A review of the book, Messel: An Insight Into the History of Life and of the Earth. Messel is a pit in a deposit of oil shale in Germany with many finely preserved Eocene fossils. Published in Origins v. 22, n. 1.

The catastrophic burial of plant debris and its subsequent change to coal is not accepted by most coal geologists. However, the dominant "peat bog" theory presents problems that have remained unanswered for more than a hundred years. A Flood model for the formation of coal answers some of these problems and provides a scientifically reasonable explanation for the origin of the vast quantities of coal that exist worldwide.

A review of the book, New Concepts in Plate Tectonics. The theogy of plate tectonics is questioned on geological grounds. Published in Origins v. 21, n. 1.

The fact that animals need plants poses a problem for the evolutionary model, since the record of past life sometimes reveals non-viable ecosystems. Published in Origins v. 21, n. 1.

The oceanic patterns of magnetic anomalies are thought to be one significant evidence supporting the general notions of plate tectonics. Arguments are presented suggesting that important characteristics of the anomaly patterns could be due to the measurement process itself rather than being a direct reflection of geomagnetic reversals and plate movement. Published in Origins v. 20, n. 1.

A collection of short commentaries on scientific papers published in 1991, covering topics such as Permian trees, molecular genetics, epigenetics, inheritance of paternal mtDNA, water and formation of petroleum, water in mantle rocks, impacts, Ordovician volcanism, molecular phylogenies of ratites, termites, cichlids and sabertooths, osteocalcin in dinosaur bones, fossil flowers, origin of life, Precambrian predation, stromatolites, Cambrian Explosion, quality of fossil record, rapid speciation, tree biogeography, Miocene ape, fossil dermopteran, Asian marsupial, dinosaurs, mammal-like reptile. Published in Origins v. 19, n. 2.

A review of the book, The Early Evolution of Metazoa and the Significance of Problematic Taxa. Published in Origins v. 19, n. 2.

Microorganisms can exist in rocks several kilometers below the surface of the earth. Recently a number of reports indicate that these organisms are much more common than previously surmised and that vast regions of the underworld may be inhabited. Published in Origins v. 19, n. 2.

The pipes and dikes in Kodachrome Basin have come from the sedimentary layers below, and raise interesting questions regarding the amount of time involved in their formation. Published in Origins v. 19, n. 1.

The unnatural mixture and the rapid stratigraphic shifts of fauna seem to require catastrophic water transport into the area. The large geographic extent precludes a local event. Creationists suggest that a world-wide flood could produce results as seen in the Santana Formation and is a better explanatory model.

A collection of short commentaries on scientifc papers published in 1991, covering topics such as phylogenies, origin of life, Precambrian fossils, polar dinosaurs, fossil turtles, Lysan finch, ecological gradients and the fossil record. Published in Origins v. 18, n. 1.

The approach outlined in this paper suggests that the radiometric age assigned to the inorganic minerals associated with a fossil is more a reflection of the characteristics of the source of this inorganic material than an indication of the age of the fossil. Published in Origins v. 17, n. 2.

A model of an ice age caused by the Genesis flood is summarized. It proposes solutions to a number of ice-age problems. Published in Origins v. 17, n. 2.

A review of the book, Wonderful Life: The Burgess Shale and the Nature of History. The book describes the history of discovery of the Burgess Shale fossils and their classification. Published in Origins v. 17, n. 1.

Geologic features of the KT boundary present interesting evidence relating to possible causes of the mass extinction. The widespread existence of the boundary clay has been interpreted as evidence for a worldwide event at the boundary. Published in Origins v. 17, n. 1.

A review of the book, Rates of Evolution. Published from a symposium on evolution. Published in Origins v. 16, n. 2.

A recent report that the earth's magnetic field must have reversed within a period of several months stimulates interest in the question of multiple magnetic reversals in the geological record and how much time is required for them to occur. Published in Origins v. 16, n. 2.

A review of the book, Darwinism: The Refutation of a Myth. Written by a developmental biologist emphasizing the inadequacy of Darwinian evolutionary theory and advocating the importance of developmental processes in evolution. Published in Origins v. 16, n. 1.

A few scientists advocate an expanding earth as an alternative to plate tectonics. Although there are some phenenomina not well explained by plate tectonics, the expanding earth theory is not a satisfactory replacement. Published in Origins v. 16, n. 2.

The layers of sedimentary rock that we see over the surface of the earth usually appear as parallel features that are often spread over wide areas. What does not appear to the casual observer is that between some of these layers major portions of the geologic column are missing. Published in Origins v. 16, n. 2.