CREATION MOMENTS: 10.8.16

GENETIC MONKEY BUSINESS

Genesis 1:27

"So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them."
One commonly heralded claim to the evolution of man from the animal kingdom is the statement that humans and chimpanzees are more than 98 percent genetically identical. Many people think this claim has been proven, but it has always been an assumption made by believers in evolution.

Now geneticists have begun to examine this claim. Researchers recently completed the first detailed map of one chimpanzee chromosome. That alone should tell us that the claim of genetic similarity between humans and chimps has never been proven. They then compared this with the corresponding human chromosome. In a detailed examination they found 68,000 small differences in the DNA between the two genes. An analysis of the 231 genes of this chromosome showed that 83 percent of them would make proteins that differed from one another. They noted that if this pattern held for all the comparisons between human and chimpanzee genes, they would expect thousands of differences. In other words, rather than humans and chimps being more than 98 percent genetically identical, so far they have proven to be 83 percent genetically different!

There are, of course, more differences between humans and chimps than genetics. Humans were created in God's image and therefore are morally responsible to God. And most importantly, humans have been redeemed by God's Son, Jesus Christ, on the cross of Calvary.

Lord, I thank You that You have made me and redeemed me. Amen.

Discover, 1: 2005, p. 30, Chris Jozefowicz, "Proteins Make the Primate." Photo: Chimpanzee in the Leipzig Zoo. Courtesy of Thomas Lersch. (CC-BY-SA 3.0)

 

THE SOCIAL LIVES OF BACTERIA

Genesis 11:6a

"And the LORD said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do..."
About 300 years after the Genesis Flood, when all people spoke the same language, they decided to work together to build a great city. Working together for a common goal is called "social intelligence." Do animals practice social intelligence? Of course, there are the bees, the ants and the beavers, but even bacteria – among the lowliest of all creatures – also show social intelligence!

Several types of common bacteria have shown evidence of social intelligence. Contrary to expectation, sometimes this cooperation takes place between unrelated types at the expense of genetically related individuals. Bacterial colonies where cooperation is taking place always attract freeloaders. Such colonies often find ways to discourage or even kill the freeloaders. One such cooperative community is a common soil bacterium. When they locate prey, they swarm over the prey like a pack of wolves. Many species of bacteria remain relatively singular until they sense that they have enough to form a community. Then, they communicate to each other by releasing certain molecules which the others sense, and they form slime mold colonies, or a biofilm.

Cooperation and a result of social intelligence can be used to do good or evil. But it doesn't matter where they are on the imagined evolutionary tree. God has given social abilities to many of His creatures as a means of helping their kind to survive.

Lord, I thank You for the ability to cooperate with others to do good. Help me to better cooperate for the good of all. Amen.

Science News, 11/20: 2004, pp. 330-332, Bruce Bower, "One-Celled Socialites." Photo: An iridescent biofilm on the surface of a fish tank. Courtesy of Zaereth. (CC-BY-PDD 1.0)

 

 

THE MOST INTERESTING SOUNDS YOU'VE NEVER HEARD

Psalm 77:17

"The clouds poured out water: the skies sent out a sound: thine arrows also went abroad."
We are surrounded by sounds, some of which can be louder than an airliner taking off. Yet, we never hear these sounds. It's called infrasound. It's real sound that can be recorded if you have the right equipment.

Infrasound waves are below 20 hertz, the lowest frequency we can hear. Because the sound waves are long, they can travel hundreds or even thousands of miles. Volcanic eruptions regularly generate infrasound and so does the wind. But, perhaps most interestingly, those beautiful Northern Lights that often color the night sky also generate infrasound. The sound is produced when the incoming solar particles push the air outward. While we are not able to hear infrasound, it does influence us. Researchers in England placed an infrasound generator in a concert hall and, during the performance, infrasound was added at selected points. After the concert, the audience was asked about their emotions during certain passages of music, or if they had had experienced any strange feelings during the concert. Researchers concluded that infrasound intensified whatever emotional state the music had produced in people. So, if you have ever watched the Northern Lights and thought you were almost hearing something, it was likely the infrasound you were sensing.

The more we learn about the creation God has given us, the more we find to marvel at how excellent is His workmanship.

Father, You have been so generous to us, not only in the creation You have given us, but also in Your love in Christ.

Science News, 1/10: 2004, pp. 26-28, Kate Ramsayer, "Infrasonic Symphony." Photo: Pillow lava formed by submarine volcano. (PD)

 

BRIGHT CAMOUFLAGE

Psalm 146:6

"Which made heaven, and earth, the sea, and all that therein is: which keepeth truth for ever..."
Most people have seen the beautiful colors of reef fish. However, all those bright colors would be expected to make them attractive to predators.

Researchers have learned that while we appreciate all the bright colors, when we see fish as other fish see them, most of these fish are perfectly camouflaged. Almost fifty percent of the fish so far studied can see ultraviolet light. Further, fish such as the damselfish, have markings that can only be seen in the ultraviolet range. Researchers studying the effect of water depth on light color and the pigments in various fish's eyes have concluded that fish cannot see, for example, the subtleties of all the shade of yellows around them. What appears to us as a bright yellow trumpet fish is seen by fish eyes to be the same color as a coral reef ten feet away. What appears to us as a bright yellow and blue striped angel fish appears to fish eyes several feet away like the reef itself. Several species of cleaner fish sport a similar shade of blue even though they may not be related. Perhaps this color is a code to other species that need cleaning.

God has here designed a color scheme that brings delight to the eye, and yet offers his creatures protection so that they can continue from generation to generation.

Thank You, Father, for the beauty You have built into the creation even as You protect Your creatures. Amen.

Science News, 11/6: 2004, pp. 296-297, 300, Susan Milius, "Hide and See." Photo: Trumpet fish. (PD)

 

THE DEAD-HORSE ARUM

Isaiah 40:8

"The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever."
A flower called the dead-horse arum has a problem. The individual flowers are able to receive pollen for only one day. To make matters worse, its male parts are not mature that day. The next day, the male parts of the flower produce pollen, but the female parts of the flower have shriveled up and cannot receive it.

The dead-horse arum, which grows on islands in the Mediterranean, has a unique solution to this problem. When it's ready to pollinate, the flower begins to generate heat and scent. The scent smells like rotting flesh, which attracts blow-flies. The flies, looking for a place to lay their eggs, crawl into a pocket around the base of the flower stalk. There, the blow-flies are trapped by spines and filaments. If these flies had previously visited another dead-horse arum, they transfer the pollen they picked up there to the female parts of the plant. The next day, when the male parts of the flower are producing pollen, the flies, now coated with this pollen, are released to pollinate another arum.

The complex dependence of the arum on the blow-flies – with its custom-designed features to lure and hold the flies just long enough to ensure pollination – had to come into existence all at the same time and in perfected form, making it a testimony to the genius of our Creator.

Father, I thank You that the entire creation glorifies You. Help me to glorify You with my life. Amen.

Science News, 12/13: 2003, pp. 379-381, Susan Milius, "Warm-Blooded Plants?" Illustration: Dead horse arum lily. (PD)

 

 

OLD MACDONALD HAS A SHELL

Genesis 4:2b

"And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground."
Until recently, it was thought that, excluding mankind, only a few insects, beetles, ants and termites actually farmed crops for their food supply. Then an amazing snail was found.

The snail lives on the leaves of plants growing in East Coast salt marshes. This amazing snail cuts long gashes down the leaves of cord-grass. It doesn't eat the cord-grass. Rather, it waits. Before long, a fungus begins to grow on the gash, aided by the snail's own droppings. Moreover, without the fungus, the snails do not thrive, hardly even grow, and almost half of their young die. However, when the fungus is available, they thrive and grow, losing almost none of their young.

Now the question must be asked: How could this arrangement evolve? How did these snails exist before they discovered that they needed this fungus? How did they learn to grow the fungus? If they evolved from snails that didn't need the fungus, how did they discover that they all-of-a-sudden needed the fungus? The most straightforward answer is that the same Creator Who taught us to farm also taught these snails to farm when He made them and the fungus they need to survive. He knows all of our needs before we do and provides what we need, including the forgiveness of sins, eternal life and salvation through His Son, Jesus Christ.

Father, thank You for the productivity of the earth. I pray that You would continue to provide for our needs. Amen.

Science News, 12/6: 2003, p. 358, S. Milius, "New Farmers." Photo: Salt marsh in Connecticut, US. Courtesy of Alex756. (CC-BY-SA 3.0)

 

SEISMIC SAYINGS

James 2:19

"Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble."
Speaking, singing, writing and body language are all familiar ways of communicating. Science has now learned of another means of communication that has been going on all around us, yet we are not even aware of it.

A vast range of creatures communicate through vibration. This vibratory communication goes on at frequencies beyond human hearing. Researchers have learned that a number of insects communicate with other members of their species on the same plant by quivering the plant. A tree hopper will call its friends with a specific type of vibration when it finds a good place to feed. The cape mole rat spends nearly its entire life underground. When a solitary male is ready to mate, he thumps against the side of his burrow and then listens for a female's response. The female's burrow may be nine feet away, but she'll sense the vibration.

Golden moles are completely blind, but they hunt for live prey. Further, they live in a desert environment where there are only small stands of grass. They hunt by sensing ground vibrations generated when the wind blows through a stand of grass, where the next meal is likely to be found.

Communication is God's gift. However, we want to be clear in our communication of our faith. To do that, our communication of our faith needs to center on Jesus Christ.

Thank You, Father, for communicating Your love for me in a way I can understand – in Jesus Christ. Amen.

Science News, 3/24: 2001, pp. 190-191, Susan Milius, "Things that Go Thump." Photo: Tree hopper. Courtesy of Bruce Marlin. (CC-BY-ATTRIB 3.0)

 

BABY MAY BE IN CHARGE OF HIS OWN BIRTH

Galatians 4:19

"My little children, of whom I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you..."

Does the mother's body or the unborn baby's body trigger the birth process? Those who advise that the baby will come when it's ready may be correct.

Researchers studying mice have found that a protein called SP-A, which coats the inside of a newborn's lungs, begins to rise in concentration in the amniotic fluid shortly before birth. Normally, the protein is used by the newborn to fend off lung infections. SP-A causes the release of the unborn child's immune cells, called macrophages. These macrophages leave the amniotic fluid and go to the uterus. Once there, they produce inflammation that eventually causes the cervix to open and contractions to begin. It seems that this entire sequence of events that leads to a successful birth is controlled by the unborn infant's own body. If the researchers' findings with mice also apply to humans, many premature births might be prevented by manipulating levels of SP-A in the mother's amniotic fluid.

Every step of this system must be in place and work if there is to be a next generation. This fact in itself argues against this carefully tuned system having evolved through trial and error. Rather, it is the gift of our loving God, Who also gave us the new birth into His kingdom by calling us through the Gospel of the forgiveness of sins in His Son, Jesus Christ.

Lord, I thank You for my birth into this world, and I thank You for my new birth into Your kingdom. Amen.

Science News, 3/27: 2004, p. 198, J. Travis, "It's Time!" Photo: 3D ultrasound, taken at 20 weeks. (PD)

 

BIRDS WITH A MEMORY TO ENVY

Job 38:41

"Who provideth for the raven his food? when his young ones cry unto God, they wander for lack of meat."
The shy bird called Clark's nutcracker collects food during the growing season and stores it for the cold winter months. In one year, a bird will store between 22,000 and 33,000 seeds in as many as 2,500 locations, which can be more than ten miles apart. But does the little bird remember where he put all those seeds?

Biologists tracked the activity of Clark's nutcrackers in the San Francisco Peaks in northern Arizona. A small army of researchers tracked the birds' seed gathering and storing activities. One of the first things they discovered was that the birds quickly figured out that they were being observed. Some refused to store food when researchers were watching them. Others faked storing seeds when they were watched. Back in the lab, researchers studied the storing activity of Eurasian nutcrackers. After the birds stored seeds in a large sand floor, the birds were removed. Then the seeds they stored were dug up. When the birds were allowed to return, they quickly discovered that their seeds had been stolen, so they refused to store any more seeds. In the end, researchers concluded that the nutcrackers recover as many as two-thirds of their stored seeds within 13 months.

The remarkable memory of these little birds is their gift from God that enables them to be fed all year around.

Father, I thank You because You are gracious and generous, not just to the birds, but also to me. Amen.

Science News, 2/14: 2004, pp. 103-105, Susan Milius, "Where'd I Put That?" Photo: Clark's nutcracker. (PD)

 

PLANTS HAVE IMMUNE SYSTEMS

Malachi 4:2a

"But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings..."
People and mammals have a multi-pronged immune system. When a bacterial infection is detected, cells begin to release nitric oxide, which kills bacteria, and they begin a cascade of other defense strategies. Ultimately, antibodies that directly attack any invader are produced.

In recent years, scientists have discovered that even in certain plants there are immune systems that respond to infectious agents. These researchers, working with mustard plants, subjected them to 15 proteins unique to infectious microbes. In response, the plants began producing nitric oxide. Measurable increases of this gas were noted within two minutes of exposure. And, just as in people and mammals, the nitric oxide began to kill real microbes. It also begins a chain of other strategies that would enable the plant to fight infection. In some cases, the entire plant – and not just the plant cells exposed to the infectious agents – also joined in fighting the "infection." Further research has shown that a number of genes in the mustard plant are involved in defense against infectious agents.

While no plants have yet been found to produce antibodies, it appears that many plants have immune systems similar to our own. At creation God said everything was "very good" so there were no diseases, but He gave us immune systems anyway because He knew we would fall, just as He already had our salvation worked out.

I thank You, Lord, for the spiritual healing You have given to me through the forgiveness of sins. Amen.

Science News, 10/23: 2004, p. 260, S. Milius, "Green Red-Alert." Photo: Bangladeshi mustard plants. Courtesy of Hopeoflight. (CC-BY-SA 3.0)