientific papers, books, and short stories. Visit my author page here.

Floor’s open.

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Published on December 15, 2021 18:26

Evolutionary biologist Richard Sternberg: Does Darwinian Evolution have direction and purpose?

Of course not. The whole point was to pretend that nothing does:

Evolutionary biologist Richard Sternberg challenges what he calls the “National Geographic” or “textbook” view of the fossil record as a support for modern Darwinian theory. In this bonus interview released as part of the Science Uprising series, Sternberg unpacks what the fossil record really shows, what we learn from population genetics about Darwinian theory, and how the Darwinian mechanism can’t account for the evolution of whales. He also examines competing scientific explanations for the abrupt appearance of new body plans in the history of life.

Richard Sternberg is an evolutionary biologist with interests in the relation between genes and morphological homologies, and the nature of genomic “information.” He holds two Ph.D.’s: one in Biology (Molecular Evolution) from Florida International University and another in Systems Science (Theoretical Biology) from Binghamton University. From 2001-2007, he served as a staff scientist at the National Center for Biotechnology Information, and from 2001-2007 was a Research Associate at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History. Dr. Sternberg is presently a research scientist at Discovery Institute. (December 14, 2021)

P.S. What happened to him at the Smithsonian is totally crazy. See United States Congress Uncovers Evidence Darwinists Violated Civil And Constitutional Rights Of Richard Sternberg

Well, if you pay taxes for it, you sure got your money’s worth.

Hat tip: Philip Cunningham

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Published on December 15, 2021 10:20

Doubting Your Faith? Look No Further Than This New Free Resource

Are you a Christian who is struggling with doubts about your faith? A non-Christian seeker who has sincere questions about the Christian faith? Or have you recently lost your faith and want to explore whether your reasons for loss-of-faith were really rational? Have you ever wished that you could jump on a Zoom call and talk 1-on-1 with a leading Christian scholar who could help you navigate the minefield of arguments for and against Christianity, and help you think about your questions and doubts honestly and critically? This is now no longer something you need to wish for. This month, I launched a new ministry, TalkAboutDoubts.com. I have assembled a team of Christian scholars (some of whom are among the leaders in the world in their fields) who are willing to take one-on-one calls with people with sincere doubts about Christianity. Team members include ID thinkers such as Dr. Stephen Meyer, Dr. David Galloway (president of the UK Centre for Intelligent Design) and myself, Dr. Jonathan Mclatchie. Simply visit the website and fill out the submission form. Your inquiry will be automatically sent to the scholar with expertise most relevant to the subject of your doubts. They will then get in touch directly with you to schedule a live 1-on-1 Zoom call to discuss your doubts and questions in confidence. There is absolutely nothing for you to lose: Even if you still remain unpersuaded, at least you will be able to say that you gave the best arguments for Christianity a fair shake. If you have no need of this service yourself, please consider sharing it on social media or with your anyone in your life who may benefit from this resource. Here is a short interview I did with Tim Hull (of “Dealing with Deconstruction”) on this exciting new project.

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Published on December 15, 2021 09:44

A simple explanation for the origin of life?

So, hydrogen, poof, life?:

Researchers at the Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf (HHU) have reconstructed the metabolism of the last universal common ancestor, LUCA. They found that almost all chemical steps used by primordial life to piece together the molecular building blocks of cells are energy releasing reactions. This identified the long-sought source of energy needed to drive these reactions forward, which has been hiding in plain sight. The energy required to synthesize the building blocks of life comes from within metabolism itself, as long as one essential starting compound is included. The secret ingredient that releases the energy from within at life’s origin is the cleanest, greenest, newest and oldest of all energy carriers: Hydrogen gas, H2. …

Jessica Wimmer adds: “Regarding energy at life’s origin, we can say that pure chemical energy is sufficient. We need no sunlight, no meteorites, no UV light: just H2 and CO2, plus some ammonia and salts. Because of the extremely conserved nature of the chemical reactions in our biosynthetic network, we can obtain some interesting insights into the reactions that gave rise to LUCA, even though it lived four billion years ago.”

Heinrich-Heine University Duesseldorf, “Life arose on hydrogen energy, researchers suggest” at ScienceDaily (December 13, 2021)

So life isn’t coming into existence all the time from nothing now because … ?

The paper is open access.

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Published on December 15, 2021 09:34