Discovery Institute's Blog, page 177

For the Westminster Conference on "Cosmos and Creator," You Can Still Register on the Day of the Event

Online pre-registration for this year's Westminster Conference on "Cosmos and Creator" is now closed, but don't despair. You can register on the day of the event, March 20-21, as a walk-up.

That's this Friday at 2 pm through Saturday at 4 pm in Bryn Mawr, PA. The location is Proclamation Presbyterian Church, 278 South Bryn Mawr Avenue.

See here for more information.

The Westminster Conference on Science and Faith is always a highlight of our year. The conference will feature renowned Oxford...

Travels with Denton: California Edition

Michael Denton and I are traveling in California now for a series of speeches and meetings. Last night's event at San Jose State University drew a good mix of students and non-students and was cozy if not packed. Denton spoke on: "Nature's Fitness for Advanced Life Forms: Defending the Anthropocentric Vision." The attentive audience was friendly and very thoughtful in the Q&A. The San Jose State atheist club was apparently represented in the audience but there was no trouble with incivility....

Enzymes and Their Dynamic Role in the Cell

Editor's note: Engineers and physicians have a special place among the thinkers and scholars who have elaborated the argument for intelligent design. Perhaps that's because, more than evolutionary biologists, they are familiar in very practical ways with the challenges of designing or maintaining a functioning complex system on the order of a jet airplane, or the human body. With that in mind, Evolution News & Views is delighted to present this series, "The Designed Body." Dr. Howard Glicksm...

In the Current Evolution Debate, Don't Let Darwinists Tell You the History of Their Idea Is Irrelevant

Writing in the Claremont Review of Books, John West very interestingly reviews a book by John W. Compton, The Evangelical Origins of the Living Constitution (Harvard University Press). Compton seeks to explain the origin of the politically Progressive view of the Constitution -- as a fluid, evolving "living document" -- but he does so in an unexpected manner. In Compton's "sophisticated" but (John West clarifies) mistaken reading of U.S. history, Evangelical Christians were the first to come...

My Book In the Beginning and Other Essays on Intelligent Design Is Now Out in an Expanded Edition

Editor's note: ENV contributor Dr. Sewell is Professor of Mathematics at the University of Texas El Paso. He has written three books on numerical analysis, and is the author of a widely used finite element computer program.

The second edition of my book In the Beginning and Other Essays on Intelligent Design was released today by Discovery Institute Press. Much of the fresh material in this new edition is designed to show that, for the origin and development of life, compelling reasons for lo...

Defying Mindless Materialism, More Surprises in the Genetic Code

If the essence of life is information, as William Dembski argues in his recent book, Being as Communion, we should expect to see signs of intelligent planning in the processes of life at every level. Darwinians, on the other hand, expect to see sloppy, clunky mechanisms that just get by. Which view fits the evidence best?

Let's be honest; every origin story has problems. There are things in nature that challenge intelligent design, just as there are things that defy a Darwinian view of life....

How Should We Teach Evolution?

In recent posts (here, here, and here), I've considered some of the misinformation directed at students from Darwin-lobbying groups like the National Center for Science Education. Having answered false claims by evolution advocates in the context of science education, it's fair to ask now: How should evolution be taught? Discovery Institute's Center for Science & Culture has made its position clear on many occasions in the past, but since media and advocacy groups continue to advance misunde...

Texas Has Death Panels, but Not for Long if a Bill Succeeds

The state's "medical futility" law, which is what I call Futile Care Theory, permits hospital bioethics committees to order patients off wanted life-sustaining treatment based on the belief of the committee or doctors in the value of the patient's life and their opinions about the subjective "appropriateness" of the treatment.

In other words, saving life -- when that is what the patient wants -- can be vetoed legally in Texasby what can accurately be labeleddeath panels.

Efforts to repeal th...

Lizard Wizardry: Gecko Popcorn and Chameleon Crystals

The gecko just revealed another trick: turning water into popcorn. We've reported about geckos' amazing ability to climb smooth vertical surfaces with atomic adhesion, using microscopic hairs on their toes that cling with van der Waals forces. That's been inspiring biomimetic engineers for years. Now, another trick has been discovered that could lead to improved waterproof surfaces. An eye-catching video at New Scientist, accompanied by a popping-cool soundtrack by Jimmy Fontanez, shows how...

Want to Attend This Year's Summer Seminars? The Deadline for Applications Is Fast Approaching!

Discovery Institute's Summer Seminars are coming, but the application deadline will be here even sooner. All applications must to be submitted online by Tuesday, April 7, 2015. Any application components sent by mail must also arrive by this date. Students selected for these seminars will be provided with course materials, lodging, and most meals. Travel scholarships are available and will be awarded based upon need after acceptance into the program. For more information see here.

The semin...