science Archives

December 23, 2022December 19, 2022

Unstable Wing Design Is Essential

“How do birds fly?” is a very old question that remains basically unanswered. We aren’t talking about simple fixed-wing flight, which uses the old physics model that a rapidly moving fluid exerts minimum pressure at a right angle to the direction of motion. We use that model for airplanes, but birds have another feature called unstable wing design. The unanswered question about bird flight is how they can be so agile. Drones have a problem with this issue because, with their fixed-wing structure, they can’t make quick direction changes.

Christina Harvey of the University of California, Davis, and Daniel Inman of the University of Michigan have examined the flight dynamics of 22 bird species. They concluded that unstable wing design is the key to what birds can do. For example, seagulls can change the shape of their wings by adjusting their wrist and elbow joints. Changing their wing shape allows them to handle wind gusts easily. Aerospace engineers have not been able to duplicate that part of flight dynamics, but most bird species manage it quite well.

Drones working in an urban environment must handle sudden wind gusts and rapid direction changes, but with a fixed-wing design, that is almost impossible. The study’s authors point out that future business-level drones or personal aircraft must be able to implement unstable wing design. However, engineers have yet to find a way to do that. Researchers funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the National Academy of Science (NAS) are working to understand how the complex design of bird wings allows unstable flight.

It is fascinating that the earliest birds of flight seen in the fossil record had a wing design that allowed unstable flight. We even find fossil birds that resemble our modern hummingbirds, which have very unstable wing design. We continue to see examples of intelligence in the design of living things. Much of what you and I enjoy, from velcro to rockets and modern aircraft, had their start when thinking people saw the design God built into life and copied it to benefit all of us.

References: The U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) and the National Academy of Sciences (NAS), in their December 2022 reports,

December 22, 2022December 19, 2022

Drugs and Highway Safety

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) released a report on drugs and highway safety (December 2022) showing data from seven level-one trauma centers and four medical centers around the country. Of 7,279 road users tested, 20% of drivers had blood alcohol levels of .08% or higher, exceeding the legal limit in every state. However, they also found that 20% of those tested were positive for two or more drugs, so alcohol was only part of the problem. The studies also found that over 50% of injured pedestrians and just over 43% of injured bicyclists had a drug in their bloodstreams.

In addition to recreational drugs making highways unsafe for all of us, new studies released by the American Lung Association show the effect of long-term marijuana smoking. Data gathered at Ottawa Hospital in Canada show that 93% of older marijuana smokers had developed emphysema. That is higher than the rate in cigarette smokers, which was 67%. However, the data on non-smokers that have come out over the years suggests that emphysema is not a significant concern unless a person is around second-hand smoke.

Addiction to recreational drugs, including alcohol, is not just a problem for the users. Last week, here in Niles, Michigan, a friend was driving on Main Street with her child in a car seat. A person pulled out of the local marijuana distribution shop without looking, hitting, and totaling my friend’s car. I was putting groceries in my car at the local supermarket when a guy drove into the parking lot at high speed, doing wheelies and forcing me and several others to run into the grocery store to avoid being hit. The policeman later told me the driver had just come from the marijuana store and was using the drug as he drove.

This issue goes beyond drugs and highway safety. The further our society goes away from God, the more pain, suffering, disease, and abuse we can expect to see. Christians know that our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 3:16), and we should take care of them. Therefore, bringing the gospel of Christ to our society is not just a spiritual issue. It is also a clear road to a better and safer life for all of us.

December 21, 2022December 19, 2022

Alien Minerals and Alien Life

Andrew Locock at the University of Alberta discovered two new minerals in a fragment of the El Ali meteorite that landed in Somalia. These minerals had never been found naturally on Earth, although scientists had synthesized them in a lab. Chris Herd, an Earth and Atmospheric Sciences professor and curator of the University of Alberta’s meteorite collection, named the two alien minerals “Elaliite” and “Elkinstantonite.”

The tabloids try to use this find to suggest that alien worlds exist that are radically different from Earth. The fact is that these minerals contain the common elements iron, potassium, and oxygen. Like many other “alien minerals” such as Brianite, Xifengite, and Heamanite, scientists have synthesized them. Inorganic materials can form new chemical configurations when they are subjected to temperatures and pressures not seen on Earth’s surface. All of these minerals with unfamiliar names are the product of conditions not present on the surface of our planet.

There are chemical restraints on what elements can sustain life. Biologists tell us that life is “that form that can move, breathe. respond to outside stimuli, and reproduce.” The elements that make those functions possible are carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen. For example, living things made of iron are not chemically possible, yet iron is the dominant element in meteorites. Oxygen is the one oxidizing element that allows respiration without adverse chemical reactions that would prevent life from surviving. For that reason, life forms breathing chlorine or bromine are not possible.

At the same time, alien minerals in meteorites do not mean that alien life is impossible. On the contrary, if there is life in space, it will be made of the same elements that we are. It may not look like us or live as we do, but we will not have any trouble identifying it as life.

Every time this issue comes up, it reminds me of my experience on a radio show. I was in Washington, D.C., doing a call-in talk show with Larry King (before he became famous) and a local atheist. We had a lively discussion about science and faith with some references to alien life. A caller said to the atheist, “What would you do if a spaceship landed on the White House Lawn and a little green man jumped out with a Bible in his hand and said, ‘Has Jesus been here yet?’” Before I could point out some problems with that proposal, my atheist opponent looked at me, smiled, and said, “Punt.” Larry King responded by going to a commercial.

December 20, 2022December 20, 2022

Slime in the Natural World

If you are around kids, you may be familiar with a toy called slime. The slime toy is a messy, oozy material that is sticky but doesn’t leave residue on your fingers. It’s slippery but has a texture that allows kids to mold it into various shapes. However, slime is more than a toy. We see different forms of slime in the natural world.

The slugs in your garden and most mollusks use slime, and the nasal mucus of a variety of animals is slime. The idea for the toy that kids love to play with originated from observing slime in the natural world. Slugs use mucus slime to lubricate their path and to stick to walls. Mollusks use slime in several ways, including making pearls. Natural slime is a highly designed material that allows animals and humans to function.

The saliva that keeps your mouth wet is one form of slime, but other forms of slime or mucus produced by your body are essential for survival. Slime in the form of mucus lubricates your esophagus so that food can go down your throat. The slime that lines your stomach protects it from acids. Slime in the natural world contains proteins called mucins. Chemists have found that animals produce mucins by adding a designed chain of amino acids to an existing protein, making it much longer.

A study into the chemistry of slime in the natural world has found some potential new uses for this material. For example, Omer Gokcumen, director of the study at the University of Buffalo, says that it may lead to new ways to treat cancer and other illnesses in the mouth and throat.

God is an incredible chemist. We see unique forms of chemistry in our bodies and the biological world around us. Gokcumen’s work focused on saliva, our first defense against pathogens, allowing us to eat various foods. Food chemistry is highly complex, and understanding how the body can handle new forms of food is becoming increasingly important. Around the world, people eat very different things than what we find in the typical American diet. Thanks to God’s design, the chemistry of slime makes it possible to feed every human on the planet.

Reference: National Science Foundation Research Reports for December 2022.

December 16, 2022December 15, 2022

The Death of the Dead Sea

One of the most interesting places on Earth is the Dead Sea. This body of water between Israel and Jordan is located 1400 feet below sea level at its surface. The lake is 978 feet deep and is fed by the Jordan River. The water is so salty that a person entering the lake floats so that most of their body is above the lake’s surface. The minerals that make the lake salty are essential and have been mined for centuries by simply evaporating the water. Health spas have sprung up around the lake, bringing in a busy tourist trade. However, we may be approaching the death of the Dead Sea.

The geology that has produced the lake is another interesting feature. The Jordan Rift Valley is a long depression between two geologic faults, known as a graben. Grabens are common on Earth, but this one is unusually deep.

One reason for the potential death of the Dead Sea is that in recent years it has been evaporating much more rapidly than ever before due to climate change. As a result, in some years, the lake’s surface has fallen four feet. As the lake level drops, numerous sinkholes have formed where the exposed ground that used to be at the bottom of the lake dries and collapses. As a result, an area that contained roads and beaches is now dotted with sinkholes making it too dangerous for travel.

However, the death of the Dead Sea has multiple causes. The Jordan River is essentially not flowing into the lake as people have diverted its water for drinking and irrigation. People also use evaporation ponds to recover minerals, accelerating the water loss. Between human over-use and climate change, the Dead Sea is rapidly becoming inhospitable to any human use or travel.

Concerned parties have proposed ways to stop water loss, but they require cooperation that is difficult to achieve. This is one more case where the human responsibility to care for what God has given us remains unmet. Trying to deny the problem exists is difficult when the evidence is overpowering. Human greed and exploitation, plus climate changes, may lead to the death of the Dead Sea.

Reference: NPR for 12/11/22 by Ofir Berman and Daniel Estrin

December 13, 2022December 12, 2022

How Fast Are You Moving?

If I asked, “How fast are you moving?” you might reply that you are sitting still. However, don’t forget that you are sitting on a planet that is spinning on its axis. A fixed observer in space would say that you are moving with the planet’s rotation at up to 1000 miles per hour if you are close to the equator. At the same time, Earth is revolving around the Sun at roughly 66,000 miles per hour. The Sun is one of 100 billion stars rotating around a black hole at the core of the Milky Way galaxy at approximately 400,000 miles per hour. Meanwhile, the galaxy is moving through space at around 2,200,000 miles per hour. So, how fast are you moving when viewed from a fixed point in space?

The amazing thing about the creation is that each of these numbers is critical for our survival. The spin of the Earth on its axis distributes heat in a way that we are not frozen or burned up. The revolution around the Sun keeps us from being drawn into the Sun or slung into outer space and frozen. The movement of the Sun around the galactic core prevents the black hole at the center of our galaxy from sucking in the entire solar system and destroying it. The galaxy’s movement through space prevents it from being absorbed by another galaxy. The speeds are critically fine-tuned because there is no tolerance for error.

As astronomers look at other solar systems and galaxies, they see the speeds that allow us to exist are not that common in space. The simple statement of Psalms 19 that “the heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above shows His handiwork” reminds us that we are not the product of an accident. The more we learn about the cosmos, the more obvious it becomes that our existence is a product of intelligent design.

The psalmist also reminds us of the astonishing fact that the Creator cares about us. “When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and stars which you have ordained, what is man, that you are mindful of him …” (Psalms 8:3-4). So how fast are you moving right now? Fast enough to exist and to know that there is a reason for that existence. Read Job 1 and 2 and Ephesians 3:9-11 and 6:12 to learn more about that reason.

December 9, 2022December 7, 2022

Alcohol Consumption During Pregnancy

The most destructive recreational drug on the planet is alcohol. The consequences of alcohol consumption are more than tragic accidents. New research on alcohol consumption during pregnancy indicates that the damage of alcohol is more pervasive than anyone believed ten years ago.

Researchers at the University of Vienna have revealed their fetal development studies showing that even one glass of wine a week by the mother can significantly reduce her baby’s brain development. The major damage was in the right superior temporal sulcus. That region of the brain involves social cognition and language development.

As the world moves toward acceptance of marijuana as a recreational drug, we can expect to see more problems with the development of children. As the adoptive parent of a child whose biological mother had not used good judgment during her pregnancy, I know the problems caused by alcohol consumption during pregnancy.

With careless environmental pollution and recreational drugs, having a healthy baby is more of a challenge than ever before. When our son was diagnosed with numerous congenital problems, some people told us it was God’s doing. We can’t expect God to constantly be undoing what we have done to ourselves, both individually and collectively.

Reference: newkerala.com

December 8, 2022December 7, 2022

UFO Sightings – Real or Bogus?

For over 50 years, we have reported explanations for bogus UFO claims. Unfortunately, when researchers have presented natural explanations for claimed UFO sightings, the media rarely reports them. Researchers have written books giving evidence to refute bogus claims of alien visitation to Earth, but they don’t get the attention of the sensational claims.

No thinking person would insist that planet Earth is the only place where life forms might exist. If God saw fit to create life elsewhere, it will be there. However, alien visitation to Earth is poorly supported by the evidence. The distance from Earth to where a life-bearing planet could exist is so great as to rule out any being traveling from another world. UFO advocates claim that aliens are so technologically advanced they can overcome the problem of traveling light-year distances. However, if they are that advanced, they could certainly prevent any detection by earthlings if they choose to do so.

The entertainment industry presents horror movies of aliens using earthlings for food or wars in space between competing alien societies. If you enjoy fantasy, these entertainment presentations may be worth your time. However, for serious students of science or the Bible, this is a useless diversion. We must not become worried or distracted by UFO sightings, thinking that extra-terrestrials are invading us.

Likewise, we need to solve our problems here on Earth and not expect some aliens to come in and do it for us. Besides, aliens could not improve on the message of Jesus Christ as revealed in the Bible. Human greed, selfishness, and exploitation of others will continue as long as humans entertain the notion that God does not exist and that survival of the fittest is our only choice.

Here are some books giving credible explanations of many so-called UFO sightings or Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (UAP).
UFOs Explained and UFOs: The Public Deceived by Philip J. Klass
UFO Crash at Roswell: The Genesis of a Modern Myth by Charles Ziegler and Charles Moore
The Space Gods Revealed by Ronald Story

December 6, 2022December 5, 2022

Turtle Talk – in Slow Motion

Technology makes it possible to hear animal communication that has gone unnoticed before. We are finding that animals we thought were silent actually use sounds to communicate with one another. Researchers at the University of Zurich in Switzerland captured sounds from 50 species of turtles, and they varied widely, including grunts, chirps, snorts, and whistles. Male turtles use sounds to woo females and as warnings while fighting with other males. Turtle talk can easily go unnoticed because it is infrequent.

We often think of turtles as being slow. Apparently, that applies to their communication also. Timing is the key. The researchers report that some turtles make a sound every two days or so. That’s probably why it hasn’t been noticed by humans before.

The Creator’s design gives all forms of life a way to communicate with others of their species. That ability is essential for reproductive purposes and allows the full exploitation of food reserves and warnings about enemies. It is obvious that high forms of life, such as monkeys and apes, communicate with sounds, but as science learns more about animal communication, we find surprising things such as turtle talk. God has given all life forms the unique equipment they need to live in varied environments.

References: SmithsonianMag.com and The Week for December 9, 2022, page 21.

December 5, 2022December 4, 2022

Archaeology Supports the Biblical Record

Skeptics maintain that biblical accounts of history are total fiction made up in recent times by promotors of the Judeo/Christian tradition. Recent research in the science of archaeology supports the biblical record regarding two of the examples some skeptics gave.

One is the Judges 4 account of judge Deborah and a Kenite woman who killed the Canaanite general Sisera by driving a tent peg through his head. Skeptics have claimed that no woman could have been a judge or a heroic avenger because of the lowly state of women at that time. Archeologists at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill excavating at Huqoq in northern Israel have uncovered ancient mosaics depicting Deborah and the Kenite woman, Jael, verifying the biblical account. The dating of the mosaics is late fourth or early fifth century A.D., so the claim that the account is modern cannot be true.

New studies of Mesha’s Stele have debunked skeptic claims that David is a fictitious character. The stele (an upright stone monument) was discovered in 1868 at a site east of the Dead Sea in modern Jordan. A research team from the West Semitic Research Project of the University of Southern California using a new research method called Reflective Transformation Imaging (RTI) has shown the reference in the Mesha Stele to the “House of David” is valid.

The science of archaeology supports the biblical record. We predict that as new tools become available, archaeologists will find more support for the credibility of the Bible.

Detailed discussions of these two new finds are reported in the Winter 2022 issue of Biblical Archaeology Review (Volume 48 #4).