Evidence for God in Life Design Archives

February 25, 2025February 24, 2025

Freshwater Mussels and Design

Humanity’s war with pollution has a surprising helper in freshwater mussels. They are susceptible to any change in the water in which they live. When anything disturbs the quality of the water, these mussels close their shells. In Poland, fifty water processing plants use these mussels to monitor any contamination of their drinking water. Technicians attach sensors to the mussel’s shells with hot glue. When four of the eight mussels close their shells, they trip a sensor alerting control computers to shut off the water supply. After three months, the mussels are removed from service and returned to the wild because they adapt to water quality and become less sensitive.

When Joe Kramarz sent this information, I thought it was a joke, but it’s true, as the National Institutes of Health reported. Our thanks to those who send us information we might miss. In this case, we find it interesting that mussels are designed to avoid pollution in their environment. Freshwater mussels are just one example of many animals that monitor their environment, including bats, whales, corals, moles, and even groundhogs. Some of these may not directly benefit humans, but they help us understand that God has designed animals for a complex and changing world.

When God challenges Job’s understanding in Job 38-41, He refers to many things in the creation that show wisdom and design. We are still learning about many of those examples, but all of them are beyond human capacity to duplicate.

February 19, 2025February 18, 2025

Animal Coprophagy – Recycling Poop

One aspect of design in the natural world is that virtually no food goes to waste. To that point, researchers have discovered many instances of animal coprophagy, poop eating. A study published in the journal Animal Behaviour documents 150 species of animals ranging from adult black bears to baby koalas recycling poop.

Many of the animals could not survive if they didn’t eat the feces of other animals. One example is pikas, small mountain-dwelling mammals on the Tibetan Plateau. They could not survive the harsh winters if they didn’t eat the droppings of Yaks. Blind cave fish can’t leave the cave to forage for food, so they survive by eating the guano of bats that inhabit the caves. Cows have multiple compartments for processing food, but rabbits do not. Rabbits and other small animals survive by eating the droppings of larger animals that have eaten harsh foods, breaking them down to a form the rabbit’s gut can easily absorb.

You might think that animal coprophagy would lead to diseases and parasites, but the nutrition gained vastly exceeds the possible infection for many animals. Capybaras eat their own feces, so you can’t call it waste. An interesting fact is that lab rats eat up to 40% of the poop from other rats and even themselves. If lab workers prevent them from doing that, they become sick from vitamin B12 deficiencies. Insects such as dung beetles survive on animal dung.

Recycling poop gives evidence that God designed the animal world so food is not wasted. Meanwhile, humans are guilty of wasting food, leaving many people to starve. That is why Jesus Christ, in Matthew 25:35-46, told His disciples to give food and drink to those who are hungry and thirsty.

References: Science News for February 2025, page 27, and Animal Behaviour journal for December 2024, pages 75-86

February 13, 2025February 10, 2025

Neanderthal DNA and Being Human

The 1856 discovery of human-like specimens that looked different from modern humans baffled scientists. Anthropologists named the specimens Neanderthals after the place where they were discovered, the Neander Valley in present-day Germany. The Neanderthals had a larger brain than modern humans, but the head was flattened, and the skull had a heavy bone structure. The media portrayed the find as a missing link between apes and humans. Atheists jumped on the discovery by saying it proved human evolution and showed that the biblical account was fantasy. Today, Neanderthal DNA reveals their relationship to modern humans.

In 1912, Jim Thorpe won two gold medals at the Summer Olympic competition. Thorpe was a native American member of the Sac and Fox tribe. He was exceptionally strong and had numerous physical characteristics similar to the fossil remains of the Neanderthals. Thorpe was racially different but not a different species.

In 2010, researchers published the Neanderthal DNA genome sequence. Comparisons between that data and modern humans confirm that modern humans have Neanderthal DNA in their genome. In addition to the new genetic information, when researchers dig into places where they found Neandertal remains, they also discover the remains of complex tools, plant-based medicines, and storage of staples such as flour for making food. Evidence also suggests the use of symbols to communicate and ritual treatment of the dead. These things indicate that Neanderthals are not a missing link but an early race of humans.

The Bible does not define humans based on their physical makeup. Artists have depicted Adam and Eve as white-skinned, blue-eyed, six-foot-tall, attractive Caucasians. In my travels around the world, I have seen Adam and Eve portrayed as people of color, orientals, and even pygmies. What defines humans is not our physical appearance but our spiritual makeup. That is how we are created in the image of God.

The Bible’s description of how God created the physical human body is that we are made from the dust of the earth. (See Genesis 2:7 and 3:19.) No matter what our physical bodies are like, we are all one and are all created in God’s image. (See Genesis 1:27 and 9:6.) That concept permeates the biblical account. It helps us understand the teachings of Christ, that we are to love (agape) our neighbors and even our enemies.

— John N. Clayton © 2025
Reference: Scientific American magazine for February 2025, pages 43 -47 and scientificamerican.com

February 12, 2025February 10, 2025

Astronaut Eyes in Space

We read many quotes from various sources about humans traveling to the Moon, Mars, or some distant moon of Jupiter or Saturn. Most media stories seem to indicate that all astronauts would need to survive the journey is a space suit. They overlook the fact that the human body is carefully engineered to survive on Earth, but studies from the International Space Station show a new challenge for astronaut eyes in space.

We can address the damage to the heart and some other organs by providing enough cardiovascular activity on treadmills. However, new data on astronaut eyes in space show that long periods of weightlessness affect ocular biomechanics. More than 70% of astronauts on the International Space Station have Spaceflight-Associated Neuro-Ocular Syndrome (SANS).

NASA collected data on 13 astronauts who spent between 157 and 186 days in a weightless environment. The studies detailed a 33% decrease in ocular rigidity, an 11% decrease in interocular pressure, and a 25% reduction in ocular pulse amplitude. These changes caused decreased eye size, an altered focal field, optic nerve edema, and retinal folds. The researchers point out that some of these effects can produce long-lasting changes in the eye’s mechanical properties.

Science shows that the human body is engineered and designed for the gravitational effects of our planet. If only one or two things were essential for life on Earth, you might attribute it to chance. We are not talking about one or two things but the human body as a total unit. Every organ has to adjust when the body is subjected to weightlessness, but most organs cannot change. When NASA put Scott Kelly in space and his identical twin Mark stayed on Earth, it provided a comparison. Scott was in space for 340 days during 2015-16, and there were changes in his DNA and numerous changes in his body.

Now, we have additional data showing the effect of weightlessness on astronaut eyes in space. Some items like ocular pressure have potential complications like glaucoma. It is obvious that our bodies are engineered with many individual characteristics essential for life. The more variables that must be “just right,” the less likely it is that the final product could exist by chance.

For an airplane to fly, thousands of features must be carefully engineered. That requires engineers, not chance. That is even more true for the human body. God carefully designed us to live on planet Earth, and the media often oversimplifies what we need for space travel. Look in the mirror and behold the handiwork of God. (See Psalms 139:14.)

— John N. Clayton © 2025
References: National Institutes of Health, NASA, and Glenn Research Center

February 11, 2025February 9, 2025

Symbiotic Relationships Show Design

A stable ecosystem needs all forms of life to benefit other life forms. When two living things mutually benefit each other, we call it symbiosis. A simple example I see from my window is squirrels gathering acorns that make up a large percentage of their diet. The squirrels bury acorns in various places around the neighborhood and either forget where they buried them or don’t need all the acorns they buried. The result is that oak trees are planted all over the neighborhood. If there were no acorns, the squirrels would starve. If squirrels didn’t plant the acorns over a wide area, the oak trees would be crowded and unable to grow successfully. Squirrels and oak trees are one example of symbiotic relationships.

In the insect world, there are many symbiotic relationships, and some insects have multiple such relationships. The red wood ant is an example. The ants have a symbiotic relationship with aphids, which excrete energy-rich honeydew, which supplies food for the ants. In return, the ants protect the aphids from their enemies.

Another symbiotic relationship is with Eurasian jays. The birds land on an ant mound and allow the ants to crawl on them, spraying their feathers with formic acid. The acid is low enough concentration that it doesn’t harm the birds but is strong enough to kill parasites, including mites, that hide in their feathers. In this way, the jays find protection from mites.

A third symbiotic relationship of red wood ants protects spruce forests by controlling the wood-boring beetles that destroy them. The ants bite the beetles and spray formic acid into their wounds. Killing the beetles protects the spruce trees and provides a home for the aphids that live in them. That takes us back to the ant-aphid symbiosis.

The multiple symbiotic relationships of red wood ants remind us that removing one species may affect many symbiotic relationships. Symbiotic relationships show design. Proverbs 6:6-8 tells us, “Go to the ant, you slacker! Observe its ways and become wise. Without leader, administrator, or ruler, it prepares its provisions in summer; it gathers its food during harvest.”

— John N. Clayton © 2025
Reference: The February 2025 issue of National Geographic magazine (pages 110-132) or nationalgeographic.com

February 10, 2025February 9, 2025

The Design of Mountain Goats

Every niche in the natural world has a designed relationship with plants and animals that live there. Goats thrive in a variety of environments that are unsuitable for other animals. The design of mountain goats allows them to run up vertical mountain slopes and even climb trees in areas where no ground forage is available. Their ability to run vertically up steep slopes protects them from predators like bears or mountain lions. The only predator goats have to worry about are those that can fly. However, eagles and hawks can carry away small young goats.

The secret that allows mountain goats to do these seemingly impossible things is their hoof design. The outer edge of a goat’s hoof consists of very hard material. The hoof has adjustable toes that can compress to a sharp point for digging or to gain traction on a narrow ridge. Mountain goats can also expand their toes for a wider surface. The hoof edges have pointed toenails to catch on small crevices in rocks. The center of the hoof has a soft, rubbery material that gives traction for walking.

People who raise goats have found them difficult to hold in a pen. They can scale any material the walls of an enclosure might be made of and even move about on a steel roof with ease. No other animal has all of the features that allow goats to thrive in places where other animals can’t survive.

The design of mountain goats is challenging to explain based on chance. They are uniquely designed to be the leading players in the ecology of mountainous areas. Their design speaks loudly of the statement of Romans 1:20 that we can know there is a God through the things He has made.

February 6, 2025February 3, 2025

Size Extremes of Animals

We must be amazed when considering the size of dinosaurs and the number and function of insects. There have been very large or very small life forms throughout the history of planet Earth. The key to the size extremes of animals depends on ecological needs.

Fossils show enormous dinosaurs as large as a house and as tall as 50 feet. At the time of the dinosaurs, these animals could eat massive amounts of vegetation to provide the fossil fuels that humans would eventually need. They were larger than any land animal living today for good reason. Humans would be unable to share land areas with animals of that size, and predation would be an issue with carnivores the size of T. rex.

In today’s world, giant animals live in the ocean. The blue whale is the largest animal to ever live on this planet. An elephant weighs less than the tongue of a blue whale, and a blue whale’s heart is roughly the size of a car. They are not dangerous carnivores but eat massive amounts of small ocean creatures like krill. Without such a large consumer, the krill would overpopulate the world’s oceans and throw the ocean’s entire food chain out of balance.

Ants are closer to the small end of the size spectrum. For every human on this planet, there are roughly one million ants. Ants exist in many species, and each has particular functions. Some control the number of other insects, while others clean up human waste. Still others are integral to the plant kingdom as pollinators or as food for the plant.

Of course, there are microscopic life forms that make ants look huge by comparison. These size extremes of animals are not an accident, and they serve to sustain life today as they have in the past. Humans have the responsibility to protect the creatures God has created. Otherwise, Earth will become a lifeless ball of rock traveling through space.

February 5, 2025February 3, 2025

Dinosaur Tracks Show Earth Design

An area in the United Kingdom known as a “dinosaur highway” has more than 200 dinosaur tracks. The conditions in that area in the dinosaur age allowed the preservation of tracks of all kinds of dinosaurs in clay with amazing detail. Some of the tracks are from herbivorous sauropods. They were the most enormous dinosaurs that ever lived, leaving tracks more than thirty feet long and 1 ½ feet deep. The recent discovery of megalosaurus tracks, a predator that stood 30 feet tall, expanded our knowledge of what dinosaurs were like in the distant past.

In the 57 years this program has existed, we have seen many claims about dinosaur tracks. Glen Rose, Texas, has a state park where dinosaur tracks are the main attraction. Nearby, on Jake McFall’s farm, are what are claimed to be dinosaur tracks and human tracks in the same rock strata. The dinosaur tracks are huge, and the human tracks are around 16 inches long. McFall claims that the human tracks were made by giants, misreading the “nephilim” of Genesis 6. An interesting fact is that the tracks have the same depth. When I asked Jake why the tracks were the same depth when the dinosaur was the size of his house and the human was said to be nine feet tall, he had no answer.

Frequently, claims of tracks are in rocks that would not allow footprints. Near Albuquerque, New Mexico, there are sandal-shaped footprints in the rocks overlooking the city. The problem is that these rocks are intrusive igneous rocks, meaning they were formed deep in the Earth. They would have been much too hard for footprints to form.

More to the point is the information we can get by studying footprints and realizing the purpose for dinosaurs’ existence. Animals as big as the ones that left tracks in the “dinosaur highway” would have consumed massive amounts of plant material. We see that in coprolites (dinosaur poop) found in the area, which is 100% plant material. That plant material would eventually lead to some of the fossil fuels humans have depended on during the past century.

Today, there is a need to move to renewable fuels, but what got us to the high standard of living we can enjoy today is the materials produced by the dinosaurs and the ecological system they dominated. As we uncover the history of our planet recorded in the rocks, we see the power and wisdom of God. Our existence is not the product of accidents but of wisdom and design built into every record of the past, including dinosaur tracks.

Reference: apnews.com

February 3, 2025February 2, 2025

Bat Migrations and Design

The disappearance of bats from various areas of the world when winter approaches has puzzled scientists for years. Dr. Edward Hume of the Max Planck Institute for Animal Behavior led a study of bat migrations to determine where the bats go and how they get there. Monitoring bat migration is difficult because bats are fast and travel at night. They have a very low mass, roughly an ounce, so tags used for birds are too heavy for bats.

New tags developed by Hume and his associates weigh roughly a gram (1/454th of a pound), so they can follow bat migrations. Research has shown that bats use the warm fronts that precede storms to ride the winds to travel as much as 1000 miles. There are many variables in this system, meaning that the timing and direction of the winds must be very precise to carry the bats where they need to go.

There is a very practical reason for understanding bat migrations. Wind turbines can kill large numbers of bats, so knowing the timing of the migrations can reduce this problem by shutting down the wind turbines. Bats are essential to control insect populations and produce guano used in fertilizers.

Romans 1:20 says we can know there is a God through the things He has made. Every creature science has studied shows unique characteristics. The “Does God Exist?” program has five volumes of books titled “Dandy Designs,” showing many of these, and more volumes will soon be available. The evidence for God’s wisdom and design increases with every discovery science makes.

— John N. Clayton © 2025
Reference: “Bats catch a lift from storm winds on long-distance migrations,” NPR for January 4, 2025, by Jonathan Lambert.

January 31, 2025January 28, 2025

A Pregnant Woman’s Brain

In our day of surrogate mothers, in vitro fertilization, and abortion, we need to understand how a pregnant woman’s brain functions. Many husbands will describe very different thinking in the minds of their wives during pregnancy.

Dr. Liz Chrastil, a cognitive neuroscientist at the University of California, Irving, realized she could be her own study subject when she became pregnant. Chrastil exposed herself to four MRI scans before pregnancy, 15 during pregnancy, and seven scans in the two years after the baby was born.

The data on Chrastil was astounding. Pregnancy caused a 4% reduction of gray matter in 80% of Chrastil’s brain. At the same time, some of her white matter tracts that carry information around the brain grew stronger, reaching a peak in the second trimester. By the end of Chrastil’s pregnancy, the white matter returned to the pre-pregnancy level. Her gray matter changes seem to be permanent.

This research on a pregnant woman’s brain has enormous implications. As we have said before, If a woman has an abortion, the vestiges of her pregnancy continue with her for life. Pregnancy permanently alters the brain of a surrogate mother. Those who ridicule the biblical design for motherhood and families are encouraging great risk to women who choose to alter God’s plan. Humans cannot improve on God’s system for families. When they try, the result harms everyone.