Neo-Darwinism Is Not Dead
A review of the book, Arguments on Evolution: A Paleontologist's Perspective. This book is a defense against recent criticisms of neo-Darwinism. Published in Origins v. 18, n. 1.
A review of the book, Arguments on Evolution: A Paleontologist's Perspective. This book is a defense against recent criticisms of neo-Darwinism. Published in Origins v. 18, n. 1.
In the early development of the theory of evolution by natural selection, two men stand out as having played a central role: Charles Darwin and Alfred Wallace. Both men traveled widely and were keen observers of nature. For both men, visits to islands played an important role in developing their understanding of nature. Darwin's visit to the Galapagos Islands is of special interest.
A review of the book, Rates of Evolution. Published from a symposium on evolution. 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.
The method of DNA-DNA hybridization has been applied to the relationships of birds, with some surprising results. The method is described and the results analyzed. While the results are quite interesting, there appear to be limits to the resolution of the method, and it seems inadvisable to depend upon this method alone when studying bird relationships. Published in Origins v. 14, n. 2.
Staining of chromosomes reveals a pattern of banding that may be used for comparisons of different species. Similar species typically have similar banding patterns, although there are exceptions. Banding patterns may be interpreted as hypotheses of relationship but are not, in themselves, sufficient to settle such questions. Published in Origins v. 13, n. 1.
A review of the book, Evolution: A Theory in Crisis. Evolutionary theory faces many contrary lines of evidence and is in need of major changes. Published in Origins v. 13, n. 1.
A collection of short commentaries on scientific articles published in 1983, covering topics such as the history of Darwinism, integrity in science, evolution and thermodynamics, North American geology, Quaternary dating methods, origin of life, and the half-life of Technetium-99.
A review of the book, Abusing Science: The Case Against Creationism. The book gives responses to criticisms of evolutionary theory by creationists, and presents several criticisms of creation theory. Published in Origins v. 12, n. 2.
A collection of short commentaries on scientifc papers published in 1983-1985, covering topics such as amino acid dating, problems in evolutionary theory, God and the New Physics, Scientists Confront Creationism, transgenic mammals, philosophy of science, and In the Minds of Men. Published in Origins v. 12, n. 2.
Vitamin C is important in vertebrate physiology, but is acquired in different ways. Some mammals and perching birds do not synthesize it and must get it in their diet. Most other mammals and birds synthesize vitamin C, in their kidneys, the livers, or both. The pattern of synthesizing sometimes follows taxonomic patterns and sometimes not. Published in Origins v. 12, n. 2.
A review of the book, The Great Evolution Mystery. Darwinism is entirely inadequate to explain evolution, so some other purely naturalistic mechanism is needed. Published in Origins v. 12, n. 1.
Species in the same family or genus may have very similar chromosomal banding patterns, but with apparent rearrangements of parts of some chromsomes. Such rearrangements may contribute to speciation in mammals by interfering with meoisis. Published in Origins v. 11, n. 2.
Animals with high metabolic rates (birds and mammals) are capable of greater work output (speed, etc) but are restricted in size and shape in order to avoid losing too much body heat. Reptiles and amphibians have lower metabolic rates, and can survive at much smaller sizes and elongated shapes than birds or mammals. This is interpreted as a result of design for a diverse ecosystem. Published in Origins v. 9, n. 2.
A review of the book, Ecological Biogeography of Australia. An exhaustive review of the geology, flora nad fauna of Australia. Published in Origins v. 8, n. 2.
Coral reefs take time to grow, and some have questioned whether certain coral reefs could have grown to their present size in the time since the Flood. Evidence reported here indicates that rates of coral reef growth are quite variable, depending on water temperature, carbonate concentration, and depth. At the surface, ultraviolet light inhibits coral growth, so surficial measurements of coral growth are not a good basis for estimating rates of growth. Under ideal conditions, coral is capable of growing fast enough to produce present coral reefs in the time since the Flood. Published in Origins v. 6, n. 2.
Review of the article, Biologists, Help! An appeal by a secular scholar for evolutionists to explain why so many fundamental suppositions of evolutionary theory are so poorly supported by the data. Published in Origins v. 5, n. 2.
A review of the book, Puncuated Equilibria: The Tempo and Mode of Evolution Reconsidered. The new theory of punctuated equilibria acknowledges the gaps in the fossil record used by creationists as evidence against evolution, and explains them as due to the nature of the speciation process. However, the new theory applies only to gaps between species, and does not help with the problem of gaps between higher taxa. Published in Origins v. 5, n. 1.
A review of the book, Variation and Fixity in Nature. The nature of created kinds (baramins) is discussed and evaluated. Published in Origins v. 4, n. 2.
Rabbits have a mechanism for re-processing food after it has fermented in the cecum. This is functionally equivalent to the cud-chewing of cattle, in which fermented food is redirected so that the nutrients produced by bacterial action can be utilized by the mammal. Published in Origins v. 4, n. 2.