In a previous article, I gave a brief overview of the complex molecular mechanisms governing DNA replication. Now, I will focus specifically on the replication enzyme DNA polymerase. DNA polymerase is the enzyme responsible for synthesizing new strands of DNA,...
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An Exchange with Biblical Scholar Peter Enns on Archaeology and the Bible
Just recently a friend of mine notified me (Ted W.) of a blog written by biblical scholar, Dr. Peter Enns concerning archaeology and the Bible. The title of the blog post is “3 Things I Would Like to see Evangelical Leaders Stop Saying About Biblical Scholarship” Here...
Did the Apostle Paul “Invent” Christianity?
The writer of Ecclesiastes instructs his students “…of making many books there is no end.” (Eccl. 12:2) and this is certainly true. A similar thing could certainly be said in responding to the continual flow of misinformation and outright falsehoods about Christianity...
Israel & Footsteps of Paul Trip this Summer
Have you ever wanted to see the Bible come alive by visiting actual biblical sites? When I co-led a Footsteps of Paul cruise last year with my friend Bob Cornuke (the REAL Indiana Jones), the experience was even more enriching than I had anticipated. So this year we...
DNA Replication: An Engineering Marvel
Recently I have been reviewing some literature on the elegant molecular mechanisms by which DNA is replicated. As an undergraduate biology student, I recall being struck by their sheer complexity, sophistication, and intrinsic beauty. As I read about such a carefully...
Was the Old Testament Invented During the Babylonian Exile? The Answer is NO.
Just recently the History Channel aired the six-part docu-drama, “Mankind: The Story of Us.” Perhaps you might have watched it. Last year I was contacted by the producers and asked if I would like to participate as one of the “experts.” While I certainly don’t...
Tragedy Then Hope: Like the First Christmas
I was physically sick when I heard the news. The mass murder of children and adults at the Sandy Hook Elementary in Connecticut is shocking and sadly too common. Evil is a reality in our world, and, tragically, evil has been perpetrated on children for...
More Functions for “Junk DNA”
A new paper has just been published in the journal Genome Biology by John Rinn and David Kelley, identifying a role for transposable elements in gene regulation in stem cells. Click here to continue reading>>>
Life of Pi, Only 3.14% Accurate
Life of Pi, Only 3.14% Accurate Scott Symington An interesting encounter at sea is reported in the Naval Institute’s official magazine, Proceedings. A battleship had been at sea on maneuvers in heavy weather. A lookout reported a light in the distance, so the captain...
Intergenic Retrotransposons Can Serve Long-Range Functions
Retrotransposons (which include LINEs, SINEs, and ERVs) are known for the ability of their long-terminal repeats (LTRs) to serve as promoters and enhancers for regulating the expression of genes that are immediately downstream (Conley et al., 2008; Dunn et al., 2005)....
The Design of the Complement Cascade
When I was an undergraduate biology student, one of my favorite topics was the complement system in immunology. The complement cascade is an array of sequentially interacting proteins that serve a vital role in innate immune responses. The complement cascade can be...
The Molecular "Clutch" of the Dynein Motor Protein
Over at Evolution News & Views, I have just published a blog post on the recent paper in the journal Cell regarding the molecular clutch of the dynein motor protein: Here at ENV, I have previously described the molecular flagellar clutch of Bacillus subtilis, the...
Nature News: ‘Arsenic-life’ bacterium prefers phosphorus after all
Readers may recall the media hype, back in December 2010, surrounding the claim that a bacterium is capable of utilising arsenic instead of phosphorous in its DNA. A new study, published in Nature and reported on by Nature News, has discovered that the bacterium...
The Same-Sex Marriage Controversy
This week, I participated in a debate on the subject of same-sex marriage before an audience at the University of Glasgow. The motion was "Politics, Religion and Expression: This House Supports Gay Marriage." The format took a parliamentary style, with teams of three...
The Demise of Junk DNA and Why It Matters
ENV's Casey Luskin has already drawn our attention to the groundbreaking research published this week by ENCODE. A number of ID critics are asking the question: "Why should a pro-intelligent design news site care about these results?" After all, the discovery that a...
On the Origin of Protein Folds
A common objection to the theory of intelligent design (ID) is that it has no power to make testable predictions, and thus there is no basis for calling it science at all. While recognising that testability may not be a sufficient or necessary resolution of the...
Here Comes McBride (Again): The Debate on Junk DNA Continues
Over at his Still Monkeys blog, Paul McBride has offered a rebuttal to my defense of Casey Luskin's chapter on junk DNA in the new book Science and Human Origins. Similar to Larry Moran (whom I previously rebuffed here), McBride writes, Click here to continue...
"Junk DNA," "Non-Coding DNA," and Larry Moran’s Hyper-Pedantry
Earlier this week, David Klinghoffer posted an article responding to Larry Moran's claim of contradiction between myself and Jonathan Wells on "junk DNA." Larry Moran has now posted a follow-up on his blog. Click here to continue reading>>>
A Response to Paul McBride on Junk DNA
We have recently been discussing a series of critical reviews of Science and Human Origins published by PhD student Paul McBride on his blog Still Monkeys. I am going to respond now to McBride's review of chapter 4, in which he tackles Casey Luskin's handling of the...
On the Evolution of the Mammalian Middle Ear
A correspondent recently asked me about the evolution of the mammalian middle ear in relation to the fossil record. Based on data gathered from embryology, it is widely thought that the bones of the mammalian middle ear (the region just inside the eardrum) evolved...