science Archives

December 4, 2025November 30, 2025

Horns and Antlers – What Are They Good For?

Ronald Johnson asked us a question we’ve heard from animal rights advocates before. Are horns on animals only useful for fighting, showing God to be war-like, angry, and sadistic? The God of the Bible is a loving, caring, merciful, and patient God. When there is violence, killing, and war, the cause is always human power struggles and selfish motives, not the will of God. So, what other purposes do animal horns serve? Here are four non-violent uses for horns and antlers:

1) Horns act as shovels that help animals access food sources they otherwise could not reach. Vegetation is often either too high or too far underground for many animals to reach. Horns allow animals to break off hard-to-reach vegetation or move logs or rocks to reach food sources.

2) Antlers store nutrients that other animals recycle. Many animals, birds, and insects eat discarded antlers to get the extra nutrients they contain.

3) Horns and antlers are used as communication tools with other animals of their kind. Those of us who spend a lot of time in the woods have seen “deer rubs.” This is when a deer uses its antlers to scrape a mark on a tree, signaling its presence, size, and how long ago it was there to other deer.

4) Horns serve as shields against predators like hawks, eagles, falcons, wolves, bears, lions, hyenas, tigers, cheetahs, dogs, and other carnivores. The animal with horns can protect itself and others nearby. I have seen musk oxen defend their young by forming a ring around them with all the horned animals facing outward. A pack of wolves circled the group but never tried to attack.

Animals certainly have other uses for horns and antlers, but the main point is that in most animals, they are rarely used for fighting. God has provided all living things with what they need to live on our planet, and we can see His wisdom and design in the things He has made (Romans 1:20).

December 3, 2025November 30, 2025

Kelp Forests Enrich the Earth

In our era of environmental threats, it’s reassuring to know there are solutions to some of the problems we face. God has created a form of life that purifies water and the atmosphere from pollutants, including human-made toxins and carbon emissions. At the same time, it supplies nutrients for marine life. We find this solution in the ocean’s kelp forests.

Kelp forests are 20 times more effective at absorbing carbon dioxide than similarly sized land-based forests. Kelp is plentiful along the west coast of the United States and grows on the coasts of Maine, Long Island, the United Kingdom, Norway, Tasmania, southern Africa, Argentina, and Japan. Kelp supports over 1000 species of marine plants and animals and provides roughly half of the oxygen we breathe. Kelp can also be used to make alternatives to plastics and chemical fertilizers used in agriculture. It can grow almost anywhere, including on abandoned oil rigs along various coastlines.

The Genesis account does not mention ocean life forms because the Fertile Crescent was far from an ocean coastline. Just as God knew humans would need coal, iron, copper, and other minerals, He provided kelp forests to shape the Earth for human survival. Science helps us understand how dinosaurs, diatoms, and many other animal forms not described in Genesis were God’s tools to prepare Earth for humans. We are in awe of God’s wisdom and creative power.

Reference: Smithsonian Magazine for December 2025, pages 76-86, and smithsonianmag.com.

December 1, 2025November 30, 2025

Helicopters and Dragonflies

Igor Sikorsky is recognized as the father of the modern helicopter, but what may not be as widely known is how he gathered the information that led to its development. This is the story of helicopters and dragonflies.

Sikorsky dedicated years to observing birds and insects to understand how to achieve stable, controlled flight. Dragonflies stood out because their wings operate independently, each capable of rotating, tilting, and shifting angles to produce quick changes in lift.

As helicopter technology has advanced, engineers continue to draw inspiration from the dragonfly. Its sideways dashes, backward flight, sudden stops, and precise hovering are still studied by engineers. Even the dragonfly’s timing patterns, rotational wing strokes, and quick lift adjustments have been emulated to improve the stability of helicopter rotor systems.

Dragonflies offer a blueprint for aerial agility, and their design is an engineering marvel. The big question is how the dragonfly’s design came about. It seems impossible to explain this complexity as the result of random chance. It appears to be a design from a Master Engineer.

Helicopters and dragonflies serve as another example of biomimicry and provide evidence that all life is a product of intelligence, demonstrating the truth of Romans 1:20 that we can know there is a God through the things He has made. as made.

November 21, 2025November 20, 2025

Evidence for the Existence of a Creator in the Big Bang

Cosmology offers compelling evidence for the existence of a creator God. Many people in both religious and skeptical communities see the Big Bang theory as a threat to the credibility of the Genesis account and the existence of God. However, this is unfortunate because the Big Bang theory actually aligns with the Genesis account and presents a cause of creation that skeptics cannot explain.

Technology has confirmed the Big Bang. The Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) provides the oldest record of the universe’s temperature and density from the very beginning. The latest CMB data show that the universe began with a hot Big Bang. Data from the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe verify that time started at the Big Bang.

The words of Genesis 1:1 fully correspond to this data. The first word in the Bible is “reshith,” meaning an absolute starting point. The next word refers to God, followed by “bara,” a term used exclusively for acts only God can perform. Then, we see the word is “shamayim,” meaning “heaved-up things.” The rapid expansion of the universe aligns perfectly with this wording.

Further study of the biblical record reveals the ongoing battle between good and evil and God’s creation of humans through whom that battle occurs. (See Job 1 and 2.) Skeptics cannot explain why humans exist. The greatest failure of atheism is that it offers no reason for the existence of the cosmos or human life. When science and religion conflict, it often indicates either poor science, poor religion, or both. Historically, this has been the case with the Big Bang theory, but as science progresses and people deepen their understanding of what the Bible truly teaches, we see that both science and Scripture provide strong evidence for the existence of a Creator.

Reference: American Scientist, November/December 2025, pages 353 -359.

November 20, 2025November 18, 2025

Subsea Desalination to Address Water Shortages

One of today’s major challenges, which will only intensify as the world’s population grows, is ensuring there is enough water for humans and animals to survive. God has provided ways to obtain the water needed for crop growth, maintaining healthy animals, and even for space travel. Our space probes have detected vast amounts of water on other planets in our solar system, and even on the Moon. While these discoveries are promising for the distant future, when humans live elsewhere, the more immediate challenge is securing sufficient water on Earth. A potential new solution is subsea desalination.

The 1798 poem “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner” by Samuel Taylor Coleridge describes a sailor stranded at sea who laments, “Water, water everywhere and not a drop to drink.” Today, various desalination methods are used to remove salt from seawater and produce drinking water. These include boiling seawater and condensing the vapor, flash distillation utilizing temperature and pressure, and reverse osmosis with extremely tiny membranes that allow only water molecules to pass through. These methods often require a lot of energy and specialized materials. Subsea desalination requires far less energy from fossil fuels and can be deployed anywhere with an ocean depth of at least 1,600 feet (500 meters).

Subsea desalination uses the immense pressure found deep in the ocean to generate the necessary energy. At a depth of 1600 feet, the pressure reaches approximately 102,400 pounds per square foot, enough to push water through membranes, leaving the salt behind. The clean water can then be piped to shore. This water will contain very few bacteria and other microorganisms and will be free of algae, river runoff, and the effects of storms and seasonal temperature changes. Very little chemical addition would be needed, and coastal cities like Los Angeles and San Francisco could benefit most from subsea desalination.

Everywhere we look, we see that God has provided Earth and our solar system with abundant resources to meet our most basic needs. And He has created humans in His image with the creativity and intelligence to find those resources.

Reference: Scientific American for October 2025, pages 10-12, and scientificamerican.com

November 19, 2025November 18, 2025

The Rapa Nui People and the Unknown God

For many years, nearly 1000 massive statues on Easter Island have been studied by both scholars and UFO enthusiasts. The UFO proponents have claimed that it would be impossible for the Rapa Nui people of Easter Island to move these statues. Some of them weigh 130,000 pounds and stand 32 feet tall. They were transported across rugged terrain from a quarry where some unfinished statues still exist. UFO supporters have argued that only aliens with anti-gravity capabilities could have moved such large statues over long distances and around obstacles.

Anthropologists from Binghamton University in New York have found the answer to how the statues were moved. Using a 10,000-pound replica, they found that 18 people could move it 328 feet in 40 minutes across roads built by the Rapa Nui people between 1400 and 1650. Carl Lipo, an anthropologist, explains that the physics makes sense, and that “once you get it moving, it isn’t hard at all.”

The Rapa Nui people were not alone in their search for gods. Pagan cultures worldwide have realized that what they see and experience is not an accident. They understand there must be a higher power governing nature. Acts 17 records the apostle Paul, speaking in Athens, describing to his listeners a God in whom “we live and move and have our being.” Paul also pointed out that the creator is not “worshipped with men’s hands as though He needed anything, since He gives to all life, breath, and all things.”

Paul saw the idols of the people of Athens, including one dedicated to “the Unknown God.” Today in America, the God Paul described remains unknown to many people. That is shown by the fact that over 40% of Americans say “none” when asked about their religious beliefs. The purpose of the “Does God Exist?” ministry is to present evidence that there is a God and that the Bible is His word.

Knowing God through Jesus Christ offers a better life in this world and gives humans a purpose. The battle between good and evil is real, and even though atheists claim evil does not exist, thoughtful people will examine the evidence and recognize that denying evil does not make it disappear.

Reference: The Week for November 7, 2025, page 21, and academia.edu

November 18, 2025November 18, 2025

Camels Are Amazing Animals

You might think a camel is a funny and awkward-looking creature. The fact is, camels are amazing animals. Consider the properties of a camel:

1) A camel can drink freshwater or saltwater. Camels can even drink water from the Dead Sea without harm because their kidneys filter it, removing the salt and turning it into fresh water.

2) A camel can eat thorns with no damage to its stomach or intestines because its saliva dissolves the thorns.

3) A camel has two sets of eyelids: one is thin and transparent, and the other is thick and fleshy. When a sandstorm blows in the desert, it closes the transparent eyelid to prevent sand from entering its eyes.

4) A camel can regulate its body temperature. If it’s cold, its temperature rises, and if it’s hot, its temperature drops. In the desert, temperatures can range from 120 degrees during the day to below freezing at night.

Camels are amazing animals, specially designed to live in the desert. There is no way that all of these abilities can come into existence by a “long series of beneficial accidents.” The camel’s amazing design provides thoughtful people with strong evidence for the existence of a creator God.

Reference: Our thanks to Gary W. Stephenson for sending us this information, taken from Quora.com.

November 17, 2025November 16, 2025

Bamboo Alarm Clock

Although bamboo grows in forests and can look like trees, it is actually the largest type of grass. Bamboos are also the fastest-growing plants in the world, with some growing 3 feet (91 cm) in just 24 hours! The most fascinating thing about this unique grass is the bamboo alarm clock.

Bamboo is an important building material in many parts of Asia because it has a higher compressive strength than wood, brick, or concrete, and a tensile strength that rivals steel. But perhaps the most interesting aspect of bamboo is its reproductive method, often called mass, gregarious, or synchronized flowering—the bamboo alarm clock.

Bamboo doesn’t flower or produce seeds every year. Depending on the species, it may take 20, 35, 65, or even 120 years to flower. Then, the entire forest blooms, produces seeds, and dies all at once. Even more amazing is that if you take one plant from the forest and move it halfway around the world to a different climate, it will still flower at the same time. Even if you transplant it just a few weeks before its normal bloom time, it will still flower, produce seeds, and die at the same time as its original neighbors.

This raises two questions: “Why?” and “How?” Survival needs may explain the “why.” Synchronized flowering ensures effective pollination. They flood the air with pollen, so even isolated plants have a high chance of pollination, as the pollen cloud can travel hundreds of miles. Additionally, synchronized pollination and fruiting prevent predators from consuming all the fruit, securing the species’ survival.

Scientists are still trying to understand the “how” behind the bamboo alarm clock. Various theories have been proposed and dismissed. What we do know for sure is that bamboo has an internal clock that signals when it is time to reproduce. Only the Creator fully understands how this mechanism works. All we can do is marvel at this system’s design, as it seems impossible to be purely the result of chance.

Reference: wikipedia.org

November 14, 2025November 11, 2025

Electric Rays in the Ocean

The oceans are home to many ray species. Some are more familiar than others. Stingrays are found almost anywhere in shallow beach waters, and manta rays can grow to enormous sizes. Most rays have a stinger, which they use to defend against predators or attackers. Steve Irwin, the Australian conservationist, was killed while swimming next to a large manta ray. Rays are generally slow swimmers, so their stingers serve as their main defense. A lesser-known group of rays that don’t use stingers is the electric rays, also called torpedo fish.

Larger electric rays can generate an electric shock of up to 220 volts. That’s enough to electrocute their prey or stun an adult human. Researchers have observed a large white shark approach an electric ray and turn away when it came too close. Electric rays primarily use their electric power to capture prey while hiding beneath the ocean floor, waiting for prey to swim by.

God has equipped all living things with survival and defense mechanisms. Some can run at high speeds, others use camouflage, and some have venom or toxins. Electric rays are among the few that use high-voltage electricity. The variety of designs in living things shows evidence of a Designer.

Reference: Ocean Conservancy for winter 2025, page 3, and wikipedia.org

November 13, 2025November 11, 2025

Inside a Tree Trunk

There is so much about the everyday things in our lives that we don’t understand. When we see a tree, we have no idea what lives inside that tree’s trunk. Recent studies by scientists have found that inside a tree trunk there are entire communities of bacteria. A single mature tree hosts about one trillion bacteria, with different communities living in various layers.

What is especially remarkable is that some of the bacteria living deep inside a tree trunk are anaerobic, meaning they don’t need oxygen and produce methane. The outer layers of wood may absorb some of the methane, but more research is needed on that. The study’s lead author said that the inside of a tree trunk is more like a wetland, where anaerobic bacteria and methane producers thrive in low-oxygen environments.

Poets like Robert Frost and Joyce Kilmer have written famous poems about trees. While we admire the beauty of a tree and enjoy its leaves and their fall colors when they lose chlorophyll and turn vibrant, we often don’t think about what it takes to create them. In a desert, humans seek an oasis where conditions permit trees to grow. Most of the time, we take trees for granted and never consider what’s inside a tree trunk.

Genesis 1:12 tells us that God formed trees (the Hebrew word “ets”) as a special creation, separate from grasses or gymnosperms. That simple statement hides how complex it really is to make a tree trunk. As Romans 1:12 states, “We can know there is a God through the things He has made,” and the trees we see in our yard or garden demonstrate how much intelligence is needed to create a simple piece of wood.

Reference: Scientific American, November 2025, pages 20-21.