Today's New Reason To Believe Archives

October 2006

Today’s New Reason To Believe-Tuesday, October 31, 2006
Recovery from Spinal-Cord Injury Using Adult Stem Cells

  • New research offers hope for a paradigm shift in stem-cell therapies. Scientists have demonstrated that stem cells isolated from adult tissues behave like embryonic stem cells and hold promise for clinical use. Researchers introduced adult neural stem/progenitor cells along with a myelin-derived peptide into the spinal fluid of mice and found that they promoted the functional recovery of the spinal cord after injury. The myelin-derived peptide stimulated the activity of immune cells, which created a synergistic response to the implanted adult neural stem/progenitor cells. This sophisticated study adds to the many recent discoveries showing that scientific advance will undoubtedly provide a way out of the ethical dilemma created by embryonic stem cell research.
  • Related Resource

Today’s New Reason To Believe-Monday, October 30, 2006
Possible Tests of String Theory

  • A hallmark of the scientific process is making and testing predictions based on a given model. Many scientists question string theory’s scientific validity because no currently testable predictions have been put forth, largely because of the miniscule size of the strings and the enormous energies required to produce them. However, a period of hyper-fast expansion during the early universe (called inflation) could have resulted in a vast network of strings pervading space. Precise timing measurements of pulsars or detection of gravity waves could reveal the presence of this stringy network. Often, scientists cite the lack of testable predictions to argue against divine causation in scientific theories. In contrast, RTB’s cosmic creation model makes many detailed predictions that discriminate between a strictly naturalistic universe and one started and sustained by a supernatural Creator.
  • Related Resource
  • Product Spotlight

Today’s New Reason To Believe-Sunday, October 29, 2006
Biochemical Design: Organization of Simplest Life

  • New research on the protein-secretion system of bacteria reveals a remarkable degree of internal organization at the molecular level. In bacteria, proteins targeted for secretion from the cell possess a specialized region called the signal sequence. Traditionally, biochemists thought that the signal sequence merely promoted secretion through the cell membrane. This new study, however, indicates that the signal sequence also contains information that directs the protein to specific cell-surface locations such as the midline or the poles of the cell. According to the authors of the research, "this finding identifies a new level of complexity in protein translocation…" Such organization and complexity of the simplest life-forms serve as a marker for biochemical design and are expected if a Creator is responsible for life.
  • Related Resource
  • Related Product

Today’s New Reason To Believe-Saturday, October 28, 2006
More Evidence for Constant Laws of Physics

  • Studies of the temperatures of neutron stars provide more evidence that the laws of physics are constant, as predicted by the Bible (see Jeremiah 33:25, for example). Due to their enormous gravitational fields, neutron stars serve as sensitive probes for any time variation of the gravitational force constant (G). Any change in G alters the internal equilibrium of the neutron star, resulting in a specific change in surface temperature. Using ultraviolet observations of a nearby pulsar (a rapidly rotating neutron star), a team of astronomers calculated the surface temperature and constrained the change in G to be less than 0.5% over the history of the universe-one of the most restrictive constraints yet measured. RTB’s cosmic creation model predicts that future research will continue to show that the laws of physics governing the universe are indeed constant.
  • Related Resource
  • Product Spotlight

Today’s New Reason To Believe-Friday, October 27, 2006
Biochemical Design: Elegant Organization of Biochemical Information

  • New research has uncovered a previously unrecognized feature of the cell’s information systems that points to the work of a Creator. Geneticists have discovered that a significant fraction of genes in mammalian genomes are organized in a head-to-head fashion along the DNA molecule. This bidirectional arrangement appears to play a critical role in coordinating the activity of these genes. According to the authors of the study, this organization "provides an exquisite mechanism of transcriptional regulation based on gene organization." Experience teaches that intelligible messages-information-come from intelligent sources. The cell’s biochemical machinery (proteins, DNA, RNA, and oligosaccharides) is information-based, indicating that life stems from an intelligent Designer. The elegant organization of the cell’s information further compels this conclusion.
  • Related Resource
  • Related Product

Today’s New Reason To Believe-Thursday, October 26, 2006
Biological Stirring of the Oceans

  • Studies of ocean mixing reveal more evidence that Earth has been designed to sustain long-standing life. To maintain large-scale biological activity in the oceans and mediate CO2 exchange with the atmosphere, the deep and shallow waters must be continually mixed. Until recently, scientists believed that only physical, non-life-based processes were responsible for ocean mixing. But new measurements in a British Columbia coastal inlet demonstrate that krill ascending during dusk increased turbulence by three to four orders of magnitude. Further work suggests that biological organisms may account for up to half of the necessary deep-ocean mixing. Such intricate dependencies between biological and non-biological processes to maintain a productive biosphere are predicted in RTB’s creation model, in which a supernatural Designer works to prepare Earth for advanced life.
  • Related Resource
  • Product Spotlight

Today’s New Reason To Believe-Wednesday, October 25, 2006
Biochemical Design: Information

  • New research into the cell’s information-processing systems provides evidence for intelligent design. In eukaryotes (protozoans, fungi, plants, and animals) a single gene can specify several different proteins. This is achieved through alternative splicing of messenger RNA. This meticulous process 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. A recent study identified the DNA sequences the cell uses to recognize splice sites in messenger RNA. Experience teaches that information must originate from a mind. As scientists learn more about the elegant, information-rich biochemical systems of the cell, their research points to the source of life’s information¾the Creator described in the Bible.
  • Related Resource
  • Related Product

Today’s New Reason To Believe-Tuesday, October 24, 2006
Lithium Synthesis Discrepancy Resolved

  • New data have helped scientists to resolve a discrepancy between theoretical calculations and observations, thereby strengthening a key component of RTB’s cosmic creation model. The only time in the history of the universe when lithium was produced occurred during the first three minutes after the creation event. However, calculations of how much lithium should have been produced exceed the amount measured in the oldest stars in the Milky Way Galaxy. Recent observations show clear evidence of processes that transport lithium into the interiors of these oldest stars, where it is destroyed. Accounting for the amount of lithium destroyed, the theoretical predictions now match the amount of lithium originally present in the stars. A property of good scientific models is that future research adequately explains current anomalies. These results affirm that RTB’s creation model exhibits this property.
  • Related Resource
  • Product Spotlight

Today’s New Reason To Believe-Monday, October 23, 2006
Biochemical Design: Quality Control of Protein Production

  • Recent research demonstrates the importance of quality-control operations associated with protein synthesis and adds to the case for biochemical intelligent design. During protein synthesis, the cell employs molecules called tRNAs to ferry amino acids to the ribosome. The ribosome’s machinery links amino acids together to form proteins. The cell uses 20 different amino acids to form proteins. Each amino acid has its own specific tRNA molecule that binds to it and takes it to the ribosome. If the amino acid binds to the wrong tRNA, an error in protein synthesis will occur. The cell avoids this error by employing a quality-control procedure to ensure that the proper amino acid binds to the correct tRNA. New work shows that if these quality-control operations don’t take place for even one amino acid-tRNA pairing, wide-scale protein misfolding occurs. Protein misfolding is associated with neurodegenerative diseases. Thus, the cell’s protein synthesis appears to be in a class of well-designed systems that include quality-control checkpoints at critical junctures to ensure efficient production of high-quality products. Many biochemical operations inside the cell employ quality-control procedures, and hence appear to be designed.
  • Related Resource
  • Related Product

Today’s New Reason To Believe-Sunday, October 22, 2006
Wet Earth-like Planets, but No Protective Jupiters

  • Advances in planetary system formation models highlight the fine-tuning in the solar system to ensure Earth’s long-term habitability. Gas-giant planets form more quickly than terrestrial planets and often migrate closer to their parent stars after forming. A team of U.S. scientists modeled the formation of terrestrial planets under this scenario and showed that planets can form in the habitable zone with significant amounts of liquid water after the gas giant has migrated into the habitable zone. However, these gas giants can no longer effectively shield the watery planet from the frequent impact events that inevitably occur. Additionally, the migration occurs too early to sufficiently deplete the outer regions of the system of bodies that could impact the watery planet. These results demonstrate just how difficult it is to form an Earth-like planet that meets all the known livability requirements. RTB’s creation model argues that such improbabilities are one signature of a supernatural Designer preparing a habitat for humanity.
  • Related Resource
  • Product Spotlight

Today’s New Reason To Believe-Saturday, October 21, 2006
Junk DNA Helps Explain Differences between Humans and Chimps

  • New research indicates the functional importance of so-called "junk" DNA, thereby rebutting a common evolutionary statement. Evolutionary biologists maintain that because junk DNA is an imperfection, it provides incontrovertible evidence for evolution. Numerous recent studies, however, have identified functions for many types of junk DNA. This new work (conducted from an evolutionary perspective) identifies junk DNA sequences that differ in humans and chimps and concludes that these sequences may help account for the differences between human and chimpanzee brains. The growing recognition of the functional importance of junk DNA undermines one of evolution’s best arguments and suggests that careful planning by an intelligent Designer, rather than undirected, random biochemical events, shaped the genomes of organisms.
  • Related Resource
  • Related Product

Today’s New Reason To Believe-Friday, October 20, 2006
New Results Confirm Previous Conclusions

  • More detailed cosmic microwave background (CMB) radiation measurements confirm the cosmological picture painted by RTB’s cosmic creation model. A balloon-borne detector named BOOMERANG mapped the CMB ripples in finer detail than the WMAP satellite, although on a smaller portion of the sky. An international team of scientists extracted cosmological parameters (including the baryon density, matter density, dark energy density, Hubble constant, age of the universe, and the scalar index) based on BOOMERANG data. The results are consistent with previous measures but place tighter constraints on non-big-bang models. Such results clearly label RTB’s model as a good scientific model.
  • Related Resource
  • Product Spotlight

Today’s New Reason To Believe-Thursday, October 19, 2006
Biochemical Design: Bacterial Flagellum

  • A new study provides additional evidence for biochemical intelligent design and helps revitalize one of the most well-known arguments for God’s existence. Scientists have learned more about the machine-like character of the bacterial flagellum. This ensemble of proteins powers the movement of swimming bacteria through the environment. The flagella of bacteria are literal rotary motors, complete with a rotor, stator, drive shaft, bushing, and universal joint. These biomolecular machines are powered by the flow of positively charged hydrogen ions (electrical current) through the cell membrane. Bacterial flagella are among dozens of different protein complexes inside the cell that operate as molecular-sized machines. The British natural theologian William Paley argued that just as a watch requires a watchmaker, life logically requires a Creator, since biological systems appear to be machine-like. On this basis, the elegant design of biomolecular machines, like the bacterial flagellum, indicates that they must be the work of a divine ‘Motor Maker’.
  • Related Resource
  • Related Product

Today’s New Reason To Believe-Wednesday, October 18, 2006
Supporting the Cosmic Distance Ladder

  • Big bang cosmology received another boost from distance measurements to a galaxy in the Local Group. Accurate distance measurements are critical to ensuring that a scientific model of the cosmos reflects reality. One test scientists apply to ensure the accuracy of length scales is to measure the distance to the same object using multiple techniques. Consistent results provide confidence in the measurement. A team of astronomers used Cepheid variables (pulsating variable stars) to measure the distance to the local-group galaxy NGC 6822. Their result was in excellent agreement with other teams who used different methods, such as looking at red-giant stars. Such consistency buttresses the validity of a big bang model of the universe, and thus of RTB’s cosmic creation model (which incorporates big bang cosmology).
  • Related Resource
  • Product Spotlight

Today’s New Reason To Believe-Tuesday, October 17, 2006
Regeneration of Spinal-Cord Function without Stem Cells

  • Researchers have discovered an ethically acceptable alternative to embryonic stem cell research (ESCR). New research demonstrates that the enzyme sialidase enhances the growth of axons in the central nervous system, holding the potential to aid recovery of function after spinal-cord injury or disease. These types of advances eliminate the need to pursue ESCR, which requires the destruction of human embryos.
  • Related Resource

Today’s New Reason To Believe-Monday, October 16, 2006
Spiral Galaxies’ Spurs Reveal Fine-tuning

  • Recent work modeling structure formation in spiral galaxies provides more evidence of fine-tuning of the solar system’s location in the galaxy. As spiral galaxies (of which the Milky Way Galaxy is one) age, the amount of substructure between the spiral arms increases. While this factor clearly has implications for the timing of a habitable solar system (interactions with galactic structures usually destabilize planetary orbits), it appears that the solar system resides in a special location as well. Researchers have learned that the formation of harmful-to-life substructures occurs least in what’s called the corotation radius, a region a precise distance from the galaxy’s center. Since the solar system sits just inside the corotation radius, it will be subject to the fewest encounters with denser galactic structures. These results comport well with the work of a supernatural Creator fashioning a habitat for long-standing life, culminating in humanity’s arrival.
  • Related Resource
  • Product Spotlight

Today’s New Reason To Believe-Sunday, October 15, 2006
Adult Stem Cells from Fat Tissue Forms Smooth Muscle

  • New research has demonstrated that stem cells isolated from adult tissues behave like embryonic stem cells, suggesting that there may be an ethically acceptable alternative to embryonic stem cell research (ESCR). Recent work demonstrates that smooth muscle cells can be derived from stem cells in adipose (fat) tissue. These smooth muscle cells can be used to treat damaged and diseased tissues in the cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, urinary, and reproductive systems. This study boosts confidence that scientific advance will undoubtedly provide the way out of the ethical dilemma created by emerging biotechnologies such as stem cell therapies.
  • Related Resource

Today’s New Reason To Believe-Saturday, October 14, 2006
Using Stalagmites to Date the Past

  • Scientists possess a new tool for dating past events and cross-checking other direct dating techniques; this tool is also suitable for testing young- and old-earth creation models. Speleothems-carbonates, such as stalagmites, found in caves-provide some of the most precise chronologies of the past 500,000 years due to the radioisotopes found in them. Until recently, ice cores gave the best chronologies because their annual layering provides a straightforward way to determine dates. However, ice cores reside far from human civilization, and time-resolution degrades as the layers compress deeper in the cores. In contrast, speleothems are located in most continental areas and provide exceptional chronologies even at earlier times. Additionally, common dates derived from speleothems and ice cores match. This new technique brings a new level of timing precision and spatial detail to the geological sciences. Further, present results dramatically confirm that Earth is far older than 10,000 years, in line with RTB’s biblical creation model.
  • Related Resource
  • Product Spotlight

Today’s New Reason To Believe-Friday, October 13, 2006
Biochemical Design: Quality Control

  • New research characterizes one of the quality-control operations that are part of the initial steps in protein production, strengthening the evidence of biochemical design. DNA houses the information the cell’s machinery needs to make proteins. The first step in this process takes place when the information housed in the DNA molecule is copied in the form of a messenger RNA molecule. If errors are made during the copying process, there will be errors in protein production. Biochemists have discovered that messenger RNA has an intrinsic proofreading capacity. This proofreading activity ensures that messenger RNA is copied without any mistakes. Quality-control checkpoints are characteristic of well-designed systems. As biochemists continue to characterize the cell’s chemical systems, the evidence for design mounts, and with it evidence that life is the product of a Creator.
  • Related Resource
  • Related Product

Today’s New Reason To Believe-Thursday, October 12, 2006
General Relativity Passes Yet Another Test

  • RTB’s biblical creation model received a substantial confirmation as general relativity passed with flying colors one of the toughest tests yet applied to it. Scientists often seek extreme environments to test theories that were successful in more ordinary conditions; extremes provide the most likely places for the theories to break down. The extreme environment here contains two massive compact objects: neutron stars that are more massive than the sun but only 10 miles across. These objects exhibit ultrastrong gravitational attractions. The orbits of the neutron stars around one another matched general relativity’s predictions to 0.05%, an improvement in precision of nearly 10 times. Since general relativity forms a crucial component of RTB’s cosmic creation model, these results dramatically strengthen the model’s validity.
  • Related Resource
  • Product Spotlight

Today’s New Reason To Believe-Wednesday, October 11, 2006
Biochemical Design: Optimized Protein Folding

Today’s New Reason To Believe-Tuesday, October 10, 2006
k-EssenceModels of Dark Energy Ruled Out

  • Theoretical work continues to provide evidence for fine-tuning in the amount of space-energy density (dark energy) in the universe. Since its discovery, scientists have recognized the tremendous amount of fine-tuning necessary to account for the observed amount of dark energy compared to the larger theoretically predicted value. Additionally, the present epoch coincides with the time when the amount of dark energy roughly equals the mass density-in earlier epochs, mass dominated, whereas dark energy will dominate in the future. One class of dark energy models called k-essence tried to explain the fine-tuning and coincidence by postulating that the dark energy has naturally evolved to its current low value from something much closer to its theoretically expected value. However, recent work shows that all k-essence models violate causality (that is, some information must propagate faster than the speed of light) and are therefore ruled out. RTB’s cosmic creation model predicts such fine-tuning of dark energy as the work of a supernatural Creator designing a universe to accomplish multiple purposes, one of which is a habitat for humanity.
  • Camille Bonvin, Chiara Caprini, and Ruth Durrer, "No-Go Theorem for k-Essence Dark Energy," Physical Review Letters 97 (2006): 081303.
  • Related Resource
  • "Anthropic Principle: A Precise Plan for Humanity" by Hugh Ross
  • Product Spotlight
  • Creation As Science by Hugh Ross

Today’s New Reason To Believe-Monday, October 9, 2006
Biochemical Design: Photosynthesis Optimized for Ambient Temperatures

  • New research highlights the optimal nature of biochemical systems and provides new evidence that life’s chemistry is the product of a Creator. This study describes the structural optimization of the biochemical machinery responsible for photosynthesis. Organisms in the frigid Antarctic and at scalding hydrothermal springs engage in photosynthesis. Instead of the rate of photosynthesis varying proportionally with temperature, it takes place at the same rate in the different locales. New work describes the structural variations in the molecules responsible for photosynthesis and explains how these differences optimize photosynthesis according to the ambient temperature. Optimization is a hallmark feature of human-designed systems. By analogy, optimized biochemical processes point to the Creator’s role in bringing life into existence.
  • Oksana Shlyk-Kerner et al., "Protein Flexibility Acclimatizes Photosynthetic Energy Conversion to the Ambient Temperature," Nature 442 (2006): 827-30.
  • Related Resource
  • "Biochemistry and the Bible: Collaborators in Design: An Interview with Dr. Fuz Rana" by Joe Aguirre
  • Related Product
  • Darwin’s Black Box: The Biochemical Challenge to Evolution, by Michael Behe

Today’s New Reason To Believe-Sunday, October 8, 2006
More Precise Measurement of Fine Structure Constant

  • Continued testing reveals the sound basis for understanding how the quantum world (a part of RTB’s biblical creation model) works. One piece of the quantum world, the fine structure constant, determines the strength of the electromagnetic force and, as a result, affects the color, hardness, reactivity, and virtually all other characteristics of objects with which humans interact. A recent measurement reduced the error bars on the value of the fine structure constant by a factor of 10. The new result matches previous experimental results and also confirms theoretical calculations of its value. This work (and similar work in testing general relativity) also demonstrates the firm foundation on which RTB’s cosmic creation model rests.
  • Andrzej Czarnecki, "Particle Physics: A Finer Constant," Nature 442 (2006): 516-17.
  • Related Resource
  • "Predictive Power: Confirming Cosmic Creation" by Hugh Ross
  • Product Spotlight
  • Journey Toward Creation, 2nd ed., by Hugh Ross (DVD, or Multilingual DVD)

Today’s New Reason To Believe-Saturday, October 7, 2006
Biochemical Design: Multiple Codes in DNA

  • New research provides additional evidence for design in cells. Researchers describe a code within DNA that exists independently from the genetic code. This code plays a key role in positioning histone proteins along DNA. DNA "wraps around" histones, which helps the DNA to pack into the small volume of the cell’s nucleus. It turns out that the location of histones along the DNA molecule is encoded within the DNA sequence. Histone positioning is critical because it affects the ability of proteins involved in replication and gene expression to access DNA. Experience teaches that intelligible messages-information-come from intelligent sources; a code requires someone to create it. The elegant and information-rich biochemical systems of the cell point to the source of life’s information-the Creator described in the Bible.
  • Eran Segal et al., "A Genomic Code for Nucleosome Positioning," Nature 442 (2006): 772-78.
  • Related Resource
  • "FYI: I.D. in DNA: Deciphering Design in the Genetic Code" by Fazale Rana
  • Related Product
  • Darwin’s Black Box: The Biochemical Challenge to Evolution, by Michael Behe

Today’s New Reason To Believe-Friday, October 6, 2006
White-Dwarf Formation and Prediction

  • Astronomers’ observations of dim, dying stars in globular clusters confirm a recent prediction of RTB’s cosmic creation model pertaining to stellar evolution. When stars similar to the sun exhaust their nuclear fuel, they become objects called hot white dwarfs. These white dwarfs start very hot and cool down in a predictable way over time-becoming dimmer as they cool. When they cool below a few thousand degrees, the color of the white dwarf is predicted to change because of the formation of hydrogen molecules. Observations of a nearby dense cluster of stars detected the dimmest white dwarfs that exist in the cluster. The observations revealed the predicted color change at the expected temperature. Further, these dimmest white dwarfs can be used to precisely determine the age of the dense cluster (and consequently the universe). RTB scholars predict that this age determination will confirm the 13.7 billion-year age of the universe determined by other techniques.
  • Harvey B. Richer et al., "Probing the Faintest Stars in a Globular Star Cluster," Science 313 (2006): 936-40.
  • Related Resource
  • "Predictive Power: Confirming Cosmic Creation" by Hugh Ross
  • Product Spotlight
  • A Matter of Days, by Hugh Ross

Today’s New Reason To Believe-Thursday, October 5, 2006
Biochemical Design: Molecular Fine-Tuning

  • New research on the function of CDC7 kinase illustrates the molecular-level precision that characterizes the structure of cells’ biomolecules. This protein plays an important role in DNA replication by adding phosphate groups to a protein complex (minichromosome maintenance complex), initiating DNA replication. Researchers have learned that CDC7 kinase activity is highly sensitive to the local chemical environment of the phosphorylation site. Changes in only a few amino acids near the site of phosphate addition inhibit the function of CDC7 kinase. Fine-tuning is a hallmark of well-designed man-made devices. Likewise, the optimized fine-tuning characteristic of biochemical systems signifies that life originated from the Creator’s hand.
  • Won-Ho Cho et al., "CDC7 Kinase Phosphorylates Serine Residues Adjacent to Acidic Amino Acids in Minichromosome Maintenance 2 Protein," Proceedings of the Academy of Sciences, USA 103 (2006): 11521-26.
  • Related Resource
  • "Fine-tuning of Aquaporin Membrane," ("The Physics of Sin") Creation Update (6-04-2002)
  • Related Product
  • Travels to the Nanoworld, by Michael Gross

Today’s New Reason To Believe-Wednesday, October 4, 2006
Confirmation of Stellar Formation Models

  • Observations of dim stars in globular clusters confirm a key prediction of RTB’s cosmic creation model pertaining to stellar formation. According to stellar models, only stars above a certain mass (around 8% the mass of the sun) will ignite nuclear fusion in their cores and merrily burn for billions of years. Below that mass, the "star" becomes a brown dwarf-a failed star that fades quickly by comparison. Hubble Space Telescope observations of a nearby dense cluster of stars allowed astronomers to detect the faintest stars in the cluster and calculate their masses. The mass of the smallest stars matched the value predicted by stellar formation models. These results also strengthen RTB’s cosmic creation model, which incorporates stellar formation models.
  • Related Resource
  • Product Spotlight

Today’s New Reason To Believe-Tuesday, October 3, 2006
Biochemical Design: Ribose Is Optimal for DNA

  • A new study highlights the optimal nature of biochemical systems and provides additional evidence that life’s chemistry is the product of a Creator. This particular study seeks to understand why ribose and deoxyribose are utilized as the sugar components of RNA and DNA, respectively. In principle, myriad other sugars could have been used instead. It turns out that ribose and deoxyribose are the only sugars that allow the physiological structures of RNA and DNA to form while simultaneously providing enough space to accommodate the nucleobases (adenine, guanine, cytosine, and uracil/thymine). The structural components of RNA and DNA do not seem to have been randomly selected. Rather, they appear to have been carefully chosen to produce optimized biomolecular structures. Optimization is a hallmark feature of human-designed systems. By analogy, optimized biochemical systems point to the Creator’s role in bringing life into existence.
  • Related Resource
  • Related Product

Today’s New Reason To Believe-Monday, October 2, 2006
Odd Molecule Shows Design

  • An astrophysically necessary but chemically odd molecule (H3+) reveals fine-tuning. Hydrogen is the most abundant element in the universe, with H2 being the most abundant form of hydrogen. The second most abundantly produced form of hydrogen, H3+, readily reacts to form other molecules despite its unusual chemical configuration (its three protons are orbited by two electrons, rather than three). Researchers have learned that H3+ facilitates the formation of molecules vital for star formation to proceed-without these molecules, gravitationally collapsing gas clouds would not cool sufficiently to actually produce stars. Additionally, scientists found that the simple geometry of the H3+ molecule provides a unique and efficient probe to study both hot and cold gas clouds in the universe. A chemically odd molecule that serves such critical roles in astrophysical settings comports with the idea of a supernatural Designer creating this universe to support life.
    • Takeshi Oka, "Interstellar H3+," Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, USA 103 (2006): 12235-42.
  • Related Resource
  • Product Spotlight

Today’s New Reason To Believe-Sunday, October 1, 2006
Biochemical Design: Genetic Redundancy

  • New research demonstrates that genetic redundancy makes genomes robust to the harmful effects of mutations. This process ensures that there is always a functional copy of the gene available. Workers also showed that duplicated genes form a back-up genetic circuit that is inactive when duplicated genes are intact, but active when duplicated genes become damaged. Biologists frequently point to gene duplication events as evidence for evolution, arguing that undirected biochemical mechanisms would be expected to generate this type of redundancy. This biochemical redundancy is now recognized as an elegantly designed system. The authors of this paper note, "We suggest that compensation for gene loss is merely a side effect of sophisticated design principles using functional redundancy."
  • Related Resource
  • Related Product