The mystery behind Eorhynchochelys sinensis - the Tortoise without a Shell

Image courtesy of Adrienne Stroup, Field Museum.




Joel Kontinen

This strange creature is named Eorhynchochelys sinensis. It is said to be “228 million years old.”

"’ This creature was over six feet long, it had a strange disc-like body and a long tail, and the anterior part of its jaws developed into this strange beak,’ says Olivier Rieppel, a paleontologist at Chicago's Field Museum and one of the authors of a new paper in Nature.”

Science Daily, for instance, brings up the topic of now turtles could live without a shell.

“The fact that Eorhynchochelys developed a beak before other early turtles but didn't have a shell is evidence of mosaic evolution -- the idea that traits can evolve independently from each other and at a different rate, and that not every ancestral species has the same combination of these traits. “

We also have mosaic-like creatures at our time, for instance, the platypus – and its not turning into a new species. It isn’t a case of evolution.

Source:

Field Museum. 2018. Fossil turtle didn't have a shell yet, but had the first toothless turtle beak: 228-million-year-old fossil sheds light on how turtles evolved . Science Daily. (22 August).
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Scientist have Discovered the Earliest Species of Pterosaur – 210 Million Darwin Years Ago

Image courtesy of Matt Wede, CC BY 4.0.




Joel Kontinen

Scientist have discovered the earliest species of pterosaur. Named Caelestiventus hanseni, it is about 210 millions-years old.

It predated its “known relatives” by 65 million years. It was not just reached adulthood but measured 1.5 metres in wingspan. Discovered in Utah, its delicate, bird-like skeleton are often found "in quite a crushed state” .

Intelligently designed for flight. Image courtesy of Hugo Salais López, Creative Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0).

Thus, 65 million “Darwin years” will not make evolution possible.


Source:

Halton, Mary. 2018, Palaeontologists have found a new species of pterosaur - the family of prehistoric flying reptiles that includes pterodactyl. . BBC News. (13 August).

All Kinds of Everything Remind Us of God

Image courtesy of NAsA, ESA.



Snowdrops and daffodils
Butterflies and bees

21st March 1970. The Eurovision Song Contest is taking place in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. United Kingdom’s Mary Hopkin with her song Knock, Knock, Whose There? is expected to win. With one last contestant to perform, she is leading with 24 points.

Then an 18-year old Irish schoolgirl walks to the stage. Long brown hair, short white dress. She sits down on a high stool, smiles and begins to sing. No disco lights, no dancing girls (or boys), just Dana, a simple ballad and her fabulous voice:

Snowdrops and daffodils
Butterflies and bees
Sailboats and fishermen
Things of the sea
Wishing-wells
Wedding bells
Early morning dew All kinds of everything remind me of you.

Many of the things the song mentions are created, but a few are man-made:

Seagulls and aeroplanes
Things of the sky Winds that go howlin' Breezes that sigh (…)

While All Kinds of Everything speaks of the enduring love between a girl and her sweetheart, we can also understand the song as a paean to the wonders of our created world.



The girl, whose real name was Rosemary Brown and who would later be known as Dana Rosemary Scallon and would defend the unborn as a member of the European Parliament, got 32 points and won the contest.

Budding trees
Autumn leaves A snowflake or two
All kinds of everything remind me of you.

It would probably not be too far-fetched to say that everything in creation ultimately reminds us of the greatest artist and architect of all times.

The Fingerprints of God

We can discern the fingerprints of God in the fine-tuning of the universe, in our DNA that is without doubt the most effective code ever invented, and in our cells that are full of self-replicating factories, nanomachines and quality control systems. And, above all, we can see it in the beauty that surrounds us.

The Golden Ratio Even after 2,500 years of wars, pillage, vandalism, a 17th century explosion and modern pollution, the Parthenon in Athens still looks impressive. Obviously, the Greeks who designed it and built it from 447 to 438 BC also thought that this Dorian temple was an object of great beauty. In the early years of the 19th century the Earl of Elgin shipped some of its sculptures to London, where they are still housed in the British Museum. He left the columns supporting the building in Athens, though.

Although some mathematics have tried to dispute it, the remains of the Parthenon display the proportions of the golden ratio, at least in certain respects.

Luca Bartolomeo de Pacioli (1447–1517), a mathematician and Franciscan monk, wrote a book entitled De divina proportione (On the Divine Proportion), associating the ratio with God’s handiwork. This should not surprise us, as the golden ratio is a hallmark of great beauty. We will get it if we divide a straight line into two parts so that the longer part divided by the shorter part is as long as the entire line divided by the longer part. It is often symbolized by the Greek letter Φ (phi).

We see this ratio in the proportions of some of the columns of the Parthenon. We also see it in a number of other great buildings erected in many cultures and at various epochs in history, including the modern ones that imitate classical Greek architecture.

Likewise, the ratio is displayed in some of the finest paintings of all time, including several drawings by Leonardo da Vinci as well as in Michelangelo’s sculptures.

Beauty might not only be in the eye of the beholder. It seems that there are universal criteria for comeliness.

The beauty we see in architecture is merely a reflection of what we see in nature. “He has made everything beautiful in its time,” the writer of Ecclesiastes reminds us (3:11, NIV), and that is no understatement.

It is becoming increasingly obvious that great architecture, paintings and sculptures merely imitate that what we see everywhere in nature – in things big and small, animate and inanimate.

It seems that beauty is woven into the very fabric of the universe, at all levels, from the micro to the macro.

What is interesting is that we can also see the golden ratio in us. The distance from our navel to our heels and from our navel to the top of the head follows the ratio, as does the distance between our forearm and our hand. It is also seen in the proportions in the different parts of our fingers. As the psalmist says, “I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works” (Psalm 139: 14, NKJV).


The Fibonacci Series in Nature

Information, mathematics and great beauty also come together in the Fibonacci series. The journal Science describes it as “a hidden mathematical rule shaping the patterns of life.” Named after a 13th century Italian mathematician, it was probably initially discovered by the ancient Indians and then forgotten for aeons. Fibonacci re-discovered it and discussed it in his book Liber Abaci (1202).

The series involves adding together two integers to produce a new number. Each new number is the sum of the previous two numbers, for instance
0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, 89, 144, 233, or
Fn = F n-1 + F n-2.

When we divide any number in a Fibonacci sequence (except the few first ones) by the number preceding it, for instance 233 by 144, we get approximately 1.618.

Numerically stated, the golden ratio also roughly equals 1.618.

This almost magic number is seen in all kinds of everything – from the arms of huge spiral galaxies to tiny seeds, the shells of both extinct and modern sea creatures, in humans, the compound eyes of dragonflies and in many other insects, as well the petals of various kinds of flowers.

In the ammonite shell, the Fibonacci sequence results in intricate beauty and harmony.

In many plants the way the leaves are arranged around the stem is a Fibonacci number. The same applies to the number of petals in flowers. The beauty in sunflowers, for instance, is much more complex than we would have thought. Their seeds can form very elegant Fibonacci arrangements.

The pineapple is a fascinating illustration of a complex Fibonacci arrangement. An article published by the University of Georgia states: “In the case of tapered pinecones or pineapples, we see a double set of spirals – one going in a clockwise direction and one in the opposite direction. When these spirals are counted, the two sets are found to be adjacent Fibonacci numbers.”

Recent expeditions by NOAA’s ship Okeanos explorer and video footage filmed by its remotely operated vehicle (ROV) have shown that this incredible beauty is also seen deep below the ocean surface. Both the ghost octopus and the cosmic jellyfish, as they are called, are astoundingly beautiful.

Most starfish have five arms, which as such is a Fibonacci number. Technically, this phenomenon is known as five-point radial symmetry. In like manner, an octopus has eight arms (another Fibonacci number), and is symmetric in other ways as well.

Fractals

The golden ratio and the Fibonacci series are not the only types of mathematical beauty we see in all kinds of everything. Patterns called fractals occur everywhere in nature, from fern leaves to the branches of a tree, snowflakes, ocean waves, animal colouration patterns and even Saturn’s rings.

Writing in The Conversation, University of Oregon physics professor Richard Taylor describes this phenomenon:

“My scientific curiosity was stirred when I learned that many of nature's objects are fractal, featuring patterns that repeat at increasingly fine magnifications. For example, think of a tree. First you see the big branches growing out of the trunk. Then you see smaller versions growing out of each big branch. As you keep zooming in, finer and finer branches appear, all the way down to the smallest twigs. Other examples of nature's fractals include clouds, rivers, coastlines and mountains.”

In some cases, the various forms of mathematical beauty can be combined: The Romanesco broccoli has a fractal form, a logarithmic spiral, and the arrangement of its spirals on its head conform to a Fibonacci sequence.

In spite of the bad things happening around us (executions, shipwrecks, bombings and earthquakes, to name a few) that are evidence of the Fall, there is no shortage of beauty in our world.

And the best explanation for it is that the Lord God made it all. As the Apostle Paul writes in Romans 1:20:

“For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.” (NIV)


Sources:

Bohannon, John. 2016. Sunflowers show complex Fibonacci sequences. Science.

Hom, Elaine J. 2013. What is the Golden Ratio? Live Science

Lindsay, Derry and Jackie Smith. 1970. All Kinds of Everything (lyrics).

Parveen, Nikhat. Fibonacci in Nature.

Reich, Lee. 2013. Nature follows a number pattern called Fibonacci. Phys.org.

Taylor, Richard. 2017. Fractal patterns in nature and art are aesthetically pleasing and stressreducing. The Conversation.

The Bible Explains the Origin of Agriculture Better than Secular Predictions Do

Image courtesy of The Yorck Project (2002) 10.000 Meisterwerke der Malerei (DVD-ROM), Public Domain.




Joel Kontinen

Genesis tells us that at the dawn of history Cain cultivated crops and brought them as an offering to God. Secularists, however, would reject this view of history and predict a different past for humanity.

But the facts are stacked against the naturalistic view. History and archaeology show that agriculture arose rapidly in at least a dozen or so places just a few thousand years ago.

Evolutionists need to explain why it took over 200,000 years from the emergence of modern man to the discovery of agriculture.

Here’s their best try: “Using a new methodological approach, researchers at Colorado State University and Washington University in St. Louis have uncovered evidence that underscores one long-debated theory: that agriculture arose out of moments of surplus, when environmental conditions were improving, and populations lived in greater densities,” a recent press release issued by University of Colorado suggests.

Actually, they haven’t found evidence for this. What the researchers did was predicting population densities, as they assumed that agriculture needed a fairly large population.

They should probably have taken a look at some archaeological discoveries, which suggest that hunter gatherers (for instance at Göbekli Tepe) and other stone age people were anything but simpletons. Their art rivalled that of Picasso, and their buildings are still a source of amazement.

Researchers have proposed that religious belief inspired the building of their civilisations.

The Bible’s account of history explains the origin of agriculture much better than secular predictions do.

Source:

University of Colorado. 2018. On the origins of agriculture, researchers uncover new clues. (4 June).

New Research Attempts to Explain the Evolution of the Human Brain

Image courtesy of Patrick J. Lynch, CC BY 2.5.



Joel Kontinen

Once again, the human brain is making headlines.

Its complexity continues to baffle scientists and it inspires engineers to build smarter computers.

As our big brain is a Darwinian enigma, evolutionists have to try to explain its genesis.

Two papers in the journal Cell report on the discovery of the gene family NOTCH2NL Science Daily explains:

“The genes are found exclusively in humans, are heavily expressed in neural stem cells of the human cerebral cortex, and are located on a part of the genome implicated in neurodevelopmental disorders.”

The discovery has inspired some typical Darwinian storytelling.

The researchers suspect that some three million years ago, these genes enabled the human brain to become three times as big as previously. And that is why we have the ability to “think, problem-solve, and develop culture.”

The basic problem in these studies is that they merely discovered what these genes do now. The part on their evolution is wholly superfluous and amounts to storytelling.

Source:

Cell Press. 2018. Meet NOTCH2NL, the human-specific genes that may have given us our big brains. Science Daily. (31 May).

New Evidence for the Crucifixion Found

This cross is on Magnetic Island, near Townsville, Queensland.



Joel Kontinen

The Gospels describe the crucifixion of Jesus in much detail. The Apostle Paul also states that it was the fulfilment of prophesy:

“For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures.” (1 Corinthians 15:3, Berean Study Bible).

A new paper published in the journal Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences provides evidence for this Roman method of executing criminals.

Live Science explains:

“A new study of the skeletal remains of the man, found near Venice in 2007, reveals a lesion and unhealed fracture on one of the heel bones that suggests his feet had been nailed to a cross…

The skeletal remains were found at Gavello, about 25 miles (40 kilometers) southwest of Venice, during archaeological excavations in preparation for the laying of a pipeline, the researchers said in their study.”

The article goes on to say:

“A depressed, unhealed fracture in the heel bone suggested a metal nail had been driven through it, from the inside to the outside of the right foot, either directly onto the wood of a cross or into a wooden footrest attached to a cross.

‘We found a particular lesion on the right calcaneus [heel bone] passing through the entire bone,’ lead study author Emanuela Gualdi, a medical anthropologist at the University of Ferrara, told Live Science in an email.”

When the Bible describes historical matters, it always gets the facts, including the tiny details, right.

Secular ancient writers were unable to deny the historicity of Jesus.

Archaeology confirms that the Bible is history. The Bible tells us about real people and real events, such as the earthquake mentioned by the prophet Amos and the one that occurred during Jesus’ crucifixion.

We should not be surprised, as Jesus Himself says in John 17:17 that God’s Word is truth.

Source:

Metcalfe, Tom. 2018. How Jesus Died: Rare Evidence of Roman Crucifixion Found. Live Science (4 June).

Physicist Alexander Berezin Believes in Aliens and Fears We Might Kill Them Off

Image courtesy of Pikawil, CC BY-SA 2.0.




Joel Kontinen

Looking at the night sky can inspire a variety of ideas. 3,000 years ago, King David saw the glory of God displayed in the starry sky:

“The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.” (Psalm 19:1, NIV).

In contrast, physicist Enrico Fermi had a very different idea in mind. Roughly 70 years ago he came up with the question "Where is everybody?"

Known as the Fermi paradox, his puzzle has remained unsolved.

Some ET enthusiasts believe that there are billions of extraterrestrial worlds that might be home to intelligent life.

“Now, Alexander Berezin, a theoretical physicist at the National Research University of Electronic Technology in Russia, has proposed a new answer to Fermi's paradox — but he doesn't think you're going to like it. Because, if Berezin's hypothesis is correct, it could mean a future for humanity that's ‘even worse than extinction’,” Live Science writes.

Quoting a paper Berezin wrote in the preprint journal arxiv.org, "What if the first life that reaches interstellar travel capability necessarily eradicates all competition to fuel its own expansion?"

Berezin thinks that in our aspiration to reach other worlds, we might unwittingly do a lot of damage, perhaps even annihilating all extraterrestrial worlds.

However, there is a big but in this scenario. We have no evidence that extraterrestrials even exist. They might well be a figment of Darwinian imagination combined with a big dose of science fiction.

All signals thought to hail from intelligent aliens have been false ones, including the famous wow signal and the sounds coming from the assumed megastructure near Tabby’s star that raised hopes in the SETI community.

What is more, aliens have never bothered to answer our messages, but this has not put an end to the hope that one fine day they might do so.

Source:

Specktor, Brandon. 2018. Aliens Are Real, But Humans Will Probably Kill Them All, New Paper Says Live Science (1 June).