Category: Humans

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Neurons in Your Brain and AI

Neurons in Your Brain and AI

You can see an obvious example of God’s creation design by looking in a mirror. Everything you see and experience is due to neurons in your brain, messengers that use electrical and chemical signals to convey information, allowing you to live. Neurons carry data to different parts of your brain, spinal cord, and your whole body. Just trying to grasp the number and functional complexity of neurons is beyond human thinking. In one cubic millimeter of the human brain, a single neuron connects with 5600 nerve fibers, and our whole body contains 86 billion neurons that form 100 trillion connections.

Julie Polter, writing in Sojourners magazine (August 2024, pages 9-10), calls our attention to the fact that when we hold a baby and look into those sparkling eyes, “we become acquainted with tiny beings who are also full, unique people.” She goes on to say that “the neural pathways in a baby or toddler’s brain multiply when given loving attention and interaction from the people around them.”

We hear all the concerns about robots and artificial intelligence (AI), which is intelligence exhibited by computer systems. How can AI exist? Would anyone suggest it is some accident and just a product of chance? AI is limited in what it can do because it is relatively simple compared to the neurons in your brain. You are not an accident and not the product of blind chance.

Looking in the mirror and thinking about how special and unique every human being is, we see God’s design in an undeniable form. Jesus called His followers to recognize this special creation and love (agape) our enemies. Even though we may struggle to understand what others do, we know they are a product of God’s design. They can do wonderful things if they allow God to use them for the purpose He created them to accomplish.

— John N. Clayton © 2024
References: Harvard Medical School and the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke on their websites

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Effects of THC on the Human Brain

Effects of THC on the Human Brain

The human brain is the most complex computer in the world. In one study trying to understand brain health and disease, scientists identified 3,313 different types of neurons in the brain, but there is much more to learn. Other studies have examined the effects of THC on the human brain. THC is the primary psychoactive chemical in marijuana (cannabis) plants.

One study of teen health in Australia and New Zealand dealt with the effects of THC on the human brain regarding depression and suicide. It showed that adolescents using cannabis were 2.5 times as likely to have depression and three times as likely to have suicidal ideas than those who did not use cannabis.

A study of adults who used cannabis daily showed there was five times the risk of psychosis compared to non-users. A Canadian study has shown that emergency department visits for cannabis syndrome increased by a factor of 13 between 2014 and 2021. Despite today’s concentrated cannabis products, science does not fully understand the effects of THC on the human brain, so users have become the test subjects.

Humans have long used breeding to increase desirable features in animals, such as dogs, and plants, such as corn. They have used the same methods on marijuana plants to increase the content of THC. The result is that today’s marijuana has a much more potent effect on the human brain. In 1995, the total THC by weight of marijuana was around 4%. Today it is 20% or more. Concentrated cannabis products can have THC content as high as 95%. Teen exposure to THC can lead to long-lasting problems with memory and learning. Use by teens is more likely to lead to addiction than adult use, and cannabis addiction is linked to schizophrenia.

Recreational drug use has a long history, but there is very little research available on the long-term effects of cannabis and the effects of THC on the human brain. The Christian concept of the human body as the dwelling place for God’s Spirit (1 Corinthians 3:16) advises against activities that harm our health. God speaks to us in verse 17, saying that if anyone defiles the temple of God (our body), there will be severe consequences. We are seeing that promise carried out in the adverse effects of cannabis use.

— John N. Clayton © 2024
References: “Transcriptomic diversity of cell types across the adult human brain” in the journal Science, and “The teen brain is especially susceptible to the harms of THC” in Science News magazine

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Alcohol Damages the Human Body

Alcohol Damages the Human Body

In recent years, an interesting change has taken place in the public’s reaction to smoking. When I was a child, I remember that nearly all adults smoked, and so did many teenagers. Smoking bans are enforced in many places because medical science has proven smoking’s adverse health effects. People have recognized that they should avoid smoking. Now, we have medical evidence that alcohol damages the human body, and people need to acknowledge that.

Dr. Douglas Zipes is an internationally acclaimed cardiologist, professor, author, inventor, and authority on pacing and electrophysiology (heart rhythms). He pointed out the similarities between the medical data for alcohol and cigarettes. He wrote that no amount of alcohol is beneficial, and any amount of alcohol is harmful to your heart and other organs.

Alcohol (ethanol) as a drug is very destructive to humans. It is disturbing that the music industry, especially country music, has glorified alcohol consumption. We all experience enormous pressure to drink at parties and celebrations. Drunkenness is often a joke in movies and television shows, and it is the punchline in many songs. My personal experience has been that alcohol is a family destroyer. Cocktail hour was a significant part of my parent’s life. I would usually hide because I knew the result of their drinking. My college roommate drank until it got him kicked out. My younger brother drank until it killed him.

I got in trouble as a chemistry teacher when I pointed out to my students that “intoxicated” refers to the toxic nature of alcohol. Still, it is true that alcohol damages the human body. Christians believe that the body is the dwelling place of God’s spirit. (See 1 Corinthians 3:16.) Comparisons between today’s alcoholic beverages and the wine of Christ’s day show a sharp contrast. Distillation was not available in Jesus’ day, so the alcohol content was much lower, and alcohol served to make the water potable. Today, the higher alcohol concentrations make it a recreational drug that tears up families, destroys marriages, and is now known to damage the body.

Like smoking, alcohol is ingrained in our culture. It will be an uphill battle to get people to understand that taking care of themselves includes not using a substance that has no benefit for our bodies and even damages them. Christians must take the lead in the long battle to at least moderate the consumption of alcohol and someday eliminate it.

— John N. Clayton © 2024
Reference: Dr. Douglas Zipes in the Saturday Evening Post for September/October 2024, page 54

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Problems Our Ancestors Had in Securing Food

Problems Our Ancestors Had in Securing Food - Goats

In our day of domesticated cattle, we may not appreciate the problems our ancestors had in securing food and other essentials. The Bible and the fossil record agree that the first humans were gatherers, eating only things that could be secured by hand, primarily plants. Genesis 4:2 indicates that Abel was a keeper of the flocks, probably sheep. In Genesis 9:3, God says, “Everything that lives and moves will be food for you,” but verse 2 says that all the animals will be afraid of humans. Like many biblical passages, we are left with questions, so we can look to other methods for clarification. The fossil record and archaeological evidence do that for us.

There is a great deal of evidence that humans were gatherers before hunting animals became a method of getting food. The Bible does not tell us how Abel secured the flocks of Genesis 4:2, but the domestication of wild goats and sheep clearly occurred. Genesis 15:9 is the first mention of goats in the Bible, but recent DNA evidence shows that goats were domesticated in significant numbers by 8200 B.C. Goats provided milk and meat, but they also provided other valuable materials, including hair, hides, and sinew for use as clothing. Ancient people used goat bones as tools and their dung as fuel for fires. Goats were much easier to raise than sheep or other animals. Goats can eat about anything and survive in virtually any terrain. They were the perfect animals to meet the needs of early humans.

Despite the problems our ancestors had in securing food, the message here is plain. God has met every NEED that humans have. We are talking about needs, not wants. Some things we might like to have are not needs, and needs can sometimes be secured only by work. God told Adam, “In the sweat of your face, you will eat bread” (Genesis 3:19). God has made it available, but we must work to secure what we need. We know that God will bless us when we do the work He has given us to do.

— John N. Clayton © 2024

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New Data on Neanderthals

New Data on Neanderthals

In 1864, a research paper was distributed in the scientific community announcing the discovery of a form of ancient humans called Homo neanderthalensis. The artistic reconstructions showed ape-like humans, and evolutionists called it a missing link proving human evolution from apes. The artistic reconstructions were inaccurate. More advanced scientific tools have given us new data on Neanderthals, providing a better picture of what they were like.

Past research has not shown that Neanderthals lived together in communities. However, Neanderthal DNA in Siberia indicates a possible community, and some 600 footprints recently found near Normandy, France, indicate a group of adults with children and teenagers. The new data on Neanderthals gives evidence that they formed tight-knit communities. Another interesting discovery is that the communities cared for individuals with deformities or severe injuries for many years. Neanderthal burials indicate that they showed special care to children.

We can learn many lessons from recent studies that provide new data on Neanderthals. One thing we learned is to avoid jumping to conclusions too quickly. One of my favorite lines I heard during my graduate work was, “Always be sure your data conforms to your conclusions.” The point was and is that people take what they already believe and then work to find ways to support that belief. The media jumped on early finds of Neanderthals, and their depictions gave an unclear picture of what they were like.

For people who have religious convictions about the history of humans, the same problem exists. The fact that Neanderthals clearly lived more than 6,000 years ago flies in the face of some denominational teachings. The point is that the Bible is silent on how long ago Adam lived. There is also a tendency to make Adam in our physical image when the Bible says Adam was created in God’s spiritual image. Biblical literature may show Adam with light skin and blue eyes, but that is almost certainly not what Adam looked like.

You and I are created in God’s image. That means we all have equal value and demonstrate spiritual characteristics and talents. These include creative ability in art and music, the capacity to worship, empathy and sympathy, and guilt, which have nothing to do with our physical or racial makeup. New data on Neanderthals shows that they demonstrated some of those characteristics, and we have some Neanderthal markers in our DNA.

— John N. Clayton © 2024
Reference: “Family Ties” in Discover magazine, July/August 2024, pages 24-28.

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The Design of Sperm

The Design of Sperm

One of the great mysteries that still confounds scientists is how a human sperm cell finds the egg it fertilizes. Experiments have shown that the design of sperm has several features that allow fertilization to occur. Understanding this is important because the real answer to the abortion question is not what to do once a human embryo is developing but how to prevent fertilization.

Researchers at the Weizmann Institute in Israel found that the sperm cell uses temperature to find the egg. The region around the egg is four degrees Fahrenheit warmer than surrounding parts of the fallopian tubes. The sperm cell can detect a temperature rise of one degree, causing it to swim toward the warmer area. Researchers at the Hanns Hatt of Ruhr University in Bochum, Germany, have shown that human sperm cells can smell chemicals surrounding an egg using olfactory receptors similar to those found in the human nose.

Research shows that the design of sperm cells includes the ability to detect heat and respond to chemical signals from the egg. We see indications that the sperm cell’s design is beyond any chance proposal. Ancient people thought the baby was complete in the human sperm and the woman was essentially just a glorified incubator. Genesis 3:15 refutes that idea when God says to the serpent, “I will put enmity between you and the woman and between your seed and her Seed.” It took humans a long time to understand that the seed was in the woman.

We frequently refer to human birth as a miracle. From the very start, as the sperm comes into contact with the egg, we see that every human being is a miracle of God and deserves to be loved and cared for. Atheism teaches that humans are just animals with no intrinsic or unique value. As Christians, we value human life regardless of ethnic, racial, or religious background. Perhaps the rejection of the Bible and persecution of Christians is rooted in a poor understanding of God’s design of human reproduction.

— John N. Clayton © 2024

Reference: Discover magazine, July 2003, page 18.

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Medication Abortion In Reality

Medication Abortion In Reality

Medication abortion is a two-drug cocktail that ends the life of the developing child during the first trimester of pregnancy. It is essential for women considering medication abortion to know what it does and its side effects.

The first pill is mifepristone/RU-486, which prevents the pre-born baby from receiving hormonal support (progesterone) essential for the baby to develop. The second pill (misoprostol) causes the uterus to contract and expel the baby. The process is painful for the woman.

The Mayo Clinic says the side effects include vomiting, fever, nausea, chills, diarrhea, and headache. Women may need painkillers to manage pain after a medication abortion. The Mayo Clinic also says that a woman undergoing a pill-induced medication abortion needs access to emergency services. Complications include hemorrhaging and infection. A 17-year study showed that of 423,000 abortions, there were 121,283 confirmed emergency room visits within 30 days.

When humans interfere with God’s design, there are always problems, and the miracle of conception and birth is a design that works. Medication abortions are a disaster in too many cases to be a reasonable alternative. The writer of Psalms 139:13-14 said it well: “For you, God, possessed my inmost being, you covered me in my mother’s womb. I will praise you, God, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvelous are your works..”

— John N. Clayton © 2024

References: Mayo Clinic and 40 Days for Life

Note: The 2024 Democratic National Convention is this week in Chicago, and one of the features being offered is free chemical abortions from a mobile clinic operated by Planned Parenthood.

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Genetics Dictate Biological Gender

Genetics Dictate Biological Gender

A significant issue in America today is what to do with young people who have decided to change their gender. Without getting into the theological issues, the scientific fact is that a person’s genetics dictate biological gender. Men and women are biologically different.

One of several demonstrations I used in my physics class was to have a boy and a girl stand with their heels against the wall and lean over to pick up something. Another demonstration is to have a man and woman of equal height kneel with their head in their hands and then put their hands behind their backs. Women can do that easily, while a man will fall on his face. This is due to the anatomical makeup of women compared to men. A woman’s pelvis is typically larger than a man’s pelvis. Thus, women tend to have a lower center of gravity. The position of the center of gravity in women is 55% of the total height, while in men it is 57%. Women’s center of gravity is vertically lower than men’s because their bodies are larger in the pelvis, but their shoulders are narrower.

The point of this is that genetics dictate biological gender. Changing your gender does not change the anatomical makeup given to you at birth. In practical terms, what does that mean for young people today?

1) In athletics, the birth gender will dictate the competence in certain sports. You won’t see trans males playing in the NBA. In swimming and track, there will be striking differences in performance with trans females who have a male body.
2) The long-term effect of hormones used to maintain a gender change is unknown, but most medical experts say it will not last for more than a decade, if that. The probability that a trans person will have a shortened life expectancy is very high.
3) Surgical procedures to accommodate trans changes cannot be reversed.
4) Some will use the whole trans agenda to take advantage of others. Allowing a transgender student to use bathrooms and locker rooms of their choice is going to lead to abuse by typical non-trans teenage students. Boys who want to go into a girl’s restroom and ogle females can do so by simply declaring they are trans.
5) Private colleges will not be able to have dormitories that are only for one sex. This is a massive problem with conservative Christian colleges who, for religious reasons, wish to remain able to offer boys’ dorms and girls’ dorms free of the opposing gender.

A U.S. appeals court rejected the Biden administration’s effort to allow transgender students to use bathrooms and locker rooms and join sports teams that align with their chosen gender. The Biden administration was trying to protect the rights of LGBTQ students, but the question is whether they were violating the rights of non-LGBTQ students.

Genetics dictate biological gender. We suggest that from a Christian apologetics standpoint, the result will be catastrophic whenever humans try to change God’s plan and design for anything. This is just one more example of that.

— John N. Clayton © 2024

Reference: “Biden administration loses bid to revive legal protections for LGBTQ students” by Daniel Wiessner on Reuters news service (June 14, 2024).

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Negatives of Marijuana Use

Negatives of Marijuana Use

We live in Buchanan, Michigan, which some have called “The Marijuana Capitol of the Midwest.” Others have dubbed the town “Bucannabis.” I have lost count of how many marijuana outlets there are between Buchanan and Niles, Michigan, but there must be at least a dozen. It has been interesting to see the proponents pushing the supposed benefits while ignoring the negatives of marijuana use.

It is true that the number of drug arrests in our area hasn’t changed much since the legalization was instituted. However, we see a high percentage of out-of-state license plates on cars at these establishments, so our local data may not be meaningful. Commercial sales of marijuana have exceeded 48 million users in the United States, while medical issues are the most disturbing aspect of the negatives of marijuana use.

Medical information is now available in the Journal of the American Medical Association, the British Medical Journal, and from studies done at Columbia University. We know that cannabis has a very negative influence on the outcomes of pregnancy. Recent studies have linked marijuana to bad health outcomes involving the lungs, hearts, brains, and gonads of users. Smoking weed increases the risk of clogged arteries and heart failure. It has also been linked to chronic bronchitis, and cannabis plants bring metal pollutants such as lead into the user’s bloodstream.

The biblical teaching that our bodies are the “temple of the Holy Spirit” (1 Corinthians 3:16) tells us the importance of caring for our bodies. That includes not engaging in the use of recreational drugs as we learn the harm they can cause to our bodies. As the negatives of marijuana use become apparent, we see the wisdom of God’s instructions.

— John N. Clayton © 2024

Reference: Scientific American for March 2024, pages 20-21.

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Surviving the Heat

Surviving the Heat

We are bracing for the hottest summer on record globally. Humans have interesting ways of surviving the heat, although people do die from it. In the wild, we see ways that animals are designed to withstand heat, drought, and water issues. Here are a few examples:

SAUDI ARABIAN GAZELLES. When the temperature increases, the heart and liver of these animals shrink, and breathing slows, reducing the water lost with each breath.

STORKS and some other birds cool down through urohidrosis. The stork urinates on its scaly legs, and evaporation enables it to lower its body temperature in high heat conditions.

NAMIB LIZARDS AND BEETLES climb a dune to get high enough to be in the early morning fog. The beetle will do a handstand, sending moisture down its back and into its mouth. The lizards simply open their mouths and gulp in the mist. In both cases, they cool their bodies while obtaining water.

JESUS LIZARDS get their name because they walk on water. To accomplish this, they have long toes on their rear feet with fringes of skin that unfurl in the water, increasing their surface area. They slap their splayed feet hard against the water as they rapidly move their legs, creating tiny air pockets to keep them from sinking. This not only lets them escape predation, but it also cools the lizard as the water evaporates from their legs and feet.

We are all familiar with dogs and other animals panting to cool themselves. The point is that animals, and even plants, have methods for surviving the heat. Humans sweat to cool our bodies by evaporation. Humans are also the only ones with the ability to change our environment. We need to learn from the animal life God created and adjust how we live and what we do to protect our climate.

— John N. Clayton © 2024

Reference: Natural History magazine November 2007.