Piltdown Superman

Bats are flying around, emitting their sonar to seek food, avoiding objects. Their echolocation is extremely precise . These skilled fliers have shown no signs of evolution in the fossil record. Something else that shows no sign of evolution is the moth. Battington McBatty wants a tasty moth, but the ermine moth is being obstinate. In fact, Emily E. Moth is sensing and defending against the radar with her ownself. It is more interesting that these moths are not only deaf, but do not know they are making the sound that baffles bats! Yponomeutidae, Wikimedia Commons / Hectonichus ( CC BY-SA 3.0 ) The moths not only designed to emit the sound, but amplify it through their own systems. Scientists are trying to find out how this ability evolved, tainting the research with, "Hail Darwin! Merry meet!" (It is  possible to do science without plugging into evolution. More should do it.) It may be possible to use biomimetics and imitate the sound amplification techniques, but glory us

Biomimetics (or biomimicry) is an amazing area where scientists study abilities the Master Engineer has provided to creatures, then copying them for human use. Of course, secularists do not thank God for what they have learned. Hummingbirds are the subject of this study. One in particular lives on the left coast of North America, mostly in the formerly United States but also a bit north and south of what passes for its borders. Anna's hummingbird is an amazingly agile critter  the size of a table tennis ball, with an upper weight of 5.7 grams (0.2 ounces). Anna's hummingbird, Flickr / USFWS, Robert McMorran ( CC BY 2.0 ) Because of their unique wing motions, Anna's hummingbirds navigate small openings that other birds could not even consider: They can keep flapping. Studies of this bird are being conducted for possible use in small aerial vehicles. The fossil record shows that there has been no appreciable change in hummingbirds in all those Darwin years ( like other creat

It has been said that dogs and cats can see things that we cannot. Based on some of their actions (including giving warnings and such), it may very well be true. We have trichromatic vision, which means all the colors we see are combinations of red, green, and blue. RGB codes are frequently used to get specific colors. Studies show that many critters see colors beyond our range, on into the ultraviolet. Someone took a notion to study the vision of an Asian swallowtail butterfly. It can see ultraviolet. Asian swallowtail butterfly, Flickr / Zorac&Visar ( CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 )  These flutterbyes can convert ultraviolet light into visible light — an example of specified complexity that defies evolution and testifies of the Creator's skill. Certain things in cancerous tissues are more concentrated and show up under UV light. Scientists are using biomimetics, drawing inspiration from the butterfly's vision, to work on a means of finding cancer! It’s something right out of science f

In India and that area, extending into Southeast Asia and Northern Australia, is a genus of ten species called archerfish. Quite a range for a small group. Most are about the size of an adult human's hand, but one doubles that. What is interesting about them is how they get food. When people swim, they often play by getting a mouthful of water, compressing, and squirting out a stream for a few seconds. Not very powerful or accurate. The archerfish does something similar, but with great force and accuracy. Archerfish, Flickr / Feline Groovy ( CC BY-ND 2.0 ) There are many factors in play, including principles of sciences, that make this water jet ability even more amazing. Consider how it sees its perching insect target and accurately blasts it into the water — and has calculated where lunch will land, so it is there before it escapes. Speaking of jet, biomimetics gets involved, as people are studying the archerfish for (wait for it) inkjet printing. Once again, we see the brillian

It is indeed unfortunate that many people have a reflexive fear of harmless spiders, but a bit of education and identification can help. So can respect. Unfortunately, these critters tend to wander into our living quarters. Except perhaps golden orb-weavers that make impressive webs. Kevlar is used for body armor, composite materials for boat hulls, airplane panels, and more. When compared equally, it is five times stronger than steel. Spider silk is still stronger than that. Amazingly, spider silk can be used for nerve repair. Golden orb-web spider ( Nephila pilipes ), Flickr / Lip Kee ( CC BY-SA 2.0 ) When people study what is found in nature and apply concepts and principles to our lives, that is biomimetics. There is quite a bit happening in this truly fascinating field. Some scientists want to use golden orb-weaver spider silk for tissue and nerve repair because it supports many natural functions and does not hinder them. Perhaps this time they will have to admit that the silk wa

Dewey Lye, one of the hands at the Darwin Ranch up near Deception Pass, got himself a chameleon. It was a real one, not one of those green anoles often passed off as chameleons. He did well, getting the right housing and considering reasons not  to own one , and does not handle it overmuch. These reptiles reside in several warm areas. Species have learned to live in places that are dry or rainy. Those independently rotating eyes and the slow movements can be fascinating. When it zaps a bug with its long tongue — now that is fast. Panther chameleon, Wikimedia Commons / Charles J. Sharp ( CC BY-SA 4.0 ) While some of chameleons' startling ability to change color is caused by blending in with a surface, mood has a great deal to do with it. Males meeting males can bring out fightin' hues. They were equipped by the Master Engineer to change color by using cells that act as photonic crystals. (I wonder if evolutionists can give a plausible explanation as to how this happened withou

Curious that a British exclamation of approval is uncommon in the formerly United States, but this child is not using it in a literal way. The mantis shrimp smashes things — except for those that have harpoons instead of smashing claws . This predator has a resemblance to the praying mantis because of a second pair of limbs, hence the name. But it is not a shrimp, only distantly related to them. The mantis shrimp slaps down its prey very hard, very fast. Peacock mantis shrimp, Wikimedia Commons / Rickard Zerpe ( CC BY-SA 2.0 ) Believers in stardust-to-stomatopod evolution cannot come up with plausible explanations for this critter's development. Study on it. That claw catapults at high speeds with a special mechanism. In fact, the bubbles made are even more devastating that the initial strike because of cavitation  (which would have been powerful in the Genesis Flood ). Get your finger too close and you may regret it . They also have exceptional vision which is being studied for

Here in Upstate New York (a dismissive name because The City is the center of the universe, so the rest of the state is Upstate), we like our feathered visitors. A few kinds of woodpeckers and their kin show up in our area. We see the Downy much more than the Hairy , and my wife has a special fondness for the Red-bellied . Although in the area,  Pileated Woodpeckers are rare for us to see. Creationists point out that woodpeckers are excellent examples of the Creator's handiwork and refute Darwinism. They are also involved in biomimetics. Red-bellied Woodpecker, Pexels / Hal Moran For some reason, people like sports where others hit, slam, run into, and do other harmful things to each other. This messes with the participants' heads — literally. All of those impacts bounce the brain around and causes serious damage when done repeatedly. (Sometimes a serious enough jolt can do irreparable damage.) The best way to stop brain injury due to boxing is simply not to do it, but what a

As most people probably know, biomimetics is taking what is observed in nature and mimicking it for human uses. Then they ignore the Creator or praise the puny gods of evolutionism. God has designed many things in nature for which we can obtain benefits through study and technology. This may not be directly  an example of biomimetics, but I expect to have knee surgery about six weeks from now. The effectiveness of elastic therapeutic tape (kinesiology tape) is disputed, but I have had less pain and more stability while using it. In some ways, this elastic cotton stuff mimics human skin. Just thought I would put this bit here. Medical bandages, Pixabay / Hans One way in which medical science has progressed is keeping repairs in place. Stitches are used to close up the skin but many times they do not need to be removed on a subsequent visit. They dissolve. How about replacing staples? Medical practitioners and patients alike would be glad of this. Some ingenious uses of biomimetics are p

There have been many instances on just this site alone where some interesting research was conducted, but the scientists ruined it because they threw in the Darwin imprimatur. That is just an assumption, but the secular science industry wants such references despite their irrelevance. Extremely interesting research was conducted on ammonite fossils, and also using information from their nearest living relatives. Models were made using 3D printing, which were loaded with electronics and made to swim in water. The results were quite interesting. Asteroceras obtusum (ammonite), Wikimedia Commons / Nobumichi Tamura ( CC BY 3.0 ) The work conducted by the scientists was the result of extremely careful planning and engineering . As in those other instances, they gave themselves praise for their work (despite assumptions that were made and many limitations), but they threw around glory to evolution. (No word if they contacted the Darwin Ranch near Deception Pass to have prayer candles of C.

When the results of a research project is announced, do you ever wonder why they did it in the first place? Some things seem obvious, but others...not so much. Scientists took a notion to study the retinas of fruit flies. Since the eyes of insects do not move, fruit flies can continually track motion because their retinas have fast jitters. Humans also track moving objects, so homage was paid to the Bearded Buddha by invoking the secular miracle of convergent evolution . Fruit fly liking a coffee fruit, USDA-ARS /  Scott Bauer  (Usage does not imply endorsement of site contents) Tiny things, tiny brains, short lives (probably due to global warming), but with so few photoreceptors, they see rather well. While I still wonder why they bothered with this research, there is a practical benefit in biomimetics. That is, copying the movements of their retinas to help the resolution of cameras. Of course, engineers will not give credit to the Master Engineer and evidence is actually guesswork.

Beetles. Lots of beetles, big ones, small ones, multi-colored ones — a passel of species. One of these makes it home in the southwestern United States, but it is not much to look at. However, it has a tough hide which caught the attention of researchers. This fellow is the diabolical ironclad beetle , so named because it cheats at cards. Okay, I could find no reason for such a dramatic name, but compared to other beetles, it seems ironclad. It is puzzling because its exoskeleton does not have minerals, but it was learned that the toughness was from its structure. Then we have biomimetics. Diabolical Ironclad Beetle, Flickr / Trish Gussler ( CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 ) A support can be stiff, but will crack or break under stress. It needs to give a bit under pressure. That is what happens with our little friend. Researchers mimicked the beetle's design in constructing aircraft joints. As is the case in other cases where designs in nature are copied, praise was given to evolution. In fact, th

It is puzzling that some people are annoyed by moths, but that may be from the common little nuisance "bugs" that flit around lightbulbs at night. They may get on someone's. There are also people who do not like insects in the first place, so the Atlas moth could be a mite startling. Moths are puzzling to Darwinists, since butterflies and moths do not have any evolutionary history. They were created what they are, and remained so to this day. Here are two instances of additional problems moths pose for evolution. Chinese silk moth, Wikimedia Commons / Ivo Antušek (Public domain, thanks, Ivo) Although the phrase "blind as a bat" is as dead as a doornail regarding accuracy, bats rely a great deal on sending out sonar waves for navigation and hunting. They do like to chow down on moths, you betcha! Bats have a wide range of sonar sounds that get reflected back to them. Except for the Chinese silk moth. The Master Engineer designed the scales on its wings so that

Stormie Waters and her betrothed Roland Meadows stopped by my place, and they commenced to jawing about the yellow stuff on a dead log in the woods. Since I had written a post on slime mold a spell back , it was somewhat familiar to me. The article featured below has some information that is quite interesting. Rather disgusting name, slime mold. There are others, including the blob and social amoebas . The slime part is true, but mold is incorrect. It used to be consider among the fungi but it defies classification. Slime Mold, Pexels / Chris F. In addition to being extremely difficult to classify, it acts like a creature with intelligence — but without a brain! It can find its way through a maze, and scientists are studying how it can be used in human applications (biomimetics). It is interesting how it sends out...probes, I guess...in search of nutrients. Good eats here? Fine, stay attached. Not so good? Pull back, and leave a bit of slime to mark the area as useless. Darwin's

The word drone  has many meanings, but is clarified by context. People drone on about boring subjects, a drone can be a mindless person, bagpipes and other instruments have single-note drone pipes, and more. Our focus today uses what is arguably the most common defintion today, that of unmanned vehicles controlled remotely or by computers. (This child has embedded videos by drones (often called quadcopters) on this site several times.) Modern drones are impressive, but some researchers want to improve their performance. Swift, Wikimedia Commons /  Dr. Raju Kasambe ( CC BY-SA 4.0 ) People may recall grainy silent videos of early attempts at flight, some including vehicles that had flapping motions. These may be considered biomimetics , which is drawing inspiration from creation for human applications. Those were on the right track, but the flapping of wings is far more intricate than people can see with the unaided eye. Researchers developed drones that are not flying with propellers.

Despite the assertions of believers in particles-to-paleontologist evolution, their historical science is riddled with problems. Sometimes, they evosplain things away. Other problems are too difficult to easily dismiss. A couple of days ago, I accompanied my prospector friend Stormie Waters and her pal Ruby Slippers down Texas way. We picked up their supplies and went to the Brittle Star, a restaurant saloon. We talked and watched some folks playing faro. When what to our wondering eyes should appear but Cliff Swallows, the assistant foreman from the Darwin Ranch, and a lady that was new to us. Trilobite, RGBStock / Martyn E. Jones Cliff introduced her as Stevia Dolce, a new baker at the ranch. Conversation drifted to how the saloon shared a name with the brittle star, a relative of the starfish. I mentioned that they show no signs of evolution, but also how they were designed to "see" with their skin . Stevia smiled sweetly and changed the subject to trilobites. It did not g

Anti-creationists are known for pseudo-intellectual posturing with dysteleology (claiming something was poorly design, so there is no God), but they use false comparisons. Clinton Richard Dawkins and others railed (out of his area of expertise) that the human eye as badly designed, and no amount of science and reason refuting such claims  will be considered by their disciples. They even compare our eyes to those of critters and criticize the Master Engineer. Because atheism. Our eyes were designed for our environment, other eyes were designed for other environments. You savvy that, pilgrim? Whiteleg shrimp image credit: NIH NLM (usage does not imply endorsement of site contents) The design of shrimp eyes is extremely intricate and irreducibly complex. The eye reflectors are comprised of nanospheres, and those are optimal for reflecting light so these critters can see in low-light conditions. Humans want to indulge in biomimetics to imitate this, but it would be a huge project requirin

Biomimetics, also called biomimicry, is when people are inspired by what is observed in nature and attempt to duplicate processes for our needs. We have presented several interesting examples on this site, and they show how our Creator works from an engineering approach. One claim to fame for fleas is that they can catapult themselves over tremendous distance. Well, tremendous according to their size. In the leaf beetle family are flea beetles, often invited to family events to provide entertainment because they also excel at jumping long distances. Eight-spotted Flea Beetle, Flickr / Hugo A. Quintero G. ( CC BY 2.0 ) That's a great defense mechanism. A predator gets too close, the beetle says, "I know you wanna eat me, but it's kinda hard because I'm..." ( sproing ) "...over here now!" I'll allow that some folks are rooting for the predators, since leaf beetles much on crops and such. Even so, this jumping ability is impressive. That mechanism tha

Yes, I know this is an unusual title as well as combination of subjects. Stay with me. In " Engineering and Migratory Birds ", it was shown that birds are designed and equipped for their long journeys. Now we will look at the dynamics of that V formation. "Because it is cheep, Cowboy Bob?" That's cute. Actually, the formation is cheaper than going it alone when it comes to the expenditure of energy. There is also physics involved that they do not have to consider — but researchers do. Pelicans in formation (cropped), Flickr / Peter Kaminski ( CC BY 2.0 ) When airplanes are flying in a tight formation, not only do they have to keep from touching each other and possibly losing control, but the movement of the air affects them. (I wonder if this is an example of aerodynamic biomimetics, where humans draw inspiration from what they observe in nature?) Obviously, birds are using their own power and not jet engines or propellers. In a surprisingly similar way, bicycl

Know the joke that says walking into a spider web instantly makes you a karate expert? Rather amusing. Anyway, we have two articles that illustrate how our Creator has given spiders web-building skills. That is marvelous in and of itself, but we will focus on studies of two spider types. Spider webs are surprisingly intricate, even down to their strength and how they can change when needed. Humans are studying them for our own purposes (biomimetics), but giving credit to evolution. RGBStock / Gesine Kuhlmann An  algorithm  has nothing to do with Bill Clinton's Vice President playing bongo drums. Rather, it is essentially a method of doing repeated tasks efficiently. They are essential in computer programming.   (The concept makes me think of macros  in some word-processing programs.) A tiny spider called the hackled orb weaver spins its web at night, working by touch. Scrutinizing six of them, researchers saw what can be called an algorithm in each of them to uniformly produce the