Stars, Cells, and God | Neanderthal Engravings? and Capturing CO2

Join Fazale “Fuz” Rana and Jeff Zweerink as they discuss new discoveries taking place at the frontiers of science that have theological and philosophical implications, including the reality of God’s existence. Neanderthal Engravings An international team of collaborators recently discovered “engravings” on the walls of the La Roche-Cotard cave system (in the Loire Valley of central France) that date to be older than 57,000 years. These engravings appear to reflect the intentional activities of Neanderthals, suggesting that these hominins displayed the capacity for symbolic expression—just like modern humans. This discovery raises several questions: Can we no longer consider modern humans as truly exceptional? Were Neanderthals just like us? How do we make sense of this discovery from a Christian perspective? Is there any scientific evidence for the image of God? In this episode, biochemist Fuz Rana discusses this important discovery and addresses these questions and more. Resources: The Earliest Unambiguous Neanderthal Engravings on Cave Walls: La Roche-Cotard, Loire Valley, France Additional Resources: Further Review Overturns Neanderthal Art Claim Did Neanderthals Have the Brains to Make Art? Timing of Neanderthals’ Disappearance Makes Art Claims Unlikely Do Neanderthal Cave Structures Challenge Human Exceptionalism? Capturing CO2 With the growing concern over global climate change, scientists are thinking deeply about how to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere. Many of these ideas focus on reducing the amount of CO2 produced, but they also address ways to remove CO2 and store it. In this episode, we discuss some of the removal techniques while considering the technical and philosophical hurdles researchers face. Resources: Carbon Dioxide Removal Is Suddenly Obtaining Credibility and Support