Creation Update
2002 Web Cast Archives
January - June

LEGEND

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• Article Discussed
  • John Rennie, "15 Answers to Creationist Nonsense," Scientific American, July 2002. Article is currently available online.
  • To hear Fuz's discussion about Darwin's finches, listen to the 04-30-2002 broadcast of Creation Update.
• Other resources related to the topic of creation vs. evolution:
  • Subscribe to the 2002 Message of the Month series -- "Layman's Guide to Evolution"
  • Shell Game of Evolution, by Hugh Ross
  • Our television series: Creation vs. Evolution
  • Fuz's audio tape message about the origin of life from our 2001 creation conference. Call 1-800-482-7836 and ask for tape #A0160.
  • Fuz's article: "Origin of Life Models Face Off"
  • Nature's Destiny, by Michael Denton
  • Evolution: A Theory in Crisis, by Michael Denton
  • Icons of Evolution, by Jonathan Wells (Paperback Book, DVD)
• Read Hugh's updated evidence for astronomical fine-tuning
• Call-In Questions
  • Dave in Seattle: Is punctuated equilibrium widely accepted in the scientific community?
  • Cameron from Washington, D.C., had several questions about references for various issues related to science apologetics.

Order the book: Lights in the Sky and Little Green Men.

• Discoveries Discussed
  • Hugh's recent updates to the fine-tuning of the universe
    • Evidence for the Fine-Tuning of the Galaxy-Sun-Earth-Moon System for Life Support
    • Fine-Tuning for Life in the Universe
    • An Estimate of the Probability for Attaining the Necessary Parameters for Life Support
• Call-In Questions
  • Gabriel in Dallas, TX: What did scientists learn as a result of mDNA and y-chromosome research?
• Truth or Fiction: Thinking rationally about conspiracy theories: JFK assassination, Apollo 11 moon landing hoax
  • Read about popular urban legend in Christian circles: Joshua's Long Day and the NASA Computers: Is the Story True?

• Discoveries Discussed
  • Fine-tuning of Aquaporin membrane
    • Emad Tajkhorshid, Peter Nollert, et al., "Control of the Selectivity of the Aquaporin Water Channel Family by Global Orientational Tuning," Science 296 (April 19, 2002), 525-530.
  • Vela supernova update
    • P.A. Caraveo and A. De Luca, R.P. Mignani and G.F. Bignami, "The Distance to the Vela Pulsar Gauged with Hubble Space Telescope Parallax Observations," The Astrophysical Journal 561 (November 10, 2001), 930-937.
  • For more about the issue of men living 900+ years before Noah's flood, we recommend Hugh's book, The Genesis Question and the article, "Long Life Spans" which appeared in Issue 5 of FACTS for FAITH.
• Call-In Questions
  • Bruce in Fountain Valley, CA: What do scientists mean when they talk about "error bars?" Bruce is researching Barry Sutterfield's article about the velocity of light. For more about light travel time, Dr. Ross recommends
    • the review of Russell Humphreys' cosmology
    • our audio cassette, Unraveling Starlight and Time (Creation Update audio cassette, air-date 06-03-2000)
  • Scott from Portland, OR: How many species were on the ark? For a more extended discussion of this topic, we recommend Hugh's book, The Genesis Question, and our spring/summer 2001 radio series on Noah's Ark.
  • Ed from Medford, OR: How do you respond to the frequent use of retroviruses as support for evolution?
• E-Mail Questions
  • Gabriel asked: How do you view the so-called vestigal leg bones found in modern whales? Fuz recommends the book, Of Pandas and People for more discussion about this issue.
• Boot Camp
  • Tom in Schenectady, NY: What is the difference between micro and macro evolution?
• Kenneth Samples' Theology / Philosophy Segment segment
  • Follow up to Hugh's article, "The Physics of Sin" in Issue 8 of FACTS for FAITH.

• Discoveries Discussed
  • Geo-chemical evidence for early life
    • Yuichiro Ueno, Hisayoshi Yurimoto, et al., "Ion microprobe analysis of graphic from ca. 3.8 Ga metasediments, Isua supracrustal belt, West Greenland: Relationship between metamorphism and carbon isotopic composition," Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta v. 66 n. 7 (2002), 1257-1268.
    • Christopher M. Fedo and Martin J. Whitehouse, "Metasomatic Origin of Quartz-Pyroxene Rock, Akilia, Greenland, and Implications for Earth's Earliest Life," Science 296 (May 24, 2002), 1448-1452.
    • Richard A. Kerr, "Reversals Reveal Pitfalls in Spotting Ancient and E.T. Life," Science 296 (May 24, 2002), 1384-1385.
    • Watch for Hugh and Fuz's book about the origin of life in summer 2003.
  • Dinosaur extinction and replacement
    • P.E. Olsen, D.V. Kent, et al., "Ascent of Dinosaurs Linked to an Iridium Anomaly at the Triassic-Jurassic Boundary," Science 296 (May 17, 2002), 1305-1307.
  • Confirmation of an expanding universe
    • Charles Seife, "'Tired-Light' Hypothesis Gets Re-Tired," Science 292 (June 29, 2001), 2414.
    • G. Goldhaber, et al., "Timescale stretch parameterization of type Ia supernova B-band light curves," The Astrophysical Journal 558 (September 1, 2001), 359-368.
    • Xiaomin Wang, Max Tegmark, Matias Zaldarriaga, "Is cosmology consistent?" Astrophysics abstract.
    • G. Efstathiou, et al., "Evidence for a non-zero L and a low matter density from a combined analysis of the 2dF Galaxy Redshift Survey and cosmic microwave background anisotropies," Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society v. 330 n. 2 (02/2002), L29-L35.
  • Additional confirmation for a big bang beginning
    • Andrew Watson, "Cosmic Ripples Confirm Universe Speeding Up," Science 295 (March 29, 2002), 2343.
• Call-In Questions
  • Martin from Mountain View, CA: Is the window of time between the late heavy bombardment and the first life enough evidence for miraculous intervention?
  • Mike wanted to know: What are the toughest challenges to the Christian faith? For more help to answer skeptics' questions, we recommend our television series, Creation vs. Evolution, our video, Answering Atheist Objections to Christianity and Hugh's book, The Creator and the Cosmos. For more about chaos theory, Hugh recommends, Chaos Theory Tamed.
• Email Questions
  • Andy asked for Fuz to comment on a recent article in Science disputing evidence for early life on earth.
  • Rob asked: How long would a protein made in an origin of life scenario last before it would degrade? Would this be a bad or good thing for the origin of life under naturalistic conditions?
  • Grant wanted to know: What is Hugh's opinion of Fred Hereen's book, Show Me God?
  • John S. wanted us to respond to 10 significant problems with a big bang event. Hugh has responded to these objections in his book, The Creator and the Cosmos, 3rd edition and his article in issue 8 of FACTS for FAITH, "Tolman's Elegant Test." Hugh thinks that the source for these objections comes from the book: A Different Approach to Cosmology by Fred Hoyle, Geoffrey Burbidge and Jayant Narlikar.
• Boot Camp
  • Several listeners wanted to know: Does the geography of the Mesopotamian region support a local flood? A full article on this topic is coming in issue 10 of FACTS for FAITH.
• Kenneth Samples' Theology / Philosophy Segment segment
  • What is a Christian perspective on cremation?

• Discoveries Discussed
  • Whale development
    • F. Spoor, S. Bajpai, et al., "Vestibular evidence for the evolution of aquatic behaviour in early cetaceans," Nature 417 (May 9, 2002), 163-168.
  • Functionality of "Junk" DNA
    • Nicholas J. Kaplinsky, David M. Braun, et al, "Utility and distribution of conserved noncoding sequences in the grasses," PNAS 99 (April 30, 2002), 6147-6151.
    • Read Fuz's article, "'Junk' DNA Not so Junky?"
  • Effect of television on aggressive behavior
    • Jeffrey G. Johnson, Patricia Cohen, et al., "Television Viewing and Aggressive Behavior During Adolescence and Adulthood," Science 295 (March 29, 2002) 2468-2471.
  • Gas on deposit and Population 3 stars
    • R. Cowen, "Cosmic Remodeling: Superwinds star in early universe," Science News 161 (April 20, 2002), 244.
    • Jason Tumlinson, Mark L. Giroux, and J. Michael Shull, "Probing the first stars with hydrogen and helium recombination emission," The Astrophysical Journal 550 (March 20, 2002), L1-L5.
    • Y.-Z. Qian, W.L.W. Sargent, and G.J. Wasserburg, "The prompt inventory from very massive stars and elemental abundances in Lya systems," The Astrophysical Journal 569 (April 20, 2002), L61-L64.
    • Steve Dawson, Hyron Spinrad, et al., "A Galactic Wind AT z = 5.190," The Astrophysical Journal 570 (May 1, 2002), 92-99.
    • John E. Norris, Sean G. Ryan, Timothy C. Beers and Wako Aoki and Hiroyasu Ando, "Extremely metal-poor stars. IX. CS 22949-037 and the role of hypernovae," The Astrophysical Journal 569 (April 20, 2002), L107-L110.
• Call-In Questions
  • Jeff from Witchita asked: How do old earth creationists resolve the sun burn rate problem? Dr. Guillermo Gonzales's article, "Rare Sun" and related news briefs about the sun appeared in FACTS AND FAITH, Issue 9. To order a copy, call our office at 1-800-482-7836.
  • What about the amount of dust on the moon? Doesn't that prove the earth is young? Read the perspectives of Answers in Genesis and the Institute for Creation Research about moon dust.
  • Kenny from Milton, FL: Do you know anything about new evidence for extinction and rapid replacement of dinosaurs?
  •  For a more thorough summary of the problems with the many so-called
    "scientific" evidences for a young earth/universe, Krista recommends one of our apologist's web sites.
• E-Mail Questions
  • John B. in Minneapolis asked: How did whale organs and behaviors evolve so quickly?
  • Joe W. wanted to know: Is there a way to apply the mitochondrial and chromosomal technology to test Darwinism? Listen to our discussion about bat origins from our 2-21-02 broadcast.
  • Walter wanted to make a comment about Fuz's discovery related to whales.
• Kenneth Samples' Theology / Philosophy Segment
  • Aren't our emotions the result of chemical reactions in our brain? For more about this topic, Ken recommends: Scaling the Secular City by J.P. Moreland.
• Truth or Fiction: Will we be able to build human colonies in space?

• Discoveries Discussed
  • Special Guest: Dr. Guillermo Gonzales from Iowa State University
  • Planetary orbits
    • E.I. Chiang, D. Fischer and E. Thommes, "Excitation of Orbital Eccentricities of Extrasolar Planets by Repeated Resonance Crossings," The Astrophysical Journal 564 (January 10, 2002), L105-L109.
    • N. Murray, M. Paskowitz, and M. Holman, "Eccentricity Evolution of Migrating Planets," The Astrophysical Journal 565 (January 20, 2002), 608-620.
  • Critique of cosmology models that appeal to negative pressure
    • Brandon Carter, "Energy dominance and the Hawking Ellis vacuum conservation theorem," General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology (2002).
  • Minimum genome size for life
    • Alexei I. Slesarev, Katja V. Mezhevaya, et al, "The complete genome of hyperthermophile Methanopyrus kandleri AV19 and monophyly of archaeal methanogens," PNAS 99 (April 2, 2002), 4644-4649.
    • Harald Huber, Michael J. Hohn, et al, "A new phylum of Archaea represented by a nanosized hyperthermophilic symbiont," Nature 417 (May 2, 2002), 63-67.
    • Yan Boucher and W. Ford Doolittle, "Something new under the sea," Nature 417 (May 2, 2002), 27-28.
    • Rosario Gil, Beatriz Sabater-Munoz, et al, "Extreme genome reduction in Buchnera spp.: Toward the minimal genome needed for symbiotic life," PNAS Early Edition 99 (2002), 1-5.
• Call-In Questions
  • Patrick asked: Do the pyramids in Egypt line up with the stars of Orion's belt?
  • What are the major dating methods that scientists use? For a layman's discussion about the accuracy of radiometric dating methods, Hugh recommends Dr. Wiens article in Issue 7 of FACTS for FAITH. A more technical version is available on our web site.
• E-Mail Questions
  • Jim S. asked: How can I download your radio program onto my computer?
  • Martin in the UK wanted to know: Will RTB make any products available as DVDs?
  • Rusty from Anaheim: Have Newton's laws been invalidated by General Relativity?
  • Jeff from Tacoma, WA wanted to know: Has anyone figured out the probability of the simplest bacteria that we can conceive of forming by pure chance? Fuz's origin of life talk from our 2001 creation conference. Call 1-800-482-7836 and ask for tape #A0160.
• Kenneth Samples' Theology / Philosophy Segment
  • Is the TNIV an accurate translation of the Bible?

• Discoveries Discussed
  • Energy-efficiency of amino acids
    • Hiroshi Akashi and Takashi Gojobori, "Metabolic efficiency and amino acid composition in the proteomes of Escherichia coli and Bacillu subtilis," PNAS 99 (March 19, 2002), 3695-3700.
  • Beta sheet design
    • Jane S. Richardson and David C. Richardson, "Natural B-sheet proteins use negative design to avoid edge-to-edge aggregation," PNAS 99 (March 5, 2002), 2754-2759.
  • Amino acids in space
    • P. Ehrenfreund, M.P. Bernstein, et al., "The Photostability of Amino Acids in Space," The Astrophysical Journal 550 (March 20, 2001), L95-L99.
  • Bacteria in space
    • Gerda Horneck, Petra Rettberg, et al., "Protection of Bacterial Spores in Space, A Contribution to the Discussion on Panspermia," Origins of Life and Evolution in the Biosphere 31 (2001), 527-547.
• Call-in Questions
  • Sam from Birmingham had some follow up comments concerning our discussion on Roman Catholicism.
  • Ian from Santa Clarita, C asked: Who is the y-chromosome contributor? How is the y-chromosome date calibrated?
• Email Questions
  • Andy Z. asked: Would God's introduction of the races at the Tower of Babel violate His rest on the 7th Day of creation?
  • James K. wanted Hugh and Fuz to comment on the Discovery Channel documentary, The Real Eve.
  • John B. wrote in with this question: Why does NASA have such a big push to find life in outer space? For more about extra-terrestrial life, we recommend our new book, Lights in the Sky and Little Green Men.
  • Abraham T. wanted to know: Does cross-pollination prove the young-earth model?
• Boot Camp: Where did the different races come from?
  • For more about this topic, Dr. Ross recommends his book, The Genesis Question.
• Kenneth Samples' Theology / Philosophy Segment
  • Ken Samples gives his perspective on the controversy in the Roman Catholic church about sexual abuse.

• Discoveries Discussed
  • Oscillating universe
    • Paul J. Steinhardt and Neil Turok, "A Cyclic Model of the Universe," Science Express (April 25, 2002).
    • For a Christian perspective on the oscillating universe model, we recommend Hugh's book, The Creator and the Cosmos, 3rd edition.
  • Retraction of M22 globular cluster discovery discussed on 4-23
  • Measuring the age of the universe through white dwarf stars To be published soon in Astrophysical Journal Letters, 2002.
  • Galapagos Islands finch research by Peter and Rosemary Grant
    • Peter R. Grant and B. Rosemary Grant, "Unpredictable Evolution in a 30-Year Study of Darwin's Finches," Science 296 (April 26, 2002), 707-711.
    • For more about the problems associated with finches being used as evidence for macro-evolution, we recommend the book, Icons of Evolution.
  • Response to Discovery Channel's documentary: The Real Eve
    • For more about the origin of man, we recommend the book, The Dawn of Human Culture, by Richard Klein. Although Klein writes from an evolutionary perspective, his book contains many interesting evidences for the sudden appearance of human culture and the distinctives of modern humans.
• Call-in Questions
  • Patrick from Holden, MA: How to tell the difference between "supernatural" and "natural" miracles in the Bible?
  • Jimmy from Twin Falls, ID wanted to ask a follow up question to Hugh's recent forum with Michael Shermer.
  • Walter from Dallas, TX had some follow-up questions about the oscillating universe discussed in the 1st hour.
  • George from Pasadena, CA: Does Carl Baugh promote Russell Humphrey's cosmology?
• Email Questions
  • Mark wanted to know: What is the reason for why there must be a cause for the universe?

• Discoveries Discussed
  • Solar system design updates
    • Free-floating planets: Jarrod R. Hurley and Michael M. Shara, "Free-Floating Planets in Stellar Clusters: Not So Surprising," The Astrophysical Journal 565 (February 1, 2002), 1251-1256.
    • Planetary drift: Shay Zucker and Tsevi Mazeh, "On the Mass-Period Correlation of the Extrasolar Planets," The Astrophysical Journal 568 (April 1, 2002), L113-L116.
    • M. Patzold and H. Rauer, "Where are the massive close-in extrasolar planets," The Astrophysical Journal 568 (April 1, 2002), L117-L120.
    • Micro-lensing: B.S. Gaudi, M.D. Albrow, et al., "Microlensing constraints on the frequency of Jupiter-mass companions: Analysis of 5 years of planet photometry," The Astrophysical Journal 566 (February 10, 2002), 463-499.
  • Cambrian Explosion
    • Speciation rate: Bruce S. Lieberman, "A test of whether rates of speciation were unusually high during the Cambrian radiation," Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B 268 (2001), 1707-1714.
    • Ediacaran identity: Michael Steiner and Joachim Reitner, "Evidence of organic structures in Ediacara-type fossils and associated microbial mats," Geology 29 (December 2001), 1119-1122.
    • To learn more about the Cambrian Explosion, we recommend our interview with Dr. Paul Chien in Issue 2 of FACTS for FAITH.
  • Tree of Life vs. Fossil record
    • Michael J. Benton, "Finding the tree of life: matching phylogenetic trees to the fossil record through the 20th century," Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B 268 (2001), 2123-2130.
    • Matthew A. Wills, "The tree of life and the rock of ages: Are we getting better at estimating phylogeny," BioEssays 24 (2002), 203-207.
• Call-In Questions
  • Ed from Des Moines, IA: Is the spiral shape God's watermark on creation?
  • Kenny from Milton, FL: Does Fuz know about evidence for modern humans in Africa at 125,000 years ago?
  • George from Pasadena, CA asked: Does Carl Baugh think that Noah took dinosaurs on the ark?
  • Stan from Placentia, CA: Was the fish that ate Jonah created after the 7th day? Read about a famous urban legend related to this topic: A Modern Jonah.
• E-Mail Questions
  • John B. wanted to get Hugh's perspective on the scientific search for "earth-like" planets.
  • Becky asked: Who is Joseph Campbell? Are all religions "myth?" Ken's article on religious pluralism is available in FACTS for FAITH, Issue 8.
  • David wanted to respond to a point made on last week's show: Isn't the God of theist evolution wasteful and inefficient?
• Boot Camp
  • Al Sparks asked: Did Noah's flood cover the entire earth? Here are some resources to learn more about Noah's flood:
    • The Genesis Question
    • Radio Series on Noah's ark (beginning with show #207)

• Discoveries Discussed
  • Testing penguin mDNA mutation rate:
    • Elizabeth Pennisi, "Ancient DNA Untangles Evolutionary Paths," Science 295 (March 22, 2002), 2197.
    • D.M. Lambert, P.A. Ritchie, et al., "Rates of Evolution in Ancient DNA from Adelie Penguins," Science 295 (March 22, 2002), 2270-2273.
  • Repeated creation update: Tortoises
    • Jeremy J. Austin and E. Nicholas Arnold, "Ancient mDNA and morphology elucidate an extinct island radiation of Indian Ocean giant tortoises," Proceedings of the Royal Society of London 268 (2001), 2515-2523.
  • Design update: Smoking quasars
    • Martin Elvis, Massimo Marengo and Margarita Karovska, "Smoking Quasars: A New Source for Cosmic Dust," The Astrophysical Journal 567 (March 10, 2002), L107-L110.
  • Speciation model update: Plant inbreeding
    • Carlos D. Bustamante, Rasmus Nielsen, et al., "The cost of inbreeding in Arabidopsis," Nature 416 (April 4, 2002), 531-534.
• Call-in Questions
  • Kenny from Milton, FL: How do young-earth creationists account for short term comets if there is no Oort belt?
• Email Questions
  • Kevin from El Monte, CA: What does it mean when scientists say they have identified a "new" species?
  • Rob G. asked: What is the maximum theoretical red shift astronomers could observe in the future?
  • Jason wanted to know: Do you have any plans to interview any prominent atheists or evolutionists on your show?
  • Phillip U. wanted some help with his girlfriend: Does the Bible prohibit the study of astrology? Is it considered an occultic art? For more about a Christian perspective on astrology, we recommend our paper Astrology: Help, Hoax or Harm?, the article on "astrology" in the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, and Astrology and Physic Phenomenon, by Andre Kole and Terry Holley.
  • Ken B. wanted to know: Has Fuz commented on how DNA contains information? Fuz recommends the book Information Theory and Molecular Biology by Hubert P. Yockey.
• Truth or Fiction
  • Is a real "Jurassic Park" possible?

• Discoveries Discussed
  • Could micro-meteorites deliver amino acids to the early earth?
    • Daniel P. Glavin and Jeffrey L. Bada, "Survival of Amino Acids in Micrometeorites During Atmospheric Entry" Astrobiology v. 1 n. 3, 259-269.
  • Laboratory attempts to simulate amino acid formation
    • Max P. Bernstein, Jason P. Dworkin, et al., "Racemic amino acids from the ultraviolet photolysis of interstellar ice analogues," Nature 416 (March 28, 2002), 401-406.
    • Everett L. Shock, "Seeds of Life?" Nature 416 (March 28, 2002), 380-381.
  • Mammal migration from Asia
    • S. Milius, "Did Mammals Spread from Asia?" Science News 161 (March 16, 2002), 165-166. Chris Beard, "East of Eden at the Paleocene/Eocene Boundary," Science 295 (March 15, 2002), 2028-2029.
    • Gabriel J. Bowen, William C. Clyde, et al., "Mammalian Dispersal at the Paleocene/Eocene Boundary," Science 295 (March 15, 2002), 2062-2065.
  • Another confirmation of the "flat" universe
    • Andrew Watson, "Cosmic Ripples Confirm Universe Speeding Up," Science 295 (March 29, 2002), 2341-2343.
• Call-in Questions
  • Josh from Upland, CA asked: Could the universe come into existence without a cause? For more related to this topic:
    • The Creator and the Cosmos, 3rd edition
    • Beyond the Cosmos
  • Ian from Santa Clarita, CA wanted to know: Are there any ancient Jewish writings that talk about the length of the "days" of creation?
• Email Questions
  • Julius asked: What does Hugh Ross think about the recent article in the April 2002 issue of Discover magazine about Alan Guth and the inflationary big bang?
  • Russell wanted to know: Why doesn't Hugh debate Russell Humphreys? Read Sam Connor's critique of Starlight and Time on our website.
  • Tom needed some help with some questions that have come up in his Sunday School class: What "light" is referred to in verse 3? How can we have plants without sun light which isn't made until verse 14? Is the earth older than the sun? For a more extended discussion about the chronology of God's creation miracles in Genesis 1:
    • The Genesis Question.
  • David wanted to know: Have scientists been able to "create" life in the lab? If yes, what has been made?
  • Another listener asked: Is the flow of cosmic rays from the Vela supernova at a constant rate?
• Boot Camp
  • Does the "big bang" contradict the Bible? For more related to this topic:
    • The Creator and the Cosmos, 3rd edition
    • The Big Bang: The Bible Taught it First! To order this tape, please call our main office at 800-482-7836 and ask for A0159.

• Discoveries Discussed
  • Hox Gene
    • Mike Levine, "How insects lose their limbs," Nature 415 (February 21, 2002), 848-849.
    • Ron Galant & Sean B. Carroll, "Evolution of a transcriptional repression domain in an insect Hox protein," Nature 415 (February 21, 2002), 910-913.
    • Matthew Ronshaugen, Nadine McGinnis & William McGinnis, "Hox protein mutation and macroevolution of the insect body plan," Nature 415 (February 21, 2002), 914-917.
  • Testing the dipole moment of the cosmic background radiation
    • Chris Blake & Jasper Wall, "A velocity dipole in the distribution of radio galaxies," Nature 416 (March 14, 2002), 150-152.
    • George F. R. Ellis, "Maintaining the standard," Nature 416 (March 14, 2002), 132-133.
    • John Bahcall, "The Big Bang is bang on," Nature 408 (December 21/28, 2000), 916-917.
    • R. Srianand, P. Petitjean & C. Ledoux, "The cosmic microwave background radiation temperature at a redshift of 2.34," Nature 408 (December 21/28, 2000), 931-935.
  • Black holes: More evidence of divine design
    • M. Elvis, G. Risaliti, and G. Zamorani, "Most Supermassive Black Holes Must be Rapidly Rotating," The Astrophysical Journal 565 (February 1, 2002), L75-L77.
• Boot Camp
  • Steven wrote in and wanted to know: Does the Bible contradict what the fossil record says that carnivores existing before the fall of Adam?

• Discoveries Discussed
  • Fine-tuning of plate tectonics
    • Klaus Regeneauer-Lieb, Dave A. Yuen, and Joy Branlund, "The Initiation of Subduction: Criticality by Addition of Water?" Science 294 (October 19, 2001), 578-580.
    • James Wookey, J.-Michael Kendall, and Guilhem Barruol, "Mid-mantle deformation inferred from seismic anisotropy," Nature 415 (February 14, 2002), 777-780.
  • Diversity in Speciation
    • David Tilman, Peter B. Reich, et al., "Diversity and Productivity in a Long-Term Grassland Experiment," Science 294 (October 26, 2001), 843-845.
  • Orbit of Io (Jupiter's moon)
    • K. Aksnes and F.A. Franklin, "Secular Acceleration from Mutual Satellite Events," The Astrophysical Journal 122 (November 2001), 2734-2739.
    • For more about the supernatural design of the moon, Dr. Ross recommends his book, The Creator and the Cosmos, 3rd edition. and What if the Moon Didn't Exist?: Voyages to Earths That Might Have Been by Neil F. Comins.
• Call-in Questions
  • Randy from Collierville, TN asked: Why is light from the past still visible today? Wouldn't it have passed up by now? For more related to this topic:
    • Relativity Simply Explained
    • The Creator and the Cosmos, 3rd edition.
  • Pat from Burrie, VT wanted to know: Could wormholes be connected in time?
  • Kenny from Milton, FL wanted to get Hugh to comment on a recent article in Nature about water under the surface of the earth. Could this help the young-earth global flood model?
• Email Questions
  • Larry asked: Is time travel possible?
  • Christian S. wanted to know: Do wormholes exist? Could this resolve the time travel problem? Dr. Ross discusses the limits of space travel in his new book, Lights in the Sky and Little Green Men.
  • James D. wanted to ask a follow up to a previous radio program: Where does Hugh get the idea that a key prediction of Darwinian evolution is that ecologies should develop toward optimality over time?
  • Steve B. wants to know if there are any Russian astronomers who believe in the big bang. Nick is disturbed by RTB's use of the term "fine-tuning."
• Boot Camp
  • Sent in by Thomas: Does RTB believe in the 7 day 24 hour periods of creation? A few recommendations for those new to the age of the earth discussion:
    • The Genesis Debate
    • The Ankerberg Debate: Young Earth vs. Old Earth (DVD)

• Discoveries Discussed:
  • Using DNA technology to make nano-machines:
    • Nadrian C. Seeman and Angela M. Belcher, "Emulating biology: Building nanostructures from the the bottom up," PNAS Early Edition 99 (2002).
    • J. Fraser Stoddart and Hsian-Rong Tseng, "Chemical synthesis gets a fillip from molecular recognition and self-assembly processes" PNAS Early Edition 99 (2002).
    • For more about nanotechnology, Dr. Rana recommends the book, Travels to the Nanoworld.
  • Stem cell mutation and tumor formation:
    • Rachel B. Cervantes, James R. Stringer, et al., "Embryonic stem cells and somatic cells differ in mutation frequency and type," PNAS 99 (March 19, 2002), 3586-3590.
  • Redrawing the evolutionary tree:
    • William J. Murphey et al., "Resolution of the Early Placental Mammal Radiation Using Bayesian Phylogenetics," Science 294 (December 14, 2001), 2348-2351.
    • Elizabeth Pennisi, "Placentals' Family Tree Drawn and Quartered," Science 294 (December 14, 2001), 2266-2268.
    • S. Perkins, "Genes Seem to Link Unlikely Relatives," Science News 159 (January 6, 2001), 4.
    • S. Blair Hedges, "Afrotheria: Plate tectonics meets genomics," PNAS 98 (January 2, 2001) 1-2.
    • Marjon A.M. Van Dijk, et al., "Protein sequence signatures support the African clade of mammals," PNAS 98 (January 2, 2001), 188-193.
• Call-in Questions:
  • Walter from Dallas wanted to suggest a scientific model to test macro-evolution. The book mentioned by Dr. Rogstad: Fred Hoyle, Mathematics of Evolution is currently available through Amazon.com.
• Email Questions
  • Andy wanted to get Fuz to comment on a recent science article: Does a recent discovery in China settle "once and for all" the debate over whether dinosaurs and birds are related? Here are some additional resources on RTB's perspective about the bird-dinosaur debate: Bambiraptor (radio show #107)
  • Grant wanted Fuz's comments on Jonathan Wells's book, Icons of Evolution (Paperback Book, DVD): Is it accurate? Is his method effective?
  • Michael wanted to know: Are radiometric dating methods reliable? For a somewhat technical treatment about the reliability of radiometric dating methods, please read "Radiometric Dating: A Christian Perspective" by Gordon Wiens.

• Discoveries Discussed
  • Earliest life
    • Anatoliy B. Kudryavtsev, J. William Schopf, David G. Agresti and Thomas Wdowiak, "In situ laser-Raman imagery of Precambrian microscopic fossils," PNAS 98 (January 30, 2001), 823-826.
    • Henry Gee, "That's life?" Nature 416 (March 7, 2002), 28. J. William Schopf, et al., "Laser-Raman imagery of Earth's earliest fossils," Nature 416 (March 7, 2002), 73-75.
    • Martin D. Brasier, et al., "Questioning the evidence for Earth's oldest fossils," Nature 416 (March 7, 2002), 76-78.
  • Clarifying the identity of archaic homo sapiens
    • Daniel E. Lieberman, Brandeis M. McBratney and Gail Krovitz, "The evolution and development of cranial form in Homo sapiens," PNAS Early Edition.
  • Genetic evidence for multi-regional hypothesis?
    • Rebecca L. Cann, "Tangled genetic routes," Nature 416 (March 7, 2002), 32-34.
    • Alan R. Templeton, "Out of Africa again and again," Nature 416 (March 7, 2002), 45-47.
    • For more about the multi-regional hypothesis, listen to one of our past radio programs: Show #217
• Call-in Questions
  • Mark from New York City asked: How can I approach my local school board about teaching Darwinism in public school? Fuz suggested contacting the Discovery Institute for help. Their web site is: www.discovery.org. For more about RTB's testable creation model, we recommend the following resources:
    • The Genesis Question
    • The Creator and the Cosmos
    • Beyond Genesis 1 (our 2001 Conference)
  • Ian from Santa Clarita wanted to know: What can we tell from a small fossil fragment?
  • George from Pasadena, CA wanted to ask a question about our audio tape product, Scopes Trial Revisited.
  • Cameron from Washington D.C. Wanted to ask Ken a question about a supposed contradiction in the Bible: It seems like there is a contradiction between Matthew 10:10 and Mark 6:8? For more about Bible "difficulties" Ken recommends two books,
    • When Critics Ask (Norman Geisler)
    • Encyclopedia of Bible Difficulties (Gleason Archer)
• Email Questions
  • John B. asked: What is your view of the Sabbath? For about this topic, Ken recommends the book, From Sabbath to Lord's Day by D.A. Carson.
  • George wanted to get Ken to comment on his question: Do you believe that it was impossible for any person living in the Western Hemisphere to be saved prior to Columbus opening the way for the gospel in 1492? For about this topic, Ken recommends the book, "Is Jesus the Only Savior?" by Ron Nash and, "Only one way?" and a past radio program: Do All Religions Pray to the Same God? (show #236).
  • John wanted to get Ken's thoughts on whether the Roman Catholic church are Christians? To read an extended discussion about Roman Catholicism, see his series with Norm Geisler, "What Think Ye of Rome?" Christian Research Journal, Winter and Spring, 1993, Spring/Summer 1994, Fall 1994.

• Dr. Reynolds's book, Three Views of Creation and Evolution is currenly available through Amazon.com.
• Dr. Reynolds's paper about the "appearance of age" argument:
  • John Mark Reynolds, "Gosse and Omphalos: The Bible and Science," The Proceedings of the Third International Conference on Creationism (1994), 459-466.

• Discoveries Discussed
  • Gamma-Ray Bursters
    • John Scalo and J. Craig Wheeler, "Astrophysical and Astrobiological Implications of Gamma-Ray Burst Properties," The Astrophysical Journal 566 (February 20, 2002), 723-737.
  • Cambrian Explosion -- Discovery of new phylum
    • Henry Gee, "On being vetulicolian," Nature 414 (November 22, 2001), 407-408.
    • D.G. Shu, S. Conway Morris, et al., "Primitive deuterostomes from the Chengjian Lagerstatte (Lower Cambrian, China)," Nature 414 (November 22, 2001), 419-424.
    • To learn more about the Cambrian Explosion, read our interview with Dr. Paul Chien in FACTS for FAITH, Issue 2 and Fuz Rana's article, "Cambrian Flash" in Connections.
  • Asteroids and Extinction
    • Richard A. Kerr, "No 'Darkness at Noon' To Do In the Dinosaurs?" Science (February 22, 2002), 1445, 1447.
• Call-In Questions
  • Ed from Medford, OR asked: How do you respond to Gribbon's book for  multiple universes as a defeater for the anthropic principle? For more about  the multi-universe theory, Dr. Ross recommends his book, The Creator and the  Cosmos, 3rd edition. We also carry a video series which answers the 17 most common objections to the Christian faith entitled, Answering Atheist Objections to Christianity.
  • Pat from Barre, VT wanted to know: Was the earth's rotation faster in the past than today? How would this have affected the ocean's currents? For more about the biblical data for continent formation, Dr. Ross recommends our television series, Psalm 104. We also recommend the book, Rare Earth, which discusses the science of the early earth.
  • George from Pasadena, CA wanted to know: Was Hugh aware that the earth was covered with water like Genesis 1:2 says when he read the Bible for the first time?
• E-mail Questions
  • Rusty from Anaheim, CA had several questions:
    1. How long does it take for ecosystem to recover after a mass extinction event?
    2. How long does it take for oil to form?
    3. Is RTB having another creation conference this year?
    4. Are geologic and radiometric dating methods reliable? For a somewhat technical treatment about the reliability of radiometric dating methods, please read "Radiometric Dating: A Christian Perspective" by Gordon Wiens.
  • Scott H. from Wilmington, DE: Where does the evidence for extra time dimension come from?
  • Steve, physics teacher at Northglenn High School asked: How can I find a reference to support your claim that a volcano in Siberia spewed enough volcanic material to cover the earth 20 feet thick at the Permian-Triassic catastrophe? Here are a couple of references to get started:
    • "Impact Event at the Permian-Triassic Boundary: Evidence from Extraterrestrial Noble Gases in Fullerenes," Science (February 23, 2001)
    • "Synchrony and Casual Relations Between Permian-Triassic Boundary Crises and Siberian Flood Volcanism," Science (September 8, 1995)
  • Pastor David V. wants help discerning between what Carl Baugh teaches and what Hugh Ross teaches. Please consider writing a letter of appreciation to the Trinity Broadcasting Network for carrying the Reasons To Believe program. Send letters to: Trinity Broadcasting Network, P.O. Box A, Santa Ana, CA 92711.
  • Paul F. asked: Has Hugh responded to William Lane Craig's critique posted on your web site?

• Discoveries Discussed
  • Punctuated Equilibrium
    • Cagan H. Sekercioglu, et al., "Disappearance of insectivorous birds from tropical forest fragments," PNAS 99 (January 8, 2002), 263-267.
    • Kevin Higgins and Michael Lynch, et al., "Metropopulation Extinction Caused by Mutation Accumulation," PNAS 98 (2001), 2928-33.
    • Alan R. Templeton, et al., "Disrupting Evolutionary Processes: The Effect of Habitat Fragmentation on Collared Lizards in the Missouri Ozarks," PNAS 98 (2001), 5426-32.
    • For more about RTB's perspective on evolution, watch for our upcoming series on TBN.
  • Brane Scan
    • P.P. Avelino and C.J.A.P. Martins, "A Supernova Brane Scan," The Astrophysical Journal 565 (February 1, 2002), 661-667. To learn more about the space-energy density term, Hugh Ross recommends The Creator and the Cosmos, 3rd edition and FACTS for FAITH, Issue #2.
  • Design of Eukarytoic Cells
    • Hyman Hartman, "The origin of the eukaryotic cell: A genomic investigation," PNAS Early Edition (2002). For more about RTB's testable creation model for the origin of life, we recommend Dr. Rana's message, "The Origin of Life." Call our office at 1-800-482-7836 as ask for item #A0160.
• Call-In Questions
  • Scott from Wilmington, DE called to alert us to a recent article in Discover magazine about the inflationary big bang model.
  • Bill from Sioux Falls, SD asked: What are the origins of head lice?
  • Rich from Midland, MI asked Fuz: Do you know more examples of convergence of genetically unrelated species? Listen to our recent discussion of convergence on the February 12, 2002 broadcast, and Fuz's article in Issue 4 of FACTS for FAITH.
  • Mike from Columbus, IN wanted some help answering a evolutionary biologist: What are some of strongest arguments against RTB's testable creation model? For more about RTB's creation model for the origin of life, we recommend Dr. Rana's messages, "The Origin of Life" (#A0160) and "Is Human Evolution a Fact?" These audio tapes can be ordered through our office by calling 1-800-482-7836. We also recommend our television series, "Who was Adam?" which outlines our creation model approach to the origin of man in more detail. Predictions and recent discoveries related to the origin of life were discussed on our February 5, 2002 broadcast.
• E-mail Questions
  • Robert asked that we do a program about Planet X. Hugh Ross discussed Planet X on our February 19, 2002 broadcast.
  • Benjamin N. wanted to ask Fuz whether homochirality is still a problem for origin of life researchers. Citation for this paper will be posted soon.
  • Christopher N. asked: How many animals did Adam name, and how long would this take a man to do? Wouldn't this process alone take longer than 24 hours?
  • Andy wants to know: What does Hugh think about Walt Brown's hydroplate theory?
  • Kenny wants Fuz to look up some evidence for livorwort spores dating back to 510 to 520 million years ago: Citation for this paper will be posted soon.
  • Becky asked: If God created this universe so that it wouldn't last forever, then how would humans have gone to heaven if they never fell into sin? For more about death before the fall, we recommend our audio tape series, "Life and Death in Eden."

• Discoveries Discussed
  • Stem-cell research
    • Jennifer Couzin, "Primate Parthenotes Yield Stem Cells," Science 295 (2002), 779-781.
    • Jose B. Cibellli, Kathleen A. Grant, et al., "Parthenogenetic Stem Cells in Nonhuman Primates," Science 295 (2002), 819.
    • For more about RTB's perspective on cloning and stem cell research, we recommend Dr. Rana's message, A Christian Perspective on Biotechnology.
  • Carbonate in dust around old stars
    • F. Kemper, C. J?er, et. al., "Detection of carbonates in dust shells around evolved stars," Nature 415 (January 17, 2002), 295-297.
  • Confirmation of Yockey's origin of life calculation
    • Patrice Koehl, "Protein topology and stability define the space of allowed sequences," PNAS Early Edition (2002). For more about RTB's testable creation model for the origin of life, we recommend Dr. Rana's message, "The Origin of Life." Call our office at 1-800-482-7836 as ask for item #A0160.
• Call-In Questions
  • Kenny from Milton, FL asked: Is it true that creosote bushes in the Mohave desert are 11,000 years old?
• E-mail Questions
  • Paul F. wanted Hugh and Fuz to respond to a recent article in the 2/08/02 edition of the Plain Dealer about Ohio's attempt to get "Intelligent Design" into public school education. For more about RTB's perspectives on teaching science in public schools, Dr. Ross recommends our audio tape series, "Scopes Trial Revisited" and his debate with Eugenie Scott and Duane Gish, entitled "God, Darwin or Both?"
  • Andy wants to know: What biblical evidence is there against young-earth creationism?
  • Missi asked a couple follow up questions about our audio tape series, "Life and Death in Eden."
• Truth of Fiction?
  • Will a mysterious Planet X and brown dwarf destroy the earth sometime in 2002? To read more about Planet X and Nemesis, Dr. Ross recommends a web site by Paul Schlyter at the University of Arizona.

• Discoveries Discussed
  • Evolutionary Speed Limits
    • James W. Kirchner, "Evolutionary speed limits inferred from the fossil record," Nature 415 (January 3, 2002), 65-68.
  • Social behavior in insects
    • Bryan N. Danforth, "Evolution of sociality in a primitively eusocial lineage of bees," PNAS 99 (2002), 286-290.
  • Compound eyes in arthropods
    • Todd H. Oakley and Clifford W. Cunningham, "Molecular phylogenetic evidence for the independent evolutionary origin of an arthropod compound eye," PNAS 99 (2002), 1426-1430.
  • Bat origins:
    • Emma C. Teeling, et al., "Microbat paraphyly and the convergent evolution of a key innovation in Old World rhinolophoid microbats" PNAS Early Edition 99 (2002).
• E-mail Questions
  • John from the UK asked: If body size is a major contributor for extinction, then why do some species remain unchanged for millions of years?
  • Jon H. wrote in response to a comment Dr. Ross made about young-earth creationists being "evolutionists" on our 1-22-02 broadcast.
  • Rusty from Knoxville, TN asked: How do you account for vestigal organs? Are they evidence for evolution?
  • Jim Caywood and Rob Gibson wanted our scholars to comment on a recent news story (Nature, February 6, 2002) related to the hox gene.
  • Rob Gibson asked several other thoughtful questions about the earth's magnetic field and its effect on mutation rates. Could this account for macro-evolution?

• Discoveries Discussed
  • Zircons
    • Yuri Amelin, Der-Chuen Lee, Alex N. Halliday & Robert T. Pidgeon, "Nature of the Earth's earliest crust from hafnium isotopes in single detrital zircons," Nature 399 (May 20, 1999), 252-255.
    • James K. W. Lee, Ian S. Williams & David J. Ellis, "Pb, U and Th diffision in natural zircon," Nature 390 (November 13, 1997), 159-161.
    • Stephen J. Mojzsis, T. Mark Harrison & Robert T. Pidgeon, "Oxygen-isotope evidence from ancient zircons for liquid water at the Earth's surface 4,300 Myr ago," Nature 409 (January 11, 2001), 178-181.
    • Simon A. Wilde, John W. Valley, William H. Peck & Colin M. Graham, "Evidence from detrital zircons for the existence of continental crust and oceans on the Earth 4.4 Gyr ago," Nature 409 (January 11, 2001), 175-178.
    • Andrew Glikson, "Evidence for a 3.2+/-0.1 Ga impact cataclysm in the Earth-Moon system," preprint of paper presented at the Conference of Earth-Moon Relationships, (November 8-10, 2000).
  • Methanogen Model for the Early Earth
    • Alexander A. Pavlov, James F. Kasting, Jennifer L. Eigenbrode, Katherine H. Freeman, "Organic haze in Earth's early atmosphere: Source of low 13C Late Archean kerogens?" Geology v. 29, n. 11 (November 2001), 1003-1006.
  • Nitogen14 enriched kerogen tars
    • Daniele L. Pinti, Ko Hashizume and Jun-ichi Matsuda, "Nitrogen and argon signatures in 3.8 to 2.8 Ga Metasediments: Clues on the chemical state of the Archean ocean and deep biosphere," Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta v. 65, n. 14 (2001), 2301-2315.
  • Skeletal structure of bacteria
    • Harold P. Erickson, "Evolution in bacteria," Nature 413 (September 6, 2001), 30.
    • Fusinita van den Ent, Linda A. Amos & Jan Lowe, "Prokaryotic origin of the actin cytoskeleton," Nature 413 (September 6, 2001), 39-44.
  • Minimum gene products for life
    • Brian J. Akerley, Eric J. Rubin, et al., "A genome-scale analysis for identification of genes required for growth or survival of Haemophilus influenzae," PNAS 99 (January 22, 2002), 966-971.
    • Sorel T. Fitz-Gibbon, et al., "Genome sequence of the hyperthermophilic crenarchaeon Pyrobaculum aerophilum," PNAS 99 (January 22, 2002), 984-989.
• Call-In Questions
  • Cameron from Washington D.C., wanted to know: Are there any published  mathematical models for self-replicating ribozymes in the RNA world hypothesis? Here is the information on the abstract mentioned by Dr. Rana: Guenter von Kiedrowski, "Spread and more: Selection or Coexistence of Parabolic Surface Replicators?" ISSOL '99.
  • What enzyme needs the speed of light to be constant in order to digest food? Here is the information about that article: G.F.R. Ellis, "The Anthropic Principle: Laws and Environments," The Anthropic Principle, F. Bertola & U. Curi, eds., (1993), 30.
  • Ian from Santa Clarita, CA asked: Why does the scientific community mislead the public by using thermal luminescent dating methods?
  • John from Tallahassee, FL wanted Dr. Ross to comment about Gerald Schroeder's relativistic time dilation.
• E-mail Questions
  • Jim from Casper, WY asked: Can young earth creationists argue for the distortion of light velocities by the unknown characteristics of dark/exotic matter in the universe?
  • Dawayne was somewhat disturbed by Dr. Ross's statement that the earth is billions of years old and how this squares with what the Bible teaches. Dr. Ross recommends his books, The Genesis Debate and his video debate with Kent Hovind on the "John Ankerberg Show." (DVD) All of these are available through our web store or by calling 800.482.7836.

• Resources Discussed
  • Daniel Golden, "Strange Bedfellows: Western scholars play key role in touting the 'science' of the Quran," Wall Street Journal, January 23, 2002.
  • The Bible, The Quran, and Science, by Maurice Bucaille
  • Christian response to Bucaille's book: The Quran and the Bible in the Light of History and Science, by William Campbell (This book is currently out of print, but will soon be back in print. RTB will carry this book once it comes back in print, so keep checking our web store.)
• Call-In Questions
  • Patrick from Holden, MA wanted to get some clarification on Romans 8:23-24: Do these verses speak about the effects of the fall?
  • Cameron from Washington D.C. needed some help answering his friend's objection to the Christian faith: How can we show the superiority of God's morality to unbelievers?
  • Cameron also wanted to know about an article by Barry Sudderfield about the speed of light slowing down. Is this evidence for a young earth? For more about the difficulties with Sudderfield's theory, Dr. Ross recommends our audio cassette, "Unraveling Starlight and Time" (Creation Update audio cassette, air-date 06-03-2000), as well as a previous radio show (#136) where we discussed this topic more thoroughly. You can also read a short summary about the problems with Sudderfield's theory on the Answers in Genesis web site.
  • George from Pasadena, CA: Has Dr. Ross heard of a periodical called, Research News and Opportunities in Science and Theology?
• E-mail Questions
  • James wanted to get some clarification on where RTB stands in relationship to young-earth creationism and theistic evolution.
  • Michael Hanks wants to know how to respond to skeptical friends who ask: How do I know the Christian God is the one true God?
  • Frank asked: Does cold fusion exist?

• Discoveries Discussed
  • The role of predators in an eco-system
    • John Terborgh, Lawrence Lopez, et al., "Ecological Meltdown in Predator-Free Forest Fragments," Science 294 (November 30, 2001), 1923-1926.
  • Skull and cranial-dental anatomy
    • Marcia S. Ponce de Leon and Christoph P.E. Zollikofer, "Neanderthal Cranial Ontogeny and Its Implications for Late Hominid Diversity," Nature 412 (2001), 534-38. B. Bower, "Neanderthals, Humans May Have Grown Apart," Science News 160 (2001), 71.
  • Measuring "dark matter"
    • Mikel Susperregi, "Overconstrained Dynamics in Galaxy Redshift Surveys," Astrophysical Journal 563 (December 20, 2001), 473-482.
  • Confirmation of Solar age
    • J. E. Lawler, "Improved Laboratory Transition Parameters for Eu II and Application to the Solar Europium Elemental and Istopic Composition," Astrophysical Journal 563 (December 20, 2001), 1075-1088.
• Call-In Questions
  • Cole from Ft. Worth, TX wanted to ask Hugh if he's heard about an article in Science about evidence for early plants.
  • George from Pasadena, CA called to ask Hugh if he's heard of a new magazine, called Research News.
  • Cameron, an illustrator at Science magazine, wanted to know: What is Dr. Ross's scriptural evidence that we are still in the 7th creation day? What other Hebrew word could be used to communicate a "long" day besides "yom?" For more about these issues, Dr. Ross recommends, The Genesis Debate.
  • Mike from Columbus, IN asked: Does Hugh know that Answers in Genesis uses quotes from Hugh's books in their video series?
• E-mail Questions
  • Keven asked what Fuz thought about Jack Cuozzo's book, Buried Alive, and his hypothesis that Neanderthals are human. To learn more about RTB's model for human origins, Dr. Ross recommends our television series, "Who was Adam?"
  • Paul wanted to know: Has Dr. Ross read the book, Creation and Time, which rebuts his books of the same title?
  • Andy asked: Aren't counter-rotating planets in the solar system evidence against the "big bang" model? Dr. Ross's television debate with Kent Hovind on the John Ankerberg Show is available through our web store (DVD).

• Discoveries Discussed
  • Population 3 stars
    • I. Baraffe and H. Heger and S.E. Woosley, "On the stability of very massive primodial stars," The Astrophysical Journal 550 (April 1, 2001), 890-896.
    • C. Abria and I. Dominguez et al., "The implications of the new Z = 0 stellar models and yields on the early metal pollution of the intergalactic medium," The Astrophysical Journal 557 (August 10, 2001), 126-136.
    • Kazuyuki Omukai and Francesco Palla, "On the formation of massive primordial stars," The Astrophysical Journal 561 (November 1, 2001), L55-L58.
    • S. Peng Oh, Kenneth M. Nollett, Piero Madau, and G.J. Wasserburg, "Did very massive stars preenrich and reionize the universe?" The Astrophysical Journal 562 (November 20, 2001), L1-L4.
    • Martin J. Rees, "How the Cosmic Dark Age Ended," Science 295 (January 4, 2002), 51-53.
    • Tom Abel, Greg L. Bryan, Michael L. Normon, "The Formation of the First Star in the Universe," Science 295 (January 4, 2002), 93-98.
    • A. Heger, S.E. Woosley, The Astrophysical Journal (currently available at http://xxx.lanl.gov/abs/astro-ph/0107037)
  • Ochre discovered in S. Africa dated at 75,000 years ago
    • Christopher S. Henshilwood et al., "Emergence of Modern Human Behavior: Middle Stone Age Engravings from South Africa," Science Express (2002).
    • Christopher S. Henshilwood et al., "An Early Bone Tool Industry from the Middle Stone Age at Blombos Cave, South Africa: Implications for the Origins of Modern Human Behavior, Symbolism and Language," Journal of Human Evolution 41 (2001), 631-678.
  • Sugars in the Merchanson and Murray meteorites
    • Mark A. Sephton, "Life Sweet Beginnings," Nature 414 (December 20/27, 2001), 857-858.
    • R. Cowen, "Did Space Rocks Deliver Sugar?" Science News 160 (December 22 & 29, 2001), 388.
    • George Cooper et al., "Carbonaceous meteorites as a source of sugar-related organic compounds for the early Earth," Nature 414 (December 20/27, 2001), 879-883.
• Call-In Questions
  • Tim from Littleton, CO wanted Hugh and Fuz to respond to recent news reports about scientists pushing human origins back to 75,000 years ago. Listen to Dr. Ross explain more about thermal luminescence dating on a past radio program #239.
  • Colin from Irondale, AL called to clarify the Roman Catholic position about evolution.
  • Ian from Santa Clarita wanted to get Dr. Ross's perspective on another argument for the acceleration of light travel. For more about this issue, Dr. Ross recommends our audio cassette, "Unraveling Starlight and Time" (Creation Update audio cassette, air-date 06-03-2000), or past radio program #136. A technical paper responding to the cosmology of Russell Humphreys is also available through our online store.
  • Baruch from Toledo, OH asked: What does the word "yom" mean?
  • Kenny from Milton, FL: How does RTB's creation model account for scientific evidence that humans ate animals before the flood, while God doesn't allow humans to eat meat until Genesis 9?
• E-mail Questions
  • William asked a follow-up about Hugh's discussion of Population 3 stars.
  • Bill T. from Kenai, Alaska: Have you read Michael Behe's book, Darwin's
    Black Box? Do you find his book is accurate and responsible? Behe's book is available through our webstore.
  • Cameron, an illustrator at Science magazine, wanted to know: What is RTB's documentation that the vela supernova made any change in the amount of cosmic rays that the earth is bathed in?
  • Kevin B., an RTB apologist, asked: Do ice cores in Antarctica provide evidence for the Vela supernova?
  • David wanted Hugh to respond to something he heard on Art Bell: Could hyperdimensions account for global warming on Mars?

• Discoveries Discussed
  • Fine-tuning of the earth's dynamo (core)
    • Jihad Touma and Jack Wisdom, "Non-Linear Core-Mantle Coupling," The Astronomical Journal 122 (August, 2001), 1030-1050.
    • Gerald Schubert and Keke Zhang, "Effects of an Electrically Conducting Inner Core on Planetary and Stellar Dynamos," The Astronomical
      Journal 557 (2001), 930-942.
  • 2 new tests for the principle of General Relativity
    • Sudip Bhattacharyya et al. "General Relativistic Spectra of Accretion Disks Around Rotating Neutron Stars," The Astrophysical Journal 550 (April 1, 2001), 841-845.
    • S.W. Bruenn and K.R. De Nisco, "General Relativistic Effects in the Core Collapse Supernova Mechanism," The Astrophysical Journal 560 (October 10, 2001), 326-338.
  • Haplotype diversity on chromosome 21
    • Nila Patil et al., "Blocks of Limited Haplotype Diversity Revealed by High-Resolution Scanning of Human Chromosome 21," Science 294 (November 23, 2001), 1719-1723.
    • Pui-Yan Kwok, "Genetic Association by Whole-Genome Analysis?" Science 294 (November 23, 2001), 1669-1670.
    • Anne C. Stone et al., "High levels of Y-chromosomme nucleotide diversity in the genus Pan," PNAS 99 (January 8, 2002), 43-48.
  • Y-chromosome study on chimpanzee genetic diversity
    • Asao Fujiyama et al., "Construction and Analysis of a Human-Chimpanzee Comparative Clone Map," Science 295 (January 4, 2002), 131-134.
• Call-In Questions
  • Ian from Santa Clarita wanted to get some clarification on the differences between Cro-Magnon man and Neanderthals? To learn more about RTB's position on the origin of man, Dr. Ross recommends our video series, "Who was Adam?"
  • Jim from Colorado Springs asked: At what point in history did the idea of a 24-hour creationism become such a dogmatic view? For more on this, Dr. Ross recommends the book Ronald Numbers's book, The Creationists.
  • George from Pasadena wanted to get some clarification on an issue he heard discussed in Dr. Ross's debate with Kent Hovind on the John Ankerberg Show: Can you explain more about measuring the distance between quasars and trignometric parallax? To order The Ankerberg Debate please visit our webstore (DVD).
• E-mail Questions
  • Kay wanted to know what resources to pass along to an atheist friend who is scientifically minded. Hugh recommends his book, The Creator and the Cosmos, 3rd Edition and The Genesis Question.
  • Rob wanted Hugh and Fuz to comment about the plausibility of a natural explanation for rapid recoveries after mass extinction events that he's heard about.
  • Alejandro, an RTB apologist in Argentina, wanted to know: Does Dr. Ross think the scientific evidence for God will continue to increase in the coming years?
  • Kristen H. wanted to know how Christians account for "sub-human" (bi-pedal primates) skeletons that scientists have found. To learn more about RTB's position on the origin of man, Dr. Ross recommends our book, "Who was Adam?," as well as Dr. Rana's article, "The Leap to Two Feet," in Issue 8 of FACTS for FAITH.
  • Wendy wanted Hugh and Fuz to clarify the difference between progressive creationists and theistic evolutionists. To order Hugh and Fuz's interview with theistic evolutionist Keith Miller, please visit call our main office at 800.482.7836.