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.
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 collection of short commentaries on scientific papers published in 1992-1993, covering topics such as biogeography of southern trees, Permo-Triassic stratigraphy, dendrochronology, endothermy in fish, genetics of cranes, genetic code variants, gene conversion, bivalve extinctions, magma mixing, extraterrestrial impacts, tillites, flood basalts, effect of transposon in floral development, convergence, hybridization in fish, molecular systematics, origin of life, soft-tissue preservation, banded iron formations, graptolites, fossil whales, dwarf mammoths, Archaeopteryx, and dinosaurs.
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.
A collection of short commentaries on scientific papers published in 1992, covering topics such as gene conversion, paleosols, magma mixing, molecular evolution, paleoecology, Precambrian algae, Cambrian explosion, conodont fossils, fossil birds and bird tracks, fossils, and taphonomy. Published in Origins v. 19, n. 1.
A recent survey shows about 9% of the population accepts the viewpoint of naturalistic evolution, about 40% accept divinely guided evolution, about 47% accept a recent creation of humans, and about 4% registered they don't know. These results are nearly the same as a similar survey taken three years before. Published in Origins v. 18, n. 2.
Assumptions may eventually become so widely accepted they are no longer recognized as assumptions but take the status of truth. Two examples that relate to origins are assumptions of abiogeneis and long ages. These points should not be assumed but tested if one wants to discover truth. Published in Origins v. 18, n. 1.
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.
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 collection of short commentaries on scientific papers published in 1989-1990, covering topics such as end-Permian extinction, fossil plant DNA, phylogenies, Triassic paleobiogeography, fossils, dinosaurs, science, radiocarbon dating, rift lake cichlids, fossils out of sequence, and mass extinction patterns. Published in Origins v. 17, n. 2.
In this essay I have attempted to outline the world as it is, reality as it is perceived through the lens of science and scripture in terms of the concepts of order and chance.
The perceived nature of science has changed from that of an ideal system for discovering truth to more of a more ordinary human effort to discover how nature works. Published in Origins v. 17, n. 2.
A collection of short commentaries on scientific papers published in 1989, covering topics such as philosophy of science, mantle plumes, molecular clock, plant phylogeny, paleobiogeography, fossil reptile, Ediacaran fossils, rapid change in birds and insects, rapid oil formation, molecular evolution, population bottleneck in Drosophila, and mass mortality of sea urchins. Published in Origins v. 17, n. 1.
The purpose of this paper to compare and contrast scientific and religious paradigms and their communities. Similarities include the fact that it is possible to analyze both in terms of the formal components of a paradigm, that a community is essential to both traditions, and that the intersubjective testing and universality, along with data and experience, are important for "rational objectivity" in both communities.
Science strives to produce models of physical phenomena. Such models are useful, but usually simplifications of reality. Published in Origins v. 16, n. 2.
A collection of short commentaries on scientific papers published in 1997, covering topics such as Darwin's finches, teleology, exon shuffling, flood geology, origin of life, dinosaurs, theistic evolution, radiocarbon dating, fossil invertebrates, and monotreme chromosomes. Published in Origins v. 16, n. 2.