Abortion is such an awkward issue. A lot of folks feel VERY strongly about their opinions on the topic, so they badly want to talk about it, but trying to talk about it often ends with unproductive conversation or worse. In my opinion, inability to have good conversations is the single biggest problem the Pro-Life …
Continue reading The QA Project is a Great Pro-Life Strategy
Chief science officer isn't exactly a traditional role in most Christian denominations. Sure you have pastors, elders, deacons, Sunday school teachers and others. Science officer, not so much. But having a science officer, or even a science council would make an awful lot of sense for churches in today's society. Consider the following: Christians want …
Continue reading Why Your Church Should Have A Science Officer
Alternate title suggested by this review: One physicist thinks he's more clever about evolution than 150 years of actual biologists. Author: Dr. Lee Spetner Publisher: The Judaica Press Inc., Brooklyn, NY Date of Publication: 1998 Title: Not by chance! Shattering The Modern Theory of Evolution. What do you get when someone takes an introductory level …
Continue reading Book Review: Not By Chance! Shattering the Modern Theory of Evolution
There was recently a cool study published in Cell about making human-pig chimeras that was exciting enough to make the news a few weeks ago. I'm not surprised, since the research is a move towards solving a big problem: organ donation shortages. The US Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network reports that 22 people die each …
Continue reading Human-Pig Chimeras: Questions, Concerns, How They Work
Happy Darwin Day! If you've never read "The Origin of Species," you can for free here: http://literature.org/authors/darwin-charles/the-origin-of-species/ It's certainly not a great modern biology textbook, but is an important piece of literature from history. Besides the scientific stuff, there is some real thoughtful writing in there. It's not terribly long either. Enjoy!
Just some fun playing with data sets today. As seen below, by using mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) similarity, you can see how many differences there are between species. As it turns out, we're more closely related to Chimpanzees than our cats are to lions. You might need to click on the image to enlarge it enough …
Continue reading Fun Genetics Fact: Humans And Chimps More Alike Than Cats And Lions
Keeping endangered species around is an icon of environmentalist efforts, but in perspective, is it worth it? Should endangered species be any priority to Christians? There are easy ways to jump to a yes or no, but these are really questions that require some careful thought. Neither scripture nor science offer simple answers. Unfortunately, scripture …
Being a biologist and a Protestant Christian on the somewhat traditional/conservative side can be fuel for some interesting conversation. And frustration, but let's stay positive. Occasionally I have the amusing experience of talking with someone who believes in a Young Earth and reacts to my dismissal of the idea with something like, "Creation Science is …
Continue reading 3 B-Movie Young Earth Ideas That Would Melt The Planet
Many conservative Christian writers seem absolutely baffled and outraged about modern discussion about gender. I frequently see authors making statements like, "such and such a person claims to be a boy despite, in fact, being biologically female!" Here in Alberta, there has recently been at least one group expressing concern that new sex ed curriculum …
Continue reading Scientific Introduction to Gender for The Concerned Christian
Want to understand evolution better, or explain it handily to others? Evolution simulators can be a great way to explain the concepts in an easy-to-understand way. I'm hoping to run a short discussion series on different Christian perspectives on evolution and human origins at my university this spring, and the first goal will have to …
Continue reading Evolve Your Own Army of Drunken Walkers and Other Educational Evolution Simulators
Stem Cell Monk 