science Archives

January 7, 2025January 6, 2025

Dry January and Alcohol

Over a decade ago, people in the United Kingdom began a tradition called Dry January, in which participants pledged to give up alcohol for a month. According to National Geographic, more than 20% of Americans now participate. A part of this is due to educated people understanding what alcohol does to the human body.

When a person consumes alcohol, the liver breaks it down to acetaldehyde, which is highly toxic and a known carcinogen. In addition to damaging the liver, alcohol can cause serious damage to the heart, pancreas, brain, and gastrointestinal tract. Alcohol use is associated with high blood pressure, heart disease, dysbiosis (which is damage to the lining of the intestines), and certain types of cancer. It even weakens the immune system and impairs the brain.

Liver disease caused by alcohol is fat accumulation, leading to inflammation, scarring, and ultimately to cirrhosis – which is irreversible. Until the cirrhosis stage, the liver has an enormous regenerative capacity and could benefit from a Dry January. According to Carrie Mintz of Washington University in St. Louis, “…you can have noticeable health effects when you stop drinking alcohol for a month.”

It is essential to understand that this situation has worsened in modern times because modern distillation increases the alcohol content. In the days of Jesus, water was universally contaminated. Paul advised Timothy, “Do not continue to drink water only, but make use of a little wine for your digestion and your frequent ailments” (1 Timothy 5:23). In John 2, we read of Jesus turning the water into wine during a wedding feast, a very long affair when people needed to drink water treated with quality wine. The wedding feast was a feast and celebration, not a drunken brawl.

Steven Tate, a physician at Stanford University, describes alcohol use in America for many people as a “slip into an addiction.” There is no question that alcohol is the most destructive recreational drug in human history. Getting people to abstain for a month during Dry January may be an answer to reversing the trend as long as some other drug like marijuana doesn’t take its place.

— John N. Clayton © 2025
Reference: National Geographic magazine January 2025, pages 107-109 or online HERE

January 6, 2025January 5, 2025

Science Has Identified Only Ten Percent of Species

Science Has Identified Only Ten Percent of Living Species

Romans 1:20 tells us that we can know God exists by the evidence we see in the things He has made. That includes the universe and all it contains, most of which we will never see. The evidence most visible to us consists of the plants and animals we encounter in our daily lives. But even in that area, our experience is limited. Those who study living things say that science has identified only ten percent of species.

Evidence that science has much to learn comes from the fact that researchers discovered hundreds of new species in 2024. Scientists connected to the California Academy of Sciences described 138 new species, including fish. Those working with the Natural History Museum of London cataloged 190 new species last year. Other scientists working with the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew, UK, described 149 new species of plants and 23 species of fungi, including a toadstool with teeth.

The creatures discovered and described in 2024 include a vegetarian piranha in Brazil and a moth species in Madagascar that gets its nourishment by drinking the tears of sleeping birds. Four new snake species and four previously unknown rat species became known last year. Botanists working in Indonesia identified five new species of orchids.

How many more animal, plant, and fungus species will scientists identify this year? We don’t know, but since science has identified only ten percent of species, the job is far from complete. Knowing that we have seen only a small portion of God’s creation in space and even on Earth, the evidence for God in the things He has made is massive.

Reference: cnn.com

January 3, 2025January 5, 2025

Heart Cockle Fiber Optics

God has equipped all living things with some method of survival. Research on the heart cockle, a small clam that lives in shallow waters in the Indian and Pacific oceans, has shown that it uses fiber optics to get sunlight through its shell to supply the food it needs.

Heart cockles get their food from algae living within their shells in a symbiotic relationship, benefiting both parties. The algae get sunlight through a crystalline form of calcium carbonate called aragonite arranged in tiny tubes that function like fiber-optic cables. These tubes allow visible light to pass through the cockle’s shell while blocking infrared and ultraviolet light. The algae use the light to produce sugars and other nutrients that benefit the clam while the clam protects the algae within its shell.

According to Science News, the aragonite can channel light without the reflective coatings that telecommunications fiber optics require. While filtering out harmful ultraviolet light, the fiber optic-like structures are “finely tuned to balance the shell’s mechanical strength with its ability to efficiently transmit light.” The “finely tuned” heart cockle shell design had to have a designer, and trying to explain it by chance alone requires a vivid imagination. This is one more evidence that God has designed a vast number of ways for life to survive.

— John N. Clayton © 2025
Reference: Science News December 14 & 28, 2024, page 10

January 2, 2025December 31, 2024

The Fear of Snakes

Everything in existence had a reason to be created, even snakes. There are over 3600 species of snakes, and roughly 725 of them are venomous. However, only about 200 species can harm or fatally injure a human with just one bite. The fear of snakes is common. Snakes vary in size, with the smallest being the Barbados thread snake, which grows to a maximum of roughly 4 inches. The largest found so far is a reticulated python, 23 feet long and weighing over 215 pounds.

So, why are people afraid of snakes? Movie watchers may remember the scene in “Raiders of the Lost Ark” when Indiana Jones looked over ruins and saw the floor was covered with snakes. He muttered, “Snakes, why did it have to be snakes!” The fear of snakes predates Indiana Jones. Many Bible passages involve snakes. When Moses threw his stick on the ground in Exodus 4:1-3, it became a snake, and Moses ran from it.

Why do snakes exist, and what lessons do they have for us? First, on a scientific level, snakes are incredibly well-designed to eat warm-blooded pests. They smell by using their forked tongues to collect airborne scent particles. They deposit those particles on special organs called vomeronasal or Jacobson’s organs on the roof of their mouths. In addition, snakes have nerves on their underside, which are very sensitive to vibration. These features enable snakes to go into a burrow and remove a rodent that would otherwise be a pest to humans. Snakes are rarely aggressive. They bite when someone invades the snake’s territory or deliberately antagonizes it.

In Mark 16:17-18 Jesus speaks about snakes as He describes His followers: “…they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.” Some denominations have handled snakes as a part of their worship service. This display of bravado is not what Jesus was talking about. At the time Jesus spoke, there were no scriptures to allow a person to whether or not a messenger was from God. Jesus said his messengers would be fluent in many languages and able to handle snakes, drink poison, and heal the sick 100% of the time. None of the current “snake handlers” can do all of those things. We learn from 1 Corinthians 13:8 that those things are unnecessary after God’s perfect word became available.

In Genesis 3:1-4, was Eve dealing with a talking snake? Was the curse on the snake in verses 14-15 to crawl for future generations? Looking at all these verses, it seems that the message is spiritual and involves offspring. You can see that in the highly symbolic contrast between crushing the head and striking the heel. The theological debate on these questions has gone on for thousands of years.

Despite the fear of snakes, the bottom line is that snakes serve humans in marvelous ways. They should be respected rather than feared. Genesis reminds us of Satan’s power and the importance of living as God has told us to.

December 30, 2024December 29, 2024

The Religion of Scientism

We get a lot of mail from skeptics and atheists who state that “religion is the opiate of the masses” and that they have no religion. Karl Marx made this statement, but it is not accurate. Britannica defines religion as “a human being’s relation to that which they regard as holy, sacred, absolute, spiritual, divine, or worthy of special reverence.” That applies to the religion of scientism, which says that science is the only source of knowledge.

Many people hold to a human system of belief. Scientist Stephen Hawking made science fit the definition of scientism. Hawking wrote that “scientists have become the bearers of the torch of discovery.” As a science teacher and a person trained in the physical sciences, I understand that science has taught us many wonderful things, but it does not have all the answers.

You can learn many wonderful things outside of what science can measure or discover. Why did the universe come into being? What is the meaning of human existence? What happens after we die? What is the basis for morality? Why is there something instead of nothing? How did gravity come into existence? These are all questions science can’t answer. John C. Lennox, in his book God and Stephen Hawking, points out that what is going on in our academic world today is not science versus religion, but rather it is theism versus atheism. Many have adopted the religion of scientism.

The dictionary defines science as knowledge. Wikipedia defines scientism as “the belief that science and the scientific method are the best or only way to render truth about the world and reality.” We can be amazed by what science can do, but science cannot answer many essential questions.

Science has given us many ways to kill one another. War has affected us all, and science offers no answer as to how to stop it. In contrast, the teachings of Jesus Christ tell us how to stop war. Read Matthew 5-7 and ask yourself what the world would be like if everyone accepted and applied those teachings. Now, consider what the world will be like if we continue to allow greed, selfishness, and political ambition to control all of humanity.

Those who reject God and Christ’s teachings will embrace some other human belief system. Will we allow atheism and the religion of scientism to govern our future, or will we accept the message of Jesus Christ?

December 27, 2024December 23, 2024

Wildlife in Winter and Conifers

Wildlife in Winter survive because of conifer forests

Winter presents new challenges for all of us, but God has made unique provisions for wildlife in winter. One of the most interesting is the conifers and what they provide for birds.

Winter does not threaten northern birds because all the food and shelter they need is available in four conifers. Berries last through the winter on winterberry holly, Virginia creeper, and trumpet honeysuckle. Cedars have cones and attract insects like carpenter ants that birds eat. Cedar waxwings, golden-crowned kinglets, and pileated woodpeckers thrive on Cedars. Spruce trees have seeds that feed evening grosbeaks, fox sparrows, and juncos. Fir trees provide for nuthatches, chickadees, and spotted owls. Birds can open the cones of white pines to eat the seeds, with nutcrackers and crossbill finches being the most adept.

Conifers exist virtually everywhere on planet Earth, which means bird habitats are available everywhere. The survival of wildlife in winter is possible for birds, other animals, and the plants they depend on. While tropical areas might seem ideal for birds, winter offers freedom from most parasites and provides a host of food and shelter sources. Conifers grow at high elevations and high latitudes where other plants could not exist.

There is amazing diversity everywhere we look on our planet, providing a great testimony to the wisdom and design God has put into His creation. Genesis 8:22 indicates that summer and winter are built into the creation, and Psalms 74:17 tells us God is the creator of summer and winter. As we look outside here in Michigan, we see many birds thriving despite the snow and ice. The survival of wildlife in winter is based on the protection they have from the cold and the food that is readily available to birds in the conifers.

— John N. Clayton © 2024
Reference: Audubon magazine for winter, 2024 page 50. Also of interest is audubon.org/plantsforbirds.

December 26, 2024December 23, 2024

The Value of a Dinosaur Fossil

What is the value of a dinosaur fossil? In 2024, the current record price for a fossilized dinosaur skeleton is $44,600,000 paid for a Stegosaurus fossil nicknamed Apex. The fossil, found in Colorado in 2022, is 27 feet long and 11 ½ feet tall. Kenneth C. Griffin, who bought the Stegosaurus fossil, is loaning it to the American Museum of Natural History in Manhattan, which expects millions of visitors to come and see it. The previous record for a dinosaur fossil was $31,800,000 paid in 2020 for a Tyrannosaurus rex fossil named Stan, which is going to be displayed in Abu Dhabi. A T-rex fossil named Sue, on display in the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago, sold in 1997 for a mere $8.3 million.

What is the value of a dinosaur fossil that can command such enormous prices? Griffin says, “Apex offers a unique window into our planet’s distant past. The joy and awe every child feels coloring a Stegosaurus with their crayons will now be brought to life for the millions of people who have the opportunity to see this epic dinosaur in person.”

Are there religious or biblical connections to finding a dinosaur fossil? For some religious denominations, the answer may be negative. It is difficult to imagine how humans could exist with an animal of this size. As people look at this colossal dinosaur fossil they may be unable to accept the idea that humans and dinosaurs were contemporaries, and they would be right.

The Genesis account contains no Hebrew word that could be translated as “dinosaur” or “Stegosaurus. “Some people refer to “Behemoth” in Job chapter 40. The word “behemah” is used 51 times in the Bible, including Genesis 1:24-25 and refers to cattle. Stegosaurus was not a cow! “Remes” is also used in these verses referring to creeping creatures (also in Genesis 9:3) and is used 16 times in the biblical record. The “creation week” clearly refers to animals that the people of Moses’ time were familiar with, and that would not have included dinosaurs. The term “leviathan” (Job 41:1 and Psalms 104:26) refers to a great water creature, but Stegosaurus was not a water creature.

Dinosaurs were creatures God used to prepare the Earth for humans. Imagine the volume of plant material that Stegosaurus would have eaten every day. You can understand how they were instrumental in pruning the plants and spreading their seeds to provide the coal and mineral deposits humans would need. Like everything God does, the scale of what He did after Genesis 1:2 and before the Genesis creation week was massive. So, what is the value of a dinosaur fossil? We can join in the awe of seeing God’s plan as we look at dinosaur fossils like Apex, Stan, and Sue without feeling any doubt in our minds about the message of Genesis.

December 19, 2024December 17, 2024

Cardinals Are Redder in Winter

I thought it was my imagination that when the Christmas season rolled around, the cardinal that came to my feeder was more brilliant red than I had ever seen before. Then I received an article from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology that made me realize what I observed was true – cardinals are redder in winter.

After the breeding season and when food is abundant, northern cardinals molt their feathers and grow new ones. During autumn molting, the cardinals look ugly, with areas of dark exposed skin and even some baldness. The ugly areas become covered with feathers tipped in gray. The gray feather tips wear off, exposing the brilliant red underfeathers. The birds reach the peak of brilliance by midwinter ahead of the spring breeding season.

The color change isn’t just for us to enjoy. It also attracts female cardinals. Studies at Cornell have shown that brighter red cardinals mate earlier and nest in better habitats, producing more offspring. The redness comes from carotenoids, pigments that occur naturally in foods such as red and purple fruits. Honeysuckle has red berries, as does dogwood and winterberry. All cardinals eat the same foods, but only the males reveal the pigments in brilliant reds.

Male cardinals are redder in winter because the genetics of the males and females are different enough to cause a color difference between the two sexes. Building a genome that produces this beautiful color is not easy. There are alternative ways males could attract females, as seen in other bird species.

Cardinals remind us that color and beauty are characteristics God has given us to enjoy. It was not an accident of some mutation that painted male cardinals red. We see amazing color in cardinals as well as peacocks, pheasants, painted buntings, parrots, splendid fairywrens, and lilac-breasted rollers, to mention just a few.

It is not your imagination that cardinals are redder in winter. Enjoy the beauty God has given us in His unique life forms in the sky.

December 16, 2024December 15, 2024

Flamingo Complexity

The complexity of living things gives evidence of design rather than accidental chance. Flamingos that live in southern Florida, the Galapagos Islands, and throughout the Caribbean provide an example of that complexity. You have probably seen photographs of these five-foot-tall pink birds wading in shallow waters and using their long necks to find food. The pink color comes from pigments in their foods, such as brine shrimp and algae. The color is absorbed by body fat and deposited in the flamingo’s feathers. Flamingo complexity involves more than color.

Flamingos move their heads through the water because their tongues pump water into their bills, where comblike structures strain out their food. This activity helps purify the water and provides nutrition for the flamingos. Their legs are an engineering marvel. What looks like a backward knee is actually an ankle joint that can be locked. You would think that a bird with no talons and no sharp beak would be easy prey for various animals that live in coastal areas. The reality is that flamingos can rest and even sleep with their ankle locked while standing on one leg in the water far from shore, out of the reach of predators.

Flamingo complexity also involves their efficient reproductive system, with monogamous pairs producing one egg a year. They build a mound away from the shore and take turns incubating the egg by sitting on the nest mound. During incubation, the flamingo will frequently stand, stretch its wings, preen itself, and carefully lift and turn the egg with its bill. The incubation period is between 27 and 31 days.

The more we learn about the unique design of various birds, the more we have to doubt that this is the product of blind opportunistic chance. In Job 39:13-30, God challenges Job to explain the unique characteristics of birds, including the ostrich, stork, hawk, and eagle. If flamingos lived in Job’s area, they surely would be included as an example of God’s wisdom and design.

December 13, 2024December 11, 2024

Denominational Creationism Doctrines

One of the most destructive forces in the Lord’s Church today is denominational creationism. The list of big-dollar efforts by denominational churches continues to grow, and their message continues to destroy the faith of well-educated young people.

The “Does God Exist?” ministry reaches out to people who have lost their faith, left the Church, or are associated with megachurches that are not focused on the Bible. We receive many requests from parents whose children have left the Church, and a major part of our work is to reach out to these young people. Many have lost their faith because of things like the Creation Museum and Ark Encounter. Many church leaders fail to understand the issues involved and organize bus trips to these creationist presentations.

Among the issues are claiming the universe or planet Earth is 6,000 years old, suggesting that Noah had baby dinosaurs on the ark, saying that nothing died until Adam and Eve sinned, and saying that the flood of Noah caused all geologic features on Earth. Though they claim to be presenting the biblical account, their message ignores what the Bible actually says. Furthermore, the denominational creationism message is cleverly worked into their dispensational teaching that Jesus will return as a political figure, restoring David’s physical throne by force in Jerusalem and ruling on Earth.

This confusing message is a factor in the loss of young people from the Church. On the doesgodexist.org website, you can read a free booklet titled “God’s Revelation in His Rocks and His Word.” It goes into the biblical problems with this creationist teaching.

The cost of these creationist entertainment venues and the amount of money spent by those who visit them should raise questions in the minds of church leaders. We need to take the Bible literally and use the resources God has given us to meet the needs of people spiritually and materially worldwide. Supporting denominational creationism and teaching their doctrines in Bible classes does not do that.