Posts

Yeast — Rising to the Occasion

Image
Fermented drinks like beer have been used for almost thousands of years, but the function of yeast in its making was not known until recently. The same applies to bread. The biblical word used for yeast is leaven . But what is it? Yeast is a they more than an it . Many bakers know that yeasts are microorganisms and that there are many different kinds. They make the bread dough rise and give it flavors, and are essential for fermented drinks. Bread Dough, Pexels / Vaibhav Jadhav Fermentation may seem like a bad word to people who avoid alcoholic drinks, but it is actually a process that occurs naturally in many places. There are wild yeasts and some have been tamed by savvy wranglers; baker's yeast is a combination of domesticated yeasts. (I'll allow that it sounds unusual to say that single-celled organisms can be domesticated.) Yeast cells act very much like human cells and are useful in studying genetics. Yeast (or at least its products) has been known and loved by human bei

Weak Speculations of Early Land Plant Evolution

Image
Once again, my prospector friend Stormie Waters had ventured past Creek Road and was in sight of the Winkie Guards at the Darwin Ranch ( not   the one in the Bridger-Teton National Forest ). At that moment, foreman Rusty Swingset was heading out, so Stormie hid behind some   greasewood . Rusty passed close to her, but he was busy talking with some ranch hands about land plant evolution from stonewort and didn't notice her. (She gets shy when trespassing.) Some evolutionists are writing checks on the bank of science that cannot be cashed. Stonewort image by   Jeremy Halls   at Flickr ( CC BY-SA 2.0 ) If you study on it, evolution is taken by faith, not by sight. People have believed it by relying on   science of the gaps : eventually, evidence would be found. Materialists presuppose evolution, and when it comes to land plants, believe they have found a way to fill in the evolutionary gaps appealing to genetics. However, they have no actual evidence, and many questions are left unans

Secularists Have High Hopes for Webb Telescope

Image
It was natural to doubt the James Webb Space Telescope may not blast off on Christmas Day 2021 as promised, since there were numerous delays over the years. Those with the tingly spider sense were right, and Webb went out there, thataway. Ten billion US dollars was spent on something primarily of interest to astronomers. They hope it works, since unlike the Hubble (which humor columnist Dave Barry called the " Hubble Orbiting Space Paperweight " because it failed at first), there will probably be no second chances. JWST artist's conception, NASA (usage does not imply endorsement of site contents) Every once in a while, doomsday people issue hysterical clickbait that an asteroid will come "dangerously close to the earth" or some such. Visions of panicked people screaming in the streets and looting, cats and dogs living together — but the asteroid was ten times the distance between the earth and the moon . "Yeah, but by cosmic standards, boy, that's clo

Christmas Presents from the Master Engineer

Image
It is readily apparent that everything in the universe was designed, from celestial objects to humans to single-celled organisms. A commonly used argument by apologists is that a building requires a builder, a painting requires a painter, so all these things with specified complexity require a Creator. However, that argument from intelligent design is all right for a starting point, but it does not go far enough . You may convince a skeptic that there is a higher power, but then what? Made at PhotoFunia Through his creation, the Master Engineer has made himself known from the beginning. It is a good thing for us that we don't have to speculate; he made himself known through special revelation. The Maker is the God of the Bible, and he has given us gifts for Christmas. The Creator of the world and all that is in nature has been identified! He speaks every language on earth. Here is the English version of what he said: Take a look over at " Nature’s Maker Identified ."

The Protective Atmosphere of Earth

Image
This is something that is easy to take for granted, but one way to appreciate air is when one is not getting any. Living things are designed to breathe without having to think about it, which would make for sleepless nights. Sure, most people know that the atmosphere has oxygen for us to breathe. But the atmosphere is far more than just a bunch of nitrogen, oxygen, and other gasses. Other planets have atmospheres, but they are nothing to write home about. Ours is unique. Earth atmosphere and moon / ISS013-E-54329 / NASA (usage does not imply endorsement of site contents) Darwin's quockerwodgers cannot account for the origin of Earth's atmosphere, its six layers , how it is responsive to various conditions in space, its function in shielding us, and more. When reading about it or seeing pictures, wow, that sure is a mighty thick atmosphere — but that is because Earth is big. If everything were reduced proportionally, the atmosphere would be surprisingly thin. It testifies of ho

Bird, Airplane, and Bicycle Formations

Image
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

Concerns of Creationists Misrepresenting Speedy Speleothems

Image
Some folks get riled up when biblical creationists discuss them speleothems. More specifically, secularists impugn the integrity and intelligence of creation scientists, and appeal to opinion sites that sound sciency. However, that knife cuts both ways. It is true that some creationists get a mite enthusiastic and use faulty pieces of evidence, and we try to encourage them to leave the doubtful stuff alone. Regarding stalactites, the situation is complex because there are various factors to consider regarding chemistry and growth rates. Salterforth Pub stalactites, Flickr / Andrew Batram ( CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 ) Uniformitarian geologists insist that stalactites and other speleothems take huge amounts of time to form. Creationists point out notable exceptions. In this post , I linked to an article about how stalactites under the Salterforth Pub formed rapidly. Secularists get on the prod when things like this are given as evidence that speleothems can form rapidly, so they raise hob with cr