Today's New Reason To Believe Archives

March 2006

Today’s New Reason To Believe-Friday, March 31, 2006
Biochemical Design: Quality Control

Today’s New Reason To Believe-Thursday, March 30, 2006
Knowledge of Geometry Inherent to Humanity

  • Researchers have found more evidence that supports RTB’s model for the special creation of humans. RTB’s model predicts that man’s capacity for thought and religious expression existed independent of any environmental factors that might drive its development. This implies that all people have the capacity for advanced mathematical tools, regardless of any background to use that capacity. A team of international scientists studied an isolated group of Amazonian villagers who were without schooling, language, or experience in working with geometrical concepts. The team found that both adults and children in the group exhibited geometrical intuitions. These results support the idea that a supernatural Creator endowed humanity with capacities not required by any environmental forces.
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Today’s New Reason To Believe-Wednesday, March 29, 2006
Biochemical Design: Molecular Motors

  • New research on a tiny flagellar motor adds weight to a nineteenth-century design argument. 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. One such molecular machine is the bacterial flagellar motor. This protein complex literally functions as a rotary motor, and comes with a motor’s parts: a stator, rotor, drive shaft, bushing, and universal joint. New research, which examines the relationship between motor speed and torque, provides more understanding of the machine-like operation of this 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. Twenty-first century science continues to add vigor to Paley’s argument by uncovering more examples of the elegant design and efficiency of these biomolecular machines.
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Today’s New Reason To Believe-Tuesday, March 28, 2006
Zircon Crystals Confirm Continental Growth Spurts

  • Studies of continental crustal growth using zircons confirm RTB’s interpretation of the Genesis chronology. RTB’s model holds that the creation account of Genesis 1 states that the bulk of continental growth occurs after the formation of a stable water cycle on Day two and before the introduction of land-dwelling plants on Day three. Analysis of different radioactive and stable isotopes in zircon crystals confirms that only two major periods of continental growth occurred 1.9 and 3.3 billion years ago. Both of these epochs nestle in between the formation of a stable water cycle over 3.5 billion years ago and the introduction of multicellular life forms 500 million years ago. Additionally, the ocean depth on Earth assures a long-standing, large amount of continental land, which enables a more diverse biosphere than a world covered in water. Taken together, these results point to the design of a supercaring Creator preparing a robust, healthy habitat capable of supporting a diverse biosphere.
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Today’s New Reason To Believe-Monday, March 27, 2006
Man-Made Molecular Motors Highlight Elegant Design of Nature’s Motors

  • A man-made molecular motor shows just how amazing nature’s motors are by comparison. Scientists have synthesized a tiny motor that shuttles a rotaxane ring (a ring in the center of a dumbbell-shaped molecule) along a molecular "track." Even though this work could be considered "science at its very best," the newly developed linear motor’s operation is crude and cumbersome. This motor stands in sharp contrast to the incredibly complex, efficient, and elegant linear motors (like myosin) found inside the cell. It makes little sense to regard the molecular motors inside the cell as the product of blind, undirected, random processes when they are far superior to anything the best chemists in the world can produce.
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Today’s New Reason To Believe-Sunday, March 26, 2006
Stable Optical Clock Argues for Old Universe

  • Measurements of a pulsating white dwarf star confirm RTB’s cosmic creation model and argue against a young cosmos. Scientists measured the rate of change of a spinning white dwarf exhibiting the most stable optical pulsations of any known astronomical object. The spin-down rate matched predictions from cooling rates in white dwarf models, thereby confirming its history as a burned-out star. These results provide additional support that scientists have a good understanding of how stars form, live, and die. Further, unless a Creator chose to put remnants of dead stars in the cosmos to fool unwitting astronomers, this result argues against a young universe.
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    • Journey Toward Creation, 2nd ed., by Hugh Ross (DVD)

Today’s New Reason To Believe-Saturday, March 25, 2006
Biochemical Design: Proteins with Machine-Like Parts

  • A team of biochemists has identified another example of a molecular machine that suggests the work of a divine "Motor Maker." One of the most remarkable advances in the last two decades of biochemical research is the recognition that some biomolecules inside the cell are made up of components that are strict analogs to the components used in man-made devices. Scientists have been studying ankyrin repeats, which are super-helical structural domains found within a large number of proteins. Their research indicates that the ankyrin super-helix is a spring that plays a role in mechanotransduction. The impressive design led researchers to think that the ankyrin spring will have utility in man-made nanodevices. Nearly two hundred years ago, 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. Modern research continues to show how perceptive Paley was as scientists learn more about the elegant design and efficiency of nature’s tiny machines.
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Today’s New Reason To Believe-Friday, March 24, 2006
Fault Melt Lubricates Earthquake Slipping

  • New understanding of earthquake faults provides additional evidence of a super-caring Designer crafting Earth as a suitable habitat for complex life. Long-standing plate tectonics serves a critical role in sustaining the habitability of a planet. However, large, complex organisms like humans are particularly susceptible to damage caused by great earthquakes. A team of international scientists has shown how rock-melting that occurs during earthquakes serves as a lubricant during fault movement. This means that a larger amount of tectonic stress dissipates during smaller earthquakes. Consequently, complex organisms are not subjected to larger, more devastating earthquakes that would occur without this lubrication. Such effects are consistent with RTB’s creation model, which posits that a super-intelligent Designer has fine-tuned plate tectonics for the benefit of human life.
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    • Journey Toward Creation, 2nd ed., by Hugh Ross (DVD)

Today’s New Reason To Believe-Thursday, March 23, 2006
Biochemical Design: Molecular Motors

  • New understanding of one of nature’s molecular machines, kinesin Ncd, strengthens a classic design argument for God’s existence. 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. One such molecular machine is kinesin Ncd, a protein complex that functions as a Brownian ratchet (a machine that generates movement by restricting molecular motion to a single direction). It is a linear motor that comes with a lever arm. New research examines the mechanical basis of power generation in the kinesin Ncd. Scientists have learned more about the machine-like operation of this motor, uncovering its elegance and efficiency. It was the 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 machine-like. Paley’s nineteenth-century argument continues to receive twenty-first century confirmations.
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Today’s New Reason To Believe-Wednesday, March 22, 2006
Quantum Foam May Not Be So Bubbly

  • A team of astronomers has found evidence that supports RTB’s cosmic creation model and provides the first experimental constraint on quantum gravity theories. The two most experimentally verified theories in science are quantum mechanics and general relativity. Most models that attempt to unify these theories to describe the early universe predict that space is not smooth on very small scales, but instead looks like a "quantum foam." However, a telescope artifact in an image of a distant quasar places constraints on the frothiness of the quantum foam. The existence of an Airy ring (a diffraction pattern named after Sir George Airy) around the quasar rules out randomly varying quantum foams. At the same time, the ring confirms the smoothness of space out to great distances, thus providing further confirmation of the theory of general relativity. Any confirmation of general relativity also provides additional support for RTB’s cosmic creation model.
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Today’s New Reason To Believe-Tuesday, March 21, 2006
The Brain’s Gray and White Matter: Optimal Design

  • A new study explains why the vertebrate brain consists of both gray and white matter and provides evidence for biological intelligent design. A defining feature of the vertebrate brain is its separation into gray and white matter. The neural machinery of gray matter is responsible for local wiring in the brain, while white matter functions in global brain communications. It’s conceivable that local and global connections in the brain could be intermixed. But why is the brain segregated? Is it an accidental evolutionary outcome? Through mathematical modeling, researchers have demonstrated that separation of gray and white matter provides the brain with an optimal design (compared with alternative possibilities). Separation allows for high interconnectivity among the brains neurons and minimizes conduction delays (the time it takes for electrical signals in the brain to travel from one neuron to another.) Thus vertebrate brain structure appears designed for optimum efficiency, and accidental processes seem highly improbable. The optimized brain structure revealed through this recent study would be expected in a creation model positing that life is the product of a Creator’s hand.
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Today’s New Reason To Believe-Monday, March 20, 2006
More Evidence for Kuiper Belt

  • Measurements of a recently discovered object beyond the orbit of Neptune confirm its status as a Kuiper Belt object, strengthening RTB’s cosmic creation model while weakening a long-standing young-earth argument. Solar system formation models and measurements of solar system comets both argue for a reservoir of cometary bodies outside the orbit of Neptune called the Kuiper belt. Alternatively, some young-earth creationists argue against a long-standing source of cometary bodies, asserting that short-period comets (objects with an orbital period of less than 200 years) indicate a few-thousand-years-old solar system. As telescopes have increased in power, astronomers have found numerous Kuiper Belt objects-including recently discovered UB313, which exceeds Pluto’s size. RTB’s creation model predicts that future observations will discover even smaller objects in the Kuiper Belt that are the source of short-period comets.
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Today’s New Reason To Believe-Sunday, March 19, 2006
Biochemical Design: Information

  • A new study affirms the conclusion that life stems from an intelligent Designer. Experience teaches that intelligible messages-information-come from intelligent sources. The cell’s biochemical machinery (proteins, DNA, RNA, and oligosaccharides) is information-based. In this report researchers describe the use of DNA as a "barcode" to identify tropical butterfly species. The use of DNA as a barcode highlights the fact that DNA truly is an information storage molecule. As scientific advance uncovers the elegant, information-rich biochemical systems of the cell, such work testifies of the source of life’s information¾the Creator described in the Bible.
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Today’s New Reason To Believe-Saturday, March 18, 2006
Using GRBs to Probe the Young Universe

  • Astronomers used a gamma-ray burst (GRB) to probe the properties of the early universe and confirm the hot big bang picture, which forms the basis of RTB’s creation model. The Swift satellite measured the spectrum of a GRB explosion that occurred when the universe was only 3 billion years old. Using the spectra, scientists determined that the host galaxy of the GRB contained 1% of the fraction of metals (elements heavier than helium) comprising the sun even though the galaxy contained abundant dust. This result accords with a hot big bang model, where heavier elements are produced in multiple generations of stars that explode in supernovae events, spewing metals into the interstellar and intergalactic media. Thus, the hot big bang picture continues to pass each observational test, further strengthening RTB’s cosmic creation model.
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Today’s New Reason To Believe-Friday, March 17, 2006
New Methodology Identifies Even More Functional "Junk" DNA

  • Use of a new method to compare genome-wide DNA sequences indicates the functional importance of "junk" DNA. Junk or noncoding DNA has traditionally been considered a residue of the evolutionary process. Evolutionary biologists maintain that because junk DNA is an imperfection, it provides incontrovertible evidence for evolution. Numerous recent studies, however, have identified function for many types of junk DNA. This most recent study identifies numerous noncoding or junk DNA sequences in the human genome that went unrecognized in previous studies. The growing recognition of the functional importance of junk DNA indicates that careful planning by an intelligent Designer, rather than undirected, random biochemical events, shaped the genomes of organisms.
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Today’s New Reason To Believe-Thursday, March 16, 2006
SuperfastStars Used to Measure Galactic Dark Matter

  • Scientists’ studies of the dark matter distribution in the Milky Way Galaxy (MWG) can reveal the fine-tuning characteristic of a superintelligent Designer at work in the universe. Certain stars move through the MWG very quickly, and accurate measurements of these stars’ motion would permit astronomers to map out the galactic dark matter distribution. The dark matter distribution affects the prominence of galactic disks and bulges. Since life-supporting solar systems form only in very restricted regions of galactic disks, understanding the dark matter distribution is vital to determining how likely it is that the MWG supports such solar systems. RTB’s creation model predicts that the nature of the dark matter in the MWG will exhibit fine-tuning to enable a life-support solar system such as ours.
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Today’s New Reason To Believe-Wednesday, March 15, 2006
More Evidence for Early, Complex Life on Earth

  • New research presents evidence for the early appearance of complex metabolic life on Earth. RTB’s creation model for life’s origin predicts life’s sudden appearance early in Earth’s history. Evolutionary models, on the other hand, require a long percolation time before life can emerge via natural processes. Prior to about 3.8 billion years ago, life would have been impossible on Earth, since the planet’s conditions were "hellish" and unsuitable for life. Based on an analysis of carbonaceous laminations in the Buck Reef Chert (a rock formation) of South Africa, dated older than 3.4 billion years in age, researchers concluded that photosynthetic microbes existed on early Earth. The rapid appearance of these complex metabolic forms of life so soon after the earth became suitable for life defies a naturalistic explanation. This fact finds ready agreement in a model postulating that a Creator supernaturally intervened to make the first life-forms on Earth.
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Today’s New Reason To Believe-Tuesday, March 14, 2006
Confirmation of Type Ia Supernovae as Standard Candles

  • The measurement of the existence of space-energy density in the universe remains one of the most telling examples of fine-tuning consistent with the idea of a supernatural Designer at work in the universe. Astronomers use type Ia supernovae to make that measurement. However, if type Ia supernovae have changed during the history of the universe, conclusions based on these supernovae are bound to be wrong. A team of international astronomers measured spectra from a large number of distant type Ia supernovae and compared the spectra to nearby type Ia supernovae. The team found no evidence to support the idea that the nature of these supernovae changed as the universe developed, thus strengthening the conclusion that space-energy density currently dominates the dynamics of the universe. The high degree of fine-tuning required by the space-energy density strongly implies that a supernatural Creator formed and maintains the universe.
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Today’s New Reason To Believe-Monday, March 13, 2006
Early Earth’s Atmosphere Unsuitable for Production of Prebiotic Compounds

  • A technical comment published in Science raises questions about the production of prebiotic compounds on early Earth and, consequently, about naturalistic origin-of-life scenarios. A team of researchers had reported (in an earlier issue of Science) on a modeling study that indicated early Earth’s atmosphere was hydrogen-rich. This scenario would have made early Earth’s atmosphere a likely source for the production of prebiotic compounds and life’s building-block molecules. Prior to the team’s work, most in the origin-of-life community doubted if early Earth would have retained much of the hydrogen in its original primordial atmosphere, since hydrogen would readily escape into outer space. David Catling argues in his commentary that the team’s assumptions were unrealistic, and that other processes not considered by the researchers caused most of the hydrogen loss from Earth’s atmosphere. The interchange between Catling and the other scientists illustrates the difficulty of origin-of-life research. From a naturalistic perspective, researchers struggle to account for the production of life’s building blocks on early Earth. 
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Today’s New Reason To Believe-Sunday, March 12, 2006
Problem of Missing Metals Resolved for Now

  • A group of scientists has proposed a resolution to a discrepancy between predicted and observed metal (any element heavier than helium) abundances in distant galaxies in hot big bang models. Stars in the early universe tended to be massive and short-lived before exploding in supernovae events. However, observations of early galaxies failed to detect the metals produced in these supernovae. Other observations indicate less than 10% of metals reside in a cool state that would permit detection by current telescopes. If 90% of the metals reside in a hot phase in the intergalactic medium, then metal abundance predictions reconcile nicely with current observational constraints. This proposal predicts that future observations of the early intergalactic medium will reveal the metals produced during the early universe. Sound big bang models (like RTB’s creation model) provide direction for future research and predict discoveries.
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    • Journey Toward Creation, 2nd ed., by Hugh Ross (DVD)

Today’s New Reason To Believe-Saturday, March 11, 2006
Evidence for the Creation of Cats

  • New research on the origin of modern cats highlights a recurring pattern in life’s history that raises questions about the validity of natural process evolution. Modern cats (felidae) appear in the fossil record at about 11 million years ago. Researchers recently made genetic comparisons (from an evolutionary perspective) among extant cats in an attempt to understand the mode and tempo of cat evolution. This analysis indicates that modern cats appeared on Earth with explosive diversity, or what evolutionary biologists refer to as a radiation. The radiation observed for modern cats, at 11 million years ago, is typical for mammalian natural history. These types of radiations seem inconsistent with evolution’s mechanism (chance operating over time). However, such recurring radiations observed for mammals serve as a fingerprint for a Creator’s involvement in life’s history.
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Today’s New Reason To Believe-Friday, March 10, 2006
Reinforcing the Base of the Cosmological Distance Ladder

  • A team of scientists has provided support for RTB’s cosmic creation model by using a novel method to measure the distance to the Andromeda galaxy. Applying detailed measurements of the light intensity and spectra from an eclipsing binary (a two-star system that undergoes mutual eclipses) in Andromeda, the team made accurate determinations of the masses, radii, and temperatures of the binary components. This information yields an essentially complete picture of the system and allowed the scientists to determine a distance to Andromeda of 2.52 million light years with 6% error. Using other binaries in Andromeda, the astronomers hope to reduce the error below 5%. Since Andromeda is over 10 times farther than the current source used to anchor the cosmological distance ladder, the overall error on all extragalactic distance measurement will be reduced by at least a factor of two. The increased accuracy of distance measurements further ensures that RTB’s cosmic creation model, which relies on accurate distance measurements, rests on a firm foundation.
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    • Journey Toward Creation, 2nd ed., by Hugh Ross (DVD)

Today’s New Reason To Believe-Thursday, March 9, 2006
Biochemical Design: Molecular Fine-Tuning

  • New research on the structure and function of the protein, DinB DNA polymerase, illustrates the molecular fine-tuning of biochemical systems. One defining feature of the cell’s chemistry is the molecular-level precision that characterizes the structure of the cell’s biomolecules. This protein employs such molecular fine-tuning to effectively repair specific types of DNA damage. Researchers show how a single amino acid plays a central role in the protein’s operation and capacity for efficient DNA repair. Fine-tuning is a hallmark of well-designed man-made devices. Similarly, the optimized fine-tuning observed in biochemical systems signals the work of an intelligent Designer.
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Today’s New Reason To Believe-Wednesday, March 8, 2006
Using Globular Clusters to Measure Galactic Distances

  • A team of astronomers has developed a new technique to measure intergalactic distance, providing a new tool to test RTB’s cosmic creation model. Globular clusters typically contain hundreds of thousands of stars-making them visible in distant galaxies. Because of their brightness, astronomers can measure the half-light radius (the radius containing half the light from the cluster) for each cluster. After accounting for differences in the galaxy environments containing the globular clusters, the team demonstrated that the average half-light radius for all clusters in a galaxy provides a standard ruler for distance estimation to the galaxy. Astronomers can now use this new tool to test scientific models of how the universe formed and developed, including RTB’s cosmic creation model.
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    • Journey Toward Creation, 2nd ed., by Hugh Ross (DVD)

Today’s New Reason To Believe-Tuesday, March 7, 2006
Can Evolution Explain the Function of Junk DNA?

  • The implications of a new study illustrate why it’s unlikely that functional "junk" DNA sequences have an evolutionary origin. Junk DNA was once an icon of evolution. Evolutionary biologists maintained that because junk DNA is an imperfection, it provides incontrovertible evidence for evolution. Numerous recent studies, however, have identified function for many types of junk DNA, tarnishing one of evolution’s most important icons. Evolutionary biologists now maintain that functional junk DNA sequences evolved from non-functional junk DNA. A new study, however, raises questions as to how this evolution could occur. This study reveals that certain types of auditory and ophthalmological abnormalities associated with merle patterning (patches of fur color) in dogs result when retrotransposons (a type of junk DNA) insert into the SILV gene. Retrotransposons are DNA sequences that move around the genome. Evolutionary biologists think that these junk DNA sequences evolved into gene regulatory elements when they inserted into genes or regions of the genome near genes. This study indicates, however, that these insertion events can be disruptive to gene function and deleterious for the organism-in this case, dogs.
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Today’s New Reason To Believe-Monday, March 6, 2006
General Relativity Passes Another Test

  • RTB’s cosmic creation model has gained additional support as general relativity passed another test. General relativity predicts that as two massive bodies orbit each other, they emit gravitational waves that cause the orbital radius and period to decrease. Astronomers observed this decrease in a close binary system (two stars with an orbital period of 6 hours) consisting of a pulsar and a white dwarf star. Detailed analysis of this two-star system further limited how much the laws of physics can vary throughout the universe by constraining violations of the strong equivalence principle. Additionally, the measured pulsar mass restricts models of neutron stars containing exotic components such as quark stars. These results confirm the validity of general relativity-a vital part of RTB’s cosmic creation model.
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Today’s New Reason To Believe-Sunday, March 5, 2006
Convergence and the Duck-Billed Platypus

  • A new fossil mammal provides evidence for creation and against evolution. According to Stephen Jay Gould’s concept of historical contingency, evolution will not produce the same outcome repeatedly, since its mechanism relies on a sequence of chance events. Yet a new fossil find, interpreted from an evolutionary perspective, indicates that monotreme-like (monotremes are egg-laying mammals comprising the platypuses and echidnas) postcranial features emerged two times independently. From an evolutionary perspective, monotremes represent an ancient branch of the mammalian evolutionary tree. Later branching (through the therian group) produced placental and marsupial mammals. The new mammalian fossil comes from the Cretaceous period (144 to 65 million years ago) and belongs with the therians, but it possesses skeletal features found in monotremes. From an evolutionary perspective then, these features must have evolved independently. This newly discovered example of convergence challenges the veracity of evolution, but affirms a biblical creation model explaining 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-Saturday, March 4, 2006
Galactic Nucleosynthesis of Aluminum Reveals Fine-tuning

  • Studies of aluminum (26Al) production in the Milky Way Galaxy provide additional support for RTB’s creation model and the fine-tuning it predicts. Aluminum is one of many life-essential heavy elements produced by nucleosynthesis, the process by which elements are built up from protons and neutrons. 26Al decays with a half-life around 100,000 thousand years, so it serves as a good measure of nucleosynthesis in our galaxy. A team of scientists measuring the gamma-rays emitted when 26Al decays demonstrated that the sources of 26Al are distributed throughout the Milky Way Galaxy. From the abundance of aluminum astronomers also measured the number of core collapse supernovae (death explosions of massive stars) to be about two events per century. This rate exhibits fine-tuning because if it were smaller, not enough heavy elements would be distributed throughout our galaxy and incorporated into future stars. If the rate were larger, too many supernovae would occur close to the solar system, causing mass extinctions on Earth. RTB’s creation model predicts such fine-tuning as the work of a supernatural Creator who prepares a fit habitat for humanity.
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Today’s New Reason To Believe-Friday, March 3, 2006
Biochemical Design: Life’s Minimum Complexity

  • New research adds support to the notion that life is irreducibly complex, thereby confounding evolutionary models but validating RTB’s creation model. Researchers have learned that life requires close to 400 genes to exist in its bare essential form. Scientists systematically determined the necessity of each of the 482 genes found in the parasitic bacterium Mycoplasma genitalium. This microbe has the smallest known genome of any organism and is close to minimal life. Researchers identified 382 essential-to-life genes. This means that life, based on contemporary biochemistry, cannot exist below this limit. In other words, life is irreducibly complex in its bare essence. Evolutionary origin-of-life scenarios predict that life in its minimal form must be simple. In contrast, RTB’s creation model predicts that life in its minimal state is irreducibly complex. The evidence weighs in without respect to persons or ideas.
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Today’s New Reason To Believe-Thursday, March 2, 2006
Better Understanding of Helium and Heat Transport in the Earth

  • Support for RTB’s creation model grows as scientists gain understanding of the heat and helium transport through the Earth. One outstanding issue in understanding Earth’s interior relates to whether mixing in the mantle operates over the whole mantle or in segregated layers. Although scientists favor the simple, whole-mantle convection model, they have not been able to reconcile the model with measurements of the helium and heat flux at Earth’s surface. However, a team of geophysicists shows how aquifer layers in the crust greatly reduce the flux of helium relative to heat, reconciling whole-mantle convection models with field measurements. As scientists’ model of Earth’s interior processes increases in explanatory power and detail, the evidence for RTB’s creation model also increases.
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Today’s New Reason To Believe-Wednesday, March 1, 2006
Ancient DNA Analysis Will Provide Tests for Models

  • Advances in ancient DNA analysis promise to provide powerful new insight into the biology of past organisms. Up to now, researchers were able to sequence only short fragments of mitochondrial DNA due to technical limitations. Recent research efforts have generated improved methodology that allows scientists to sequence the more informative genomic DNA of past organisms. To demonstrate the usefulness of this new technique, researchers sequenced 13 million base pairs (genetic letters) from a woolly mammoth specimen that dates to 27,000 years in age. Applying improved methodology, another research team sequenced the entire 17,000 base pairs of the woolly mammoth mitochondrial DNA. These new studies illustrate the power of ancient DNA analysis to provide critical information about the biology of past organisms and their relationship to contemporary organisms. As ancient DNA technology continues to mature, it will provide many powerful opportunities to test evolutionary and creation models.
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