Today's New Reason To Believe Archives

January 2006

Today’s New Reason To Believe-Tuesday, January 31, 2006
Using Chemical Signatures to Determine Star Formation Sites

  • Astronomers continue to develop a new tool that can test for supernatural fine-tuning by determining the location where stars were born. Using high-resolution spectra of stars in the Hyades open cluster, astronomers were able to determine that the stars in the cluster had a high degree of chemical homogeneity. If this result holds for all open clusters, as one would expect, then it is possible to tag stars as being formed in the same cluster-even after the cluster has dispersed. It would potentially be possible to find stars that were part of the cluster from which the sun was born. If so, astronomers would be able to confirm or falsify the proposition that our solar system is fine-tuned by a supernatural Creator to support life.
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Today’s New Reason To Believe-Monday, January 30, 2006
Biochemical Design: Molecular Motors

  • One of the most remarkable advances in the last two decades of biochemical research is the recognition that some biomolecules inside the cell function as molecular-sized machines. Two such molecular machines are the F1-F0 and V1-V0 ATPases. These two protein complexes are literal rotary motors, comprised of a stator, rotor, drive shaft, cam, and turbine. New research, which identifies operational similarities and differences between the two motors, highlights their machine-like operation. The British natural theologian William Paley argued that just as a watch requires a watchmaker, so too, life logically requires a Creator, since biological systems appear to be machine-like. When these systems display such elegant design and stark resemblance to man-made motors, they add vigor to Paley’s argument and indicate that biomolecular machines like the F1-F0 and V1-V0 ATPases must be the work of a divine "Motor Maker."
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Today’s New Reason To Believe-Sunday, January 29, 2006
Further Validation of E=mc2

  • A team of international physicists has provided further confirmation of the best-known prediction of the theory of relativity, thereby strengthening RTB’s cosmic creation model. Arguably the most well-known aspect of Einstein’s theory of relativity is the equation E=mc2. Recent measurements of gamma-ray decays of sulfur and silicon isotopes show that the relationship between energy and mass holds to a level of 0.00004%, which is 55 times more accurate than previous tests. Few, if any, scientists expect this well-known equation to be proven incorrect, but confidence in the theory of relativity (upon which RTB’s cosmic creation model is based) grows with each affirmation of its validity.
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Today’s New Reason To Believe-Saturday, January 28, 2006
Complexity of Extremophilic Life

  • The completed genome of a microbe that thrives at high temperatures and utilizes carbon monoxide as its sole carbon source exposes problems for high-temperature origin-of-life scenarios. The existence of microbes at deep-sea hydrothermal vents, hot springs, and in volcanoes (called extremophiles because they thrive in extreme environments) suggests to some origin-of-life researchers that life could have originated at high-temperature environments, using gases, like carbon monoxide, produced in these environments. This study provides insight into the requirements for an extremophilic origin of life by measuring the complexity of a representative thermophilic hydrogenogen (a microbe that produces hydrogen as a metabolic by-product). Researchers studied Carboxydothermus hydrogenoformans and discovered that 2,646 genes make up its genome. This study also reveals the metabolic sophistication required to effectively use carbon monoxide as a carbon source. While 2,646 genes is not likely to be the minimum hydrogenogen genome size, it does give some sense of the extensive complexity of carbon monoxide-dependent thermophiles. The apparent metabolic complexity of the simplest high-temperature life-forms makes a naturalistic explanation for life’s origin unlikely.
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Today’s New Reason To Believe-Friday, January 27, 2006
Mars Rover Results Reveal Inhospitable Origin-of-Life Chemistry

  • Recent evidence from one of the Mars rovers provides additional support for a supernatural Creator fashioning a life-support planet like Earth. The most thorough analysis of data obtained by the rover named Opportunity showed that early conditions on Mars were "sometimes wet, strongly acidic and oxidizing. Those conditions probably posed stiff challenges to the origin of Martian life." The rover scientists further concluded that the chemical reactions necessary for starting life could not have happened in the region where Opportunity was exploring. Thus, even assuming a solar system where life is abundant on one planet does not mean that any other part of the solar system will be hospitable to life. These results are consistent with the thought of a supernatural Designer preparing a fit habitat for life.
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Today’s New Reason To Believe-Thursday, January 26, 2006
Challenge to Biological Evolution: Convergence

  • Another example of unrelated organisms that share similar traits confounds the evolutionary paradigm. According to Stephen Jay Gould’s concept of historical contingency, evolution should not produce the same outcome repeatedly, since evolution’s mechanism relies on a sequence of chance events. Yet this new study shows that from an evolutionary perspective, dynamin-mediated endocytosis arose independently multiple times. Endocytosis describes how the cell ingests substances from the exterior environment by folding the cell membrane inwardly to form vesicles. In complex multicellular animals, the protein dynamin plays a role in endocytosis by inducing the fission of vesicles from the cell membrane. However, new research indicates that from an evolutionary perspective, dynamin-mediated endocytosis arose independently in single-celled ciliates as well. This newly discovered example of convergence disputes the veracity of evolution, but validates the RTB creation model, which explains that a Creator repeatedly used the same good designs as He brought new life-forms into existence.
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Today’s New Reason To Believe-Wednesday, January 25, 2006
Science Without Experimental Verification?

  • Increasing scientific support for nontestable naturalistic models argues for the recognition of testable supernatural models. One criticism scientists often level against claims for supernatural causation is that it is not experimentally verifiable. "You cannot put God in a test tube!" they state. However, many scientists such as Leonard Susskind enthusiastically support the idea that there are many universes, or multiverses, outside of the one in which we live, even though these multiverses, by definition, lie beyond direct experimental verification. In contrast, RTB’s creation model appeals to a supernatural causal Agent but outlines a number of ways to verify that Agent’s work. Certainly, if the unverifiable multiverses are part of the scientific domain, RTB’s testable creation model belongs there as well.
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Today’s New Reason To Believe-Tuesday, January 24, 2006
Ancient Molecule Analysis Proves Efficacious

  • A new study illustrates how advances in ancient molecule analysis can be used to gain understanding about the biology of past organisms. Often this insight can provide a powerful test for evolutionary models and RTB’s creation model. For example, ancient DNA studies have already indicated that Neanderthals lack a genetic and, hence, evolutionary connection to modern humans. In this recent study researchers examined carbon and nitrogen isotope ratios in proteins (collagen and keratin) taken from living and ancient remains of condors and their prey. From these ratios they infer that significant changes in the condor’s dietary habits took place over the last 35,000 years. Similar work examining collagen nitrogen and carbon isotopes has been performed for Neanderthals and modern humans. Results from these studies indicate dietary and, likely, cognitive differences between the two species. This new study adds to the validity of previous work and helps pave the way for more studies along these lines.
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Today’s New Reason To Believe-Monday, January 23, 2006
Additional Support for Fine-Tuned Moon Impactor Event

  • Scientists studying metals in the moon have found additional evidence for the fine-tuned impact event (wherein a Mars-sized collider struck Earth) that formed the moon. Earlier research to determine a precise date for the formation of the moon using long half-life radioisotopes had determined the date to be only between 4.56 and 4.29 billion years ago. Recent research by a team of European scientists, looking at the short half-life radioisotope system hafnium-tungsten (Hf-W), determined the moon formation date to be 4.527 +/- 0.010 billion years ago. This date is 30-50 million years after the origin of the solar system, including the asteroids and Mars. Therefore, this result confirms that the moon’s formation is a unique event as required by the giant impactor hypothesis. The many just-right features that comprise the lunar origin seem no accident of evolution.
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    • Journey Toward Creation, 2nd ed., by Hugh Ross (DVD)

Today’s New Reason To Believe-Sunday, January 22, 2006
Biochemical Design: Molecular Motors

  • New insight into the design and function of one of nature’s tiny motors provides evidence for design. Myosin, one of two proteins responsible for muscle contraction, is a linear motor that comes with a literal lever arm and hinge. Researchers have learned more about the machinelike operation of myosin, in association with the proteins actin, troponin, and tropomyosin, during contraction of striated muscles. The elegance and efficiency found at the molecular level evoke the work of British natural theologian William Paley, who argued that just as a watch requires a watchmaker, so too, life logically requires a Creator, since biological systems appear to be machinelike.
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Today’s New Reason To Believe-Saturday, January 21, 2006
Confirmation of Dark Matter Clustering

  • Research from a team of astronomers provides additional confirmation of RTB’s cosmic creation model. Simulations of the early universe show that dark matter clumping is the initial step in galaxy formation. These dark matter clumps then attract the normal matter that makes up the luminous galaxies that astronomers see. However, because dark matter emits no radiation, it is difficult to verify this prediction. Recently a team of international astronomers mapped the dark matter density in a distant galaxy cluster and confirmed that the luminous galaxies are coincident with concentrations of dark matter. This result presents another confirmation of the scientific cosmic creation model developed by RTB.
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Today’s New Reason To Believe-Friday, January 20, 2006
Biochemical Design: Organization of Simplest Life

  • New understanding of the internal organization of bacterial magnetosomes provides evidence for design. Magnetosomes are membrane-bound, ultrapure magnetite crystals produced by magnetotactic bacteria. They arrange inside the cell into filaments. Magnetosome chains align with Earth’s magnetic field to help direct the bacteria into growth-favoring zones. Until now researchers lacked understanding as to why magnetosomes form chain-like structures, since the tendency should be for these structures to clump into aggregates. New research indicates that the mamJ protein associates with both the surface of magnetosomes and protein filaments distributed throughout the cell. According to the researchers who made this discovery, "Magnetosome architecture represents one of the highest structural levels achieved in prokaryotic [bacterial] cells." This exquisite internal organization of the simplest life-forms serves as a marker for biochemical design and suggests the work of an intelligent Designer.
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Today’s New Reason To Believe-Thursday, January 19, 2006
Limits on Space Energy Density Variation

  • The first results from a new supernova survey affirm the work of a superintelligent Designer who is responsible for the formation and development of the universe. The existence of space energy density is well supported by astronomical data, but scientists are still unsure about its nature. Due to the exquisite fine-tuning apparent in the value of the space energy density, some scientists have theorized that its value is not constant but has changed over time. A new supernova survey shows that the value of the space energy density has changed by no more than 10%. This small potential for variation has no effect on the exquisite fine-tuning. While some skeptics hope that the degree of fine-tuning will diminish as scientists’ understanding of the cosmos increases, RTB’s creation model predicts that the degree of fine-tuning will continue to grow.
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    • Journey Toward Creation, 2nd ed., by Hugh Ross (DVD)

Today’s New Reason To Believe-Wednesday, January 18, 2006
Biochemical Design: Information

  • Research into the cell’s information-processing systems provides new evidence that a Creator has shaped the cell’s chemical systems. In eukaryotes (protozoans, fungi, plants, and animals) a single gene can specify several different proteins. This process is achieved through alternative splicing of messenger RNA. Researchers have learned more about the role that the messenger RNA structure plays in regulating the splicing process. In protein production the cell’s machinery copies the information contained in DNA in the form of messenger RNA. The cell’s machinery, in turn, uses the information delineated in messenger RNA to produce proteins. After copying messenger RNA, the cell’s machinery excises parts of the molecule and splices the remaining pieces together. Alternative splicing yields messenger RNA molecules with different information content that can be used to direct the production of different proteins. Messenger RNA splicing patterns play a key role in gene expression and vary from cell to cell and tissue to tissue. Experience teaches that information stems from intelligent sources. The elegant, information-rich biochemical systems of the cell point to the source of life’s information¾the Creator described in the Bible.
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Today’s New Reason To Believe-Tuesday, January 17, 2006
Noble Gases are not so Unreactive

  • New understanding of noble gas behavior may solve a long-standing mystery surrounding the atmospheric abundance of xenon. Xenon is a noble gas and has similar properties to its lighter weight cousins helium, neon, and argon. Most notable among those properties is its chemical unreactivity. However, this poses a problem because xenon should be as abundant in the atmosphere as other noble gases when, in fact, it is highly depleted. A group of German scientists discovered that xenon reacts with silicate materials under high temperature and pressure. This find implies that xenon was incorporated into crustal rocks, thus explaining the depletion of atmospheric xenon. This discovery confirms the model of Earth’s formation outlined in RTB’s creation model.
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Today’s New Reason To Believe-Monday, January 16, 2006
Biochemical Design: "Quality Is Job One"

  • Researchers have uncovered more evidence for biochemical design by describing how cells destroy bad proteins. Many biochemical operations inside the cell employ quality control procedures and, hence, appear to be designed. One such system involves the destruction of proteins that are damaged, no longer useful, or improperly produced by the cell. This destruction process is critical for the cell if it is to maintain proper biochemical operations. Researchers interested in identifying the function that specific proteins play in the cell have recently exploited the cell’s protein destruction processes to systematically target and disable proteins. By characterizing cell defects that result when a protein is disabled, researchers gain insight into its function. This insight yields quality control. Well-designed, man-made systems include quality control checkpoints at critical junctures to ensure efficient production of high-quality products. Similarly, as biochemists continue to characterize the cell’s chemical systems, the evidence for a Designer mounts.
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Today’s New Reason To Believe-Sunday, January 15, 2006
Fluorine Sources in Globular Clusters Offer No Help

  • Recent studies of globular clusters (dense clusters of stars) provide additional evidence for the work of a Divine Designer in the formation of the solar system. Fluorine is a life-essential element that is difficult to produce by astrophysical processes. One place it has been found is in red giant stars in the globular cluster M4. Researchers show that fluorine production decreases as star mass increases. However, stellar lifetimes increase as star mass decreases. These two results constrain the types of red giant stars that can produce fluorine. These stars must produce ample fluorine, but they must do so in a short enough time to enrich the solar nebula with the fluorine scientists have measured. Fine-tuned processes reveal the signature of a supernatural Designer who prepared a fit habitat for life to flourish.
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Today’s New Reason To Believe-Saturday, January 14, 2006
Biochemical Design: Molecular Optimization of Chemotaxis

  • New insight into the operation of the chemotaxis system of the bacterium, Escherichia coli, provides another illustration of molecular optimization. The bacterial chemotaxis system allows microbes to respond to chemical signals in the environment. The system consists of receptor proteins that bind chemical compounds from the environment and in turn elicit chemical changes inside the cell through a biochemical network. These biochemical changes allow the microbe to move either toward or away from the chemical signal. New research, based on theoretical modeling and experimental measurements, demonstrates that chemotaxis in E. coli is optimal in terms of its performance relative to resource cost. In fact, it appears as if the principles that govern chemotaxis in E. coli are universally true for other microbial chemosensory systems. Optimization is a hallmark of well-designed, man-made devices. Likewise, the optimized fine-tuning of biochemical systems signifies that life originated from a Creator’s hand.
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Today’s New Reason To Believe-Friday, January 13, 2006
Dwarf Galaxies Show Fine Tuning

  • Recent studies of a nearby cluster of stars provide additional design evidence in the formation and history of the Milky Way Galaxy (MWG). Results from the study of the Canis Major cluster of stars indicate that this cluster is the remnant of a dwarf galaxy collision with the MWG. These collisions are significant because they enrich the supply of gas in the MWG and drive star formation, both of which are important for maintaining the galaxy’s spiral structure. However, the number of collisions and the size of the colliding galaxies must be fine-tuned to avoid the gravitational disruptions catastrophic to any life-supporting planetary systems. This fine-tuning is expected in RTB’s creation model, which posits that a supernatural Creator planned for the existence of a life-supporting planet such as Earth.
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    • Journey Toward Creation, 2nd ed., by Hugh Ross (DVD)

Today’s New Reason To Believe-Thursday, January 12, 2006
Biochemical Design: Information

  • New research into the cell’s information-processing systems provides evidence for intelligent design. Researchers have learned more about the mechanism that the cell employs to achieve differential splicing of messenger RNA. In eukaryotes (protozoans, fungi, plants, and animals) a single gene can specify several different proteins. This process is achieved through alternative splicing of messenger RNA, during which the cell’s machinery copies the information contained in DNA in the form of messenger RNA and then uses this information to produce proteins. After copying messenger RNA, the cell’s machinery excises parts of the molecule and splices the remaining pieces together. Alternative splicing yields messenger RNA molecules with different information content that can be used to direct the production of different proteins. Messenger RNA splicing patterns play a key role in gene expression and vary from cell to cell and tissue to tissue. This elegant, information-rich biochemical system points to the source of life’s information¾the Creator described in the Bible.
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Today’s New Reason To Believe-Wednesday, January 11, 2006
Distance Measurement Confirms Previous Measurements

  • New distance measurements provide additional support for RTB’s cosmic creation model. Accurate measurements to distant objects comprise one vital component for understanding how the universe developed. Recent measurements of supernova 1987a currently provide the calibration of extragalactic distances. New direct measurements of groups of certain stars in more distant galaxies confirm the values based on the calibrated distance ladder, which gives astronomers greater confidence in the validity of all distance measurements. As additional data are gathered, the scientific basis for RTB’s cosmic creation model gains strength.
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    • Journey Toward Creation, 2nd ed., by Hugh Ross (DVD)

Today’s New Reason To Believe-Tuesday, January 10, 2006
"Junk" DNA: A Treasure Trove of Function

  • A new study indicates the functional importance of "junk" DNA. This type of noncoding DNA has become an icon of evolution because it is described as an imperfection. And imperfections in nature would be expected in an evolutionary model. Numerous recent studies, however, have identified function for many types of junk DNA. This new study identifies various noncoding or junk DNA sequences in the human genome that are conserved when compared to the corresponding regions in the genomes of a wide range of vertebrates. This sequence conservation implies that these noncoding DNA sequences play a role in the operation of the genome. Rather than the residue of random biochemical events, junk DNA points to the planning of an intelligent Designer.
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Today’s New Reason To Believe-Monday, January 9, 2006
Fluorine Sources Reveal Design in Solar System Formation

  • As scientists better understand astrophysical sources of fluorine, the case for fine-tuning in the formation of the solar system grows stronger. Fluorine is an element essential for life, yet it is remarkably difficult to produce and distribute in the universe. Recent results indicate that the death throes of a particular class of stars are the most likely location to inject fluorine into the regions where stars can form. Many of these stars are necessary to produce the amount of fluorine found in the solar system. A number of different supernovae are also necessary to account for other elements found in the solar system. The likelihood that all the necessary stars were dying at just the right time and at just the right distances from the solar nebula is too small to be properly attributed to natural processes. These conditions are perfectly consistent with the idea of a supernatural Creator intervening to make sure that a planet capable of supporting life exists.
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Today’s New Reason To Believe-Sunday, January 8, 2006
Biochemical Design: Molecular Motors

  • Scientific advance continues to reveal the design and precision of molecular machines. One such molecular motor is kinesin, which performs like a Brownian ratchet (generating directional movement by controlling random diffusion). New research shows more of the machine-like operation of this tiny, amazing motor. British natural theologian William Paley argued that just as a watch requires a watchmaker, so too, life logically requires a Creator, since biological systems appear to be machine-like. On this basis, the elegant design and stark resemblance to man-made motors indicates that biomolecular machines, like kinesin, must be the work of a divine "Motor Maker."
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Today’s New Reason To Believe-Saturday, January 7, 2006
Few Major Galaxy Collisions in the Local Group

  • Measurements of the motions of galaxies near the Milky Way Galaxy (MWG) give additional support for a superintelligent Designer creating and maintaining a place like Earth where life can thrive. Collisions of galaxies are generally catastrophic for any location (like Earth) capable of supporting life. The gravitational disruptions would almost certainly destroy the planetary system where the life support planet is located. Recent measurements of the galaxies near the MWG show that there have been no recent large-galaxy collisions with our galaxy and that none will occur for the next few billion years. The evidence supporting a supernatural Creator increases with scientists’ understanding of the cosmos.
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    • Journey Toward Creation, 2nd ed., by Hugh Ross (DVD)

Today’s New Reason To Believe-Friday, January 6, 2006
Biochemical Design: Organization of Simplest Life

  • The long-held view that bacteria represented "containers" of haphazardly arranged molecules continues to erode in light of recent advances. Microbiologists now understand that these simplest of life-forms possess a remarkable degree of internal organization at the molecular level. New research describes the structure and mechanism of operation for the proteins ParA and ParB, which play a key role in localizing plasmids (extra pieces of circular DNA in bacterial cells). These proteins segregate DNA into daughter cells during the process of cell division. This dynamic internal organization of such simple life-forms serves as a marker for biochemical design. A biblical creation model anticipates such wonders as the work of a Creator who is responsible for life.
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Today’s New Reason To Believe-Thursday, January 5, 2006
Planets in Triple Star Systems Affirm Design of the Solar System

  • Planets found in a multiple-star system further illuminate the uniqueness of the solar system in supporting a planet like Earth. A "hot Jupiter" was found orbiting the primary component of a triple star system. Two scientists studying the possible formation mechanisms determined that the star/planet system likely formed in isolation and then joined the triple system during an encounter with an open star cluster. Instead of providing evidence that planetary systems capable of supporting life are common and easily formed, this system demonstrates the various processes that can disrupt many characteristics of life-supporting solar systems. Gathering data reveals the special environment surrounding the formation of Earth’s solar system.
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January 1-4 coming soon.