A collection of short commentaries of scientific papers published in 1996, covering topics such as biogeography, Milankovitch cycles, turtles, degeneration by mutation, fossil sharks, fossil bird, ichthyosaurs, speciation rates in cichlid fish, plate tectonic anomaly. Published in Origins v. 23, n. 2.

Literature Reviews

A review of the book, Darwin's Black Box. Published in Origins v. 23, n. 1.

Darwin's theory is in crisis. The academic ball is in its court. What will the Adventist ministry speak in response? The general community, for the time being at least, is listening.

A collection of short commentaries on scientific papers published in 1993-1994, covering such topics as parasite degeneration, convergence in diapsid reptiles, induced neoteny, genetic code, directed mutation in bacteria, radiohalos in a diamond, coelacanth phylogeny, marsupial phylogeny, origin of life, and fossil change in Jurassic rocks. Published in Origins v. 22, n. 1.

A collection of short commentaries on scientific papers published in 1993-1994, covering topics such as C. elegans genes, hotspots, stromatolites, insecticide resistance, and the Cambrian Explosion. Published in Origins v. 21, n. 2.

*updated edition

Pseudogenes are DNA sequences that resemble genes but do not appear to have a function. Similar pseudogenes in humans and chimps have been used to argue for common ancestry. However,if pseudogenes have a function in gene regulation the argument for common ancestry would be greatly weakened. Published in Origins v. 21, n. 2.

Pseudogenes are DNA sequences that resemble functional genes but seem to have no purpose. The presence of similar eta globin pseudogenes in humans and chimps has been used as an argument for common ancestry of the two species.

A collection of short commentaries on scientific papers published in 1993, covering topics such as evolution of the eye, phylogeny, "junk" DNA, giant fossil mammal, and creationists and radiocarbon dating. Published in Origins v. 21, n. 1.

A review of the book, The Book of Life- An Illustrated History of the Evolution of Life on Earth. Published in Origins v. 21, n. 1.

The philosophical context in which biology is presented can make an important difference in its meaning for the student. The philosophical worldview of the biblical Christian is quite different from that of the non-Christian; thus, the biology teacher may have a profound influence on the development of worldview by the student.

This paper proposes that mutation and natural selection can produce biological change, but are not sufficient to explain the origins of biodiversity and complexity. Instead, the authors argue that genetic complexity is the result of intelligent design, and was at a maximum when life on Earth first came into being. Published in Origins v. 20, n. 2.

A review of the book, Blueprints: Solving the Mystery of Evolution. The book presents a rather uninformed critical response to creationism. Published in Origins v. 20, n. 1.

The "RNA World" hypothesis for the origin of life is implausible for several reasons, among them the difficulty of producing RNA naturalistically, its relative instability in water over time, the problem of chirality, and the insufficiency of RNA to form a living cell. 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.

Several ideas have been proposed over the past two centuries to explain how organisms could have evolved through naturalistic processes. None of them seems viable, and it seems reasonable that creation should be considered as an explanation. Published in Origins v. 19, n. 1.

Readers are invited to submit their reactions to the articles in our journal. Please address contributions to: Origins, Geoscience Research Institute, 11060 Campus St., Loma Linda, California 92350 USA.

A review of the book, Of Pandas and People: The Central Question of BIological Origins. Published in Origins v. 19, n. 1.

Biomolecules decompose rapidly enough they are not expected to last for millions of years. Discovery of biomolecules in fossils is difficult to reconcile with the purported ages of these fossils, and suggests the ages are much younger, as expected in a biblical worldview. Published in Origins v. 18, n. 2.

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.

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.