THREE-DIMENSIONAL THINKING
Matthew 22:37
"Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind."
Without a doubt the brain is a marvelous organ, although there is still a great deal to learn about how it works. We do know that brain cells communicate through connections which reach out in three dimensions to other cells. When thought and motion take place, they communicate with each other very quickly. They are even in communication while you sleep.
In contrast to the human brain, the "thinking" parts of a computer are connected in two dimensions to "communicate" with each other. Researchers thought that it might boost performance if a three-dimensional computer chip could be designed. Cell phones already use a three-dimensional chip arrangement, but these are just individual flat chips stacked one on top of another. Researchers wanted to see what true three-dimensional chips (called TSVs), could do.
Now several chip manufacturers have developed working TSVs. They have found that three-dimensional chips transmit information faster and use less power than flat chips. In other words, they are more efficient than flat chips and pack more "thinking" power into a smaller space. Chip manufacturers are now working on ways to successfully mass produce the TSVs.
The three-dimensional computer chip does improve chip performance by mimicking the wiring of the brain. However, except in the area of calculation, we are nowhere close to mimicking the power of the human brain.
Thank You, Father, for implanting in my mind faith in Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior. Amen.
The Nikkei Weekly, 12/29/08 & 1/5/09, p. 3, "Semiconductor makers head for third dimension." Illustration: TSVs used by stacked DRAM-dice in combination with a High Bandwidth Memory interface. Courtesy of Shmuel Csaba Otto Traian. (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Matthew 22:37
"Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind."
Without a doubt the brain is a marvelous organ, although there is still a great deal to learn about how it works. We do know that brain cells communicate through connections which reach out in three dimensions to other cells. When thought and motion take place, they communicate with each other very quickly. They are even in communication while you sleep.
In contrast to the human brain, the "thinking" parts of a computer are connected in two dimensions to "communicate" with each other. Researchers thought that it might boost performance if a three-dimensional computer chip could be designed. Cell phones already use a three-dimensional chip arrangement, but these are just individual flat chips stacked one on top of another. Researchers wanted to see what true three-dimensional chips (called TSVs), could do.
Now several chip manufacturers have developed working TSVs. They have found that three-dimensional chips transmit information faster and use less power than flat chips. In other words, they are more efficient than flat chips and pack more "thinking" power into a smaller space. Chip manufacturers are now working on ways to successfully mass produce the TSVs.
The three-dimensional computer chip does improve chip performance by mimicking the wiring of the brain. However, except in the area of calculation, we are nowhere close to mimicking the power of the human brain.
Thank You, Father, for implanting in my mind faith in Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior. Amen.
The Nikkei Weekly, 12/29/08 & 1/5/09, p. 3, "Semiconductor makers head for third dimension." Illustration: TSVs used by stacked DRAM-dice in combination with a High Bandwidth Memory interface. Courtesy of Shmuel Csaba Otto Traian. (CC BY-SA 4.0)
AUSTRALIA'S SMART DOLPHINS
Psalm 104:27
"These wait all upon thee; that thou mayest give them their meat in due season."
It was once thought that only man used tools. However, scientists have learned that some monkeys and even some birds use "tools." Now we can add dolphins to the growing list of tool-users.
Researchers studying dolphins in Australia's Shark Bay noticed that some dolphins were swimming around with sponges on their beaks. After some observation, both on the surface and beneath the water, scientists discovered what the dolphins were doing. Holding the sponges in their mouths, they would sweep the sea bottom sand, flushing out fish. Then they dropped the sponge and ate what they had flushed out. When they were finished eating, they retrieved their sponge and repeated the process.
Researchers found that about 10 percent of the females obtained their food using sponges as tools. For some unknown reason, very few of the males used this method. Furthermore, most of the females using this method were related to two maternal tool-using dolphins. Researchers debate whether these two taught their descendants this method of obtaining fish or whether the behavior is based in genetics.
Since this is not a widespread behavior among dolphins, it seems likely that it is a learned behavior probably taught to younger relatives by the maternal dolphins. After all, dolphins are known to be very intelligent, and intelligence is a gift from their Creator.
I thank You, Lord, that You have given Your creatures an Earth and the ability to make a living on it. Amen.
Science News Online, 12/10/08, www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/39219, Bruce Bower, "Dolphins Wield Tools of the Sea." Photo: Common dolphin. (PD)
Psalm 104:27
"These wait all upon thee; that thou mayest give them their meat in due season."
It was once thought that only man used tools. However, scientists have learned that some monkeys and even some birds use "tools." Now we can add dolphins to the growing list of tool-users.
Researchers studying dolphins in Australia's Shark Bay noticed that some dolphins were swimming around with sponges on their beaks. After some observation, both on the surface and beneath the water, scientists discovered what the dolphins were doing. Holding the sponges in their mouths, they would sweep the sea bottom sand, flushing out fish. Then they dropped the sponge and ate what they had flushed out. When they were finished eating, they retrieved their sponge and repeated the process.
Researchers found that about 10 percent of the females obtained their food using sponges as tools. For some unknown reason, very few of the males used this method. Furthermore, most of the females using this method were related to two maternal tool-using dolphins. Researchers debate whether these two taught their descendants this method of obtaining fish or whether the behavior is based in genetics.
Since this is not a widespread behavior among dolphins, it seems likely that it is a learned behavior probably taught to younger relatives by the maternal dolphins. After all, dolphins are known to be very intelligent, and intelligence is a gift from their Creator.
I thank You, Lord, that You have given Your creatures an Earth and the ability to make a living on it. Amen.
Science News Online, 12/10/08, www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/39219, Bruce Bower, "Dolphins Wield Tools of the Sea." Photo: Common dolphin. (PD)
ARE CAVEMEN PRIMITIVE?
1 Kings 19:9
"And he came thither unto a cave, and lodged there; and, behold, the word of the LORD came to him...."
Cavemen. The very word conjures images of bearskin clothing, wooden clubs and perhaps some simple stone tools. We think of the cavemen themselves as part ape and certainly less than modern humans. All of these images help make human evolution look more plausible.
However, in China there are some 20 million people living in caves. The caves there are easily carved in the silty soil of the Western regions of the Yellow River. The caves are generally 10 to 13 feet wide and can extend as far as 25 feet back into the hillside. Sometimes the caves are connected to one another, creating a larger place to live. Many of the people who live in these caves would not think of moving out of them.
Caves are warm in the winter, cool in the summer, and they are fireproof. These caves include flues for venting the exhaust from cooking fires. But these caves are not primitive dwellings by any stretch of the imagination. They feature plumbing, electrical wiring and even cable television! Except for windows, some of these cave homes are as modern as anything you'll see in the rest of the developing world.
Throughout the ages, people have taken shelter in caves and even set up housekeeping in them. The fact that they lived in caves does not make them primitive at all.
Lord, do not let Your people be misled into unbelief, and enlighten them with Your truth. Amen.
Minneapolis Star Tribune, 12/21/08, p. AA5, Tim Johnson, "Cave, sweet cave: Many Chinese find home is in a hillside." Photo: Traditional cave houses in Shanxi, also known as yaodong ("house cave"). Courtesy of Meier & Poehlmann. (CC BY 3.0)
1 Kings 19:9
"And he came thither unto a cave, and lodged there; and, behold, the word of the LORD came to him...."
Cavemen. The very word conjures images of bearskin clothing, wooden clubs and perhaps some simple stone tools. We think of the cavemen themselves as part ape and certainly less than modern humans. All of these images help make human evolution look more plausible.
However, in China there are some 20 million people living in caves. The caves there are easily carved in the silty soil of the Western regions of the Yellow River. The caves are generally 10 to 13 feet wide and can extend as far as 25 feet back into the hillside. Sometimes the caves are connected to one another, creating a larger place to live. Many of the people who live in these caves would not think of moving out of them.
Caves are warm in the winter, cool in the summer, and they are fireproof. These caves include flues for venting the exhaust from cooking fires. But these caves are not primitive dwellings by any stretch of the imagination. They feature plumbing, electrical wiring and even cable television! Except for windows, some of these cave homes are as modern as anything you'll see in the rest of the developing world.
Throughout the ages, people have taken shelter in caves and even set up housekeeping in them. The fact that they lived in caves does not make them primitive at all.
Lord, do not let Your people be misled into unbelief, and enlighten them with Your truth. Amen.
Minneapolis Star Tribune, 12/21/08, p. AA5, Tim Johnson, "Cave, sweet cave: Many Chinese find home is in a hillside." Photo: Traditional cave houses in Shanxi, also known as yaodong ("house cave"). Courtesy of Meier & Poehlmann. (CC BY 3.0)
SMART SLIME
Ecclesiastes 4:9
"Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labour."
We all know that there is strength in numbers. Many animals have even discovered this and, for example, migrate in large herds. However, one would never expect bacteria to have discovered this or know enough to organize themselves collectively.
Bacteria consist of a single cell that doesn't even have a nucleus. They have no nervous system, and they reproduce by simply dividing in half. Of course, there is no brain; yet, they seem to display a sense of consciousness that totally baffles the neurosciences. Some marine species of bacteria are able to sense when there are other bacteria around them. Then, when a sufficient number have gathered together, their metabolism changes, and they begin to produce a slime that then holds them together.
While all this is now known, new research shows that the slime, called biofilm, includes chemicals that are poisonous to the very predators that would ordinarily feed on the bacteria. In fact, the biofilm seems to protect the bacteria. The more bacteria there are, the more biofilm they make and the more protection they have from predators.
There are no simple forms of life. Even bacteria, which are an important part of the ecosystem, have been designed with the ability to protect themselves – something they could never have invented for themselves.
Father, while You teach us to help one another, help me to always look to Your strength for my aid. Amen.
Minneapolis Star Tribune, 7/29/08, p. A5, David Brown, "Cellmates: Research shows that bacteria, when under attack, stick together to survive." Photo: Staphylococcus aureus biofilm. Courtesy of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (PD)
Ecclesiastes 4:9
"Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labour."
We all know that there is strength in numbers. Many animals have even discovered this and, for example, migrate in large herds. However, one would never expect bacteria to have discovered this or know enough to organize themselves collectively.
Bacteria consist of a single cell that doesn't even have a nucleus. They have no nervous system, and they reproduce by simply dividing in half. Of course, there is no brain; yet, they seem to display a sense of consciousness that totally baffles the neurosciences. Some marine species of bacteria are able to sense when there are other bacteria around them. Then, when a sufficient number have gathered together, their metabolism changes, and they begin to produce a slime that then holds them together.
While all this is now known, new research shows that the slime, called biofilm, includes chemicals that are poisonous to the very predators that would ordinarily feed on the bacteria. In fact, the biofilm seems to protect the bacteria. The more bacteria there are, the more biofilm they make and the more protection they have from predators.
There are no simple forms of life. Even bacteria, which are an important part of the ecosystem, have been designed with the ability to protect themselves – something they could never have invented for themselves.
Father, while You teach us to help one another, help me to always look to Your strength for my aid. Amen.
Minneapolis Star Tribune, 7/29/08, p. A5, David Brown, "Cellmates: Research shows that bacteria, when under attack, stick together to survive." Photo: Staphylococcus aureus biofilm. Courtesy of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (PD)
NO EYES, BUT IT CAN SEE LIGHT
Psalm 94:9
"He that planted the ear, shall he not hear? He that formed the eye, shall he not see?"
It turns out that not all creatures need eyes to see light. It all depends on what the creatures were designed to do.
The roundworm, C. elegans, lives below the soil surface where it needs no eyes. At the same time, this roundworm needs to sense light because too much exposure will kill it. Researchers noted that the roundworm has only 302 nerve cells. Study of these cells showed that some of them sense light in the same way that similar cells in vertebrates sense light. Evolutionists suggested that this is an example of an early step in the evolution of eyes. However, there is no evolutionary pressure for this roundworm to evolve eyes because light will kill it. Besides, animals that supposedly evolved long before C. elegans already had eyes.
A better explanation is that, like the cave fishes, this roundworm lives in the dark and needs no eyes that would, in any case, be constantly filling with dirt. No, this is not an example of evolution, but of good design by God.
God has designed all things to fit well into their respective environments. The fish that lives in the dark depths of the ocean has lighted lures, the fishes that live in the darkest caves have no eyes and neither does the roundworm, C. elegans. All these show God's fingerprints.
Father, You have made all things well, showing Your wisdom and power for all to see. Thank You. Amen.
http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/33889/title/Seeing_without_eyes. Photo: Adult C. elegans roundworm. Uploaded to the Wikimedia Commons by Kbradnam. (CC BY-SA 2.5)
Psalm 94:9
"He that planted the ear, shall he not hear? He that formed the eye, shall he not see?"
It turns out that not all creatures need eyes to see light. It all depends on what the creatures were designed to do.
The roundworm, C. elegans, lives below the soil surface where it needs no eyes. At the same time, this roundworm needs to sense light because too much exposure will kill it. Researchers noted that the roundworm has only 302 nerve cells. Study of these cells showed that some of them sense light in the same way that similar cells in vertebrates sense light. Evolutionists suggested that this is an example of an early step in the evolution of eyes. However, there is no evolutionary pressure for this roundworm to evolve eyes because light will kill it. Besides, animals that supposedly evolved long before C. elegans already had eyes.
A better explanation is that, like the cave fishes, this roundworm lives in the dark and needs no eyes that would, in any case, be constantly filling with dirt. No, this is not an example of evolution, but of good design by God.
God has designed all things to fit well into their respective environments. The fish that lives in the dark depths of the ocean has lighted lures, the fishes that live in the darkest caves have no eyes and neither does the roundworm, C. elegans. All these show God's fingerprints.
Father, You have made all things well, showing Your wisdom and power for all to see. Thank You. Amen.
http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/33889/title/Seeing_without_eyes. Photo: Adult C. elegans roundworm. Uploaded to the Wikimedia Commons by Kbradnam. (CC BY-SA 2.5)
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