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Beaker

'Return of the God Hypothesis' explains why science can no longer ignore intelligent design

Granville Sewell
The Federalist
Thu, 02 Sep 2021 17:41 UTC
meyer god
When the emperor Napoleon asked the great French mathematician Pierre-Simon Laplace why the Creator was never mentioned in his manuscript "A Treatise of Celestial Mechanics," Laplace is alleged to have replied, "I had no need of that hypothesis."

Philosopher of science Stephen Meyer's new book, Return of the God Hypothesis: Three Scientific Discoveries That Reveal the Mind Behind the Universe, documents the history of the fall of the God hypothesis in science during the 19th century and the first half of the 20th century. But the hypothesis is back, Meyer explains, detailing three scientific discoveries of the last 100 years that are fueling its "return."

The three are: 1) the discovery that the secret of life is the information contained in living things, 2) the discovery that the laws and constants of physics in our universe are extremely "fine-tuned" for life and 3) the discovery that the universe had a beginning.

While no one today claims it is needed to explain celestial mechanics, the "God hypothesis" was never truly replaced by plausible explanations for the origin and evolution of life. It was simply banished from science by arbitrary fiat, fueled by the successes of science in other areas.

Charles Darwin's extremely implausible explanation for the origin of species, which becomes more implausible with every new biological and biochemical discovery, remains popular in the scientific world today only because — no matter how implausible and how inconsistent with the evidence — it must be true because it is the only alternative anyone can imagine to the "unscientific" theory of intelligent design.
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Nebula

Genes can respond to coded information in light signals - or filter them out entirely

North Carolina State University
Science Daily
Tue, 31 Aug 2021 12:00 UTC
gene dna helix
New research from North Carolina State University demonstrates that genes are capable of identifying and responding to coded information in light signals, as well as filtering out some signals entirely. The study shows how a single mechanism can trigger different behaviors from the same gene -- and has applications in the biotechnology sector.

"The fundamental idea here is that you can encode information in the dynamics of a signal that a gene is receiving," says Albert Keung, corresponding author of a paper on the work and an assistant professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering at NC State. "So, rather than a signal simply being present or absent, the way in which the signal is being presented matters."

For this study, researchers modified a yeast cell so that it has a gene that produces fluorescent proteins when the cell is exposed to blue light.

Comment: One wonders whether other stimuli, such as sound, could also be used to elicit controlled responses: And check out SOTT radio's:

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Butterfly

More fantastic molecular machine videos from Wehi

Casey Luskin
Evolution News
Thu, 02 Sep 2021 06:41 UTC
molecular machine
© Veritasium/YouTube
Screenshot
Recently I posted a short piece about a spectacular video from Veritasium animating various molecular machines. Soon thereafter an EN reader wrote to let me know that the producers of that video are an Australian group called Wehi, or the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute, which has a YouTube channel with many additional fantastic videos animating cellular and biochemical processes. I've linked to some of them below for your convenience:

Comment: For further insight into the proofs supporting intelligent design, see: And check out SOTT radio's:


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Rocket

China may upgrade existing rockets to speed up plans for a human Moon mission

Eric Berger
Ars Technica
Thu, 02 Sep 2021 15:08 UTC
March 5 rocket china
© Xinhua/Sun Hao
China's Long March 5 rocket made its debut in November, 2016.
China appears to be accelerating its plans to land on the Moon by 2030 and would use a modified version of an existing rocket to do so.

The chief designer of the Long March family of rockets, Long Lehao, said China could use two modified Long March 5 rockets to accomplish a lunar landing in less than a decade, according to the Hong Kong-based online news site, HK01. He spoke earlier this week at the 35th National Youth Science and Technology Innovation Competition in China. The full video can be found here.

During Lehao's speech, he said one of these large rockets would launch a lunar lander into orbit around the Moon, and the second would send the crew to meet it. The crew would then transfer to the lander, go down to the Moon's surface, and spend about six hours walking on its surface. Then part of the lunar lander would ascend back to meet the spacecraft and return to Earth.

Comment: In their 2019 mission to the dark side of the moon, China has already demonstrated that its space capabilities are world class, and there's reason to believe they may even soon exceed that of the US, which, incidentally has been suffering a number of set backs lately:

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Satellite

Amazing Hubble telescope photo shows space 'sword' piercing huge celestial 'heart'

Mike Wall
Live Science
Wed, 01 Sep 2021 11:56 UTC
Herbig-Haro object HH111
© ESA/Hubble & NASA, B. Nisini
This image by the Hubble Space Telescope’s Wide Field Camera 3 instrument, features the Herbig-Haro object HH111, which lies about 1,300 light-years from Earth. Herbig-Haro objects consist of young stars blasting superheated jets through surrounding clouds of dust and gas.
A flaming blue sword seems to pierce a giant cosmic heart in a gorgeous new photo captured by the Hubble Space Telescope.

The "sword" is composed of twin jets of superheated, ionized gas that are rocketing into space from opposite poles of a newborn star called IRAS 05491+0247. The "heart" is the cloud of leftover dust and gas surrounding the protostar, according to Hubble team members.

This dramatic interaction between jets and cloud creates an uncommon celestial sight known as a Herbig-Haro object. The one photographed here by Hubble is named HH111, and it lies about 1,300 light-years from Earth, in the constellation Orion.

Hubble captured the image using its Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3) instrument, which observes in both optical and infrared (heat) wavelengths of light.
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Galaxy

Enigmatic ancient brown dwarf discovered in solar neighborhood suggests more 'accidents' may be lurking in our galaxy - NASA

Tony Greicius
NASA
Tue, 31 Aug 2021 12:00 UTC
galaxy
© NASA/JPL-Caltech/UCLA
This mosaic shows the entire sky imaged by the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE). Infrared light refers to wavelengths that are longer than those visible to the human eye. Many cosmic objects radiate infrared, including gas and dust clouds where stars form, and brown dwarfs.
Brown dwarfs aren't quite stars and aren't quite planets, and a new study suggests there might be more of them lurking in our galaxy than scientists previously thought.

A new study offers a tantalizing explanation for how a peculiar cosmic object called WISEA J153429.75-104303.3 - nicknamed "The Accident" - came to be. The Accident is a brown dwarf. Though they form like stars, these objects don't have enough mass to kickstart nuclear fusion, the process that causes stars to shine. And while brown dwarfs sometimes defy characterization, astronomers have a good grasp on their general characteristics.

Or they did, until they found this one.

Comment: Regarding brown dwarfs and why they don't shine, Pierre Lescaudron in his book Earth Changes and the Human-Cosmic Connection details that it's actually due to their low electrical activity; he also theorizes that our Sun may even be twinned with one:
Enter Nemesis

As everybody knows, our solar system is powered by a single star, the Sun. Well, it is assumed that ours is a single-star solar system because we see only one sun rise each morning. However, this is actually quite a peculiar configuration, since most stars astronomers have observed are part of multi-star systems (most often binary).

Based on data from NASA's Chandra X-ray observatory, it's estimated that over 80% of all stars may be in either binary or multiple-star systems.1 Grazia and Milton, who studied the 60 star systems nearest to our own reached a comparable conclusion:
61% of the 60 nearest stars are components of a double (binary) or triple star system.2
A twin-star model for our own solar system is a tantalizing prospect, not least because it could account for many 'anomalies' exhibited by the single-star hypothesis. As stated by the Binary Research Institute (BRI):
... elliptical orbit equations have been found to be a better predictor of precession rates than Newcomb's formula, showing far greater accuracy over the last hundred years. Moreover, a moving solar system model appears to solve a number of solar system formation theory problems including the sun's lack of angular momentum. For these reasons, BRI has concluded our sun is most likely part of a long cycle binary system.3
Bear in mind that the binary systems identified above are composed of stars bright enough to be detected with a telescope. This means that the percentage of binary systems may be even higher, since some systems can include 'unlit' stars, like so-called 'brown dwarfs', for example.

For plasma cosmologists, a binary system is the logical way for individual stars to cope with high electric stress, causing any given star to go through a process of fission (i.e. splitting into two or more parts).4 When a sphere is divided into two equally-sized spheres, the total mass will remain the same (no matter disappears) but the total surface area of this pair will be about 26% larger than the area of the original single sphere.5 This increases the total surface area exposed to the electric field and thus decreases the current density (amperes per square meter). Thus, electrically-induced fission enables stars to reduce the electric stress they are subjected to by spreading it between two or more stars.

Because of the lower level of electric stress exerted on a binary system after fission, brown dwarfs (stars exposed to a weak electric field, hence their reduced brightness) should be quite common in binary systems:
If the members of a resulting binary pair turn out to be unequal in size, the larger one will probably have the larger current density - but still lower than the original value. (This assumes that the total charge and total driving current to the original star distributes itself onto the new stars proportionally to their masses.) In this case, the smaller member of the pair might have such a low value of current density as to drop it, abruptly, to 'brown dwarf' or even 'giant gas planet' status.6
It's clear that binary stars are very common, probably even more common than acknowledged in the scientific literature. So, is our Sun one more anomaly in the rather anomalous universe depicted by mainstream science? Is our Sun really single?

A significant clue that our star may in fact be part of a binary system appeared in Nature on March 19th,1982,7 when the paleontologists David Raup and Jack Sepkoski unveiled a cyclical pattern of mass-extinction events in the fossil record.8 Their research revealed that over the last 250 million years, the Earth regularly experienced mass extinctions [...]
  1. 1 Cruttenden, W., Lost Star, p.111
  2. 2 De Grazia, A. & Milton, E.R., Solaria Binaria, p.17
  3. 3 'Introduction to Binary Companion Theory', Binary Research Institute. See here: www.binaryresearchinstitute.org/bri/research/introduction/theory.shtml
  4. 4 Scott, D. The Electric Sky, p. 157-159
  5. 5 Scott, D.E., 'Electric cosmology - Stellar Evolution', The Electric Sky, online version. See: electric-cosmos.org/hrdiagr.htm
  6. 6 Scott, D., The Electric Sky, p.158
  7. 7 Raup, D. & Sepkoski, J., 'Mass extinctions in the marine fossil record', Science, Volume 215, Issue 4539, pp. 1501-1503
  8. 8 According to calculations made by Raup & Sepkoski, the probability of a 27-MY mass extinction cycle being due to random chance is less than 1%.
For further insight, check out his new book Cometary Encounters: Flash-Frozen Mammoths, Mars-Earth Discharge, Comet Venus and the 3,600-Year Cometary Cycle.

See also: And check out SOTT radio's:

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Bandaid

Researchers discover way to speed up tendon healing


National University of Ireland
Tue, 31 Aug 2021 19:08 UTC
Implantable Stimulator Device
© National University of Ireland
CÚRAM Implantable Stimulator Device to treat tendon damage and disease. The image shows piezoelectric material spun into aligned nano-fibres to form a fine implantable mesh.

Implantable stimulator device combines with body power to treat disease, damage and sports injury

Researchers at CÚRAM, the SFI Research Centre for Medical Devices based at NUI Galway, have shown how the simple act of walking can power an implantable stimulator device to speed up treatment of musculoskeletal diseases.

The results of have been published in the prestigious journal Advanced Materials.

The research establishes the engineering foundations for a new range of stimulator devices that enable control of musculoskeletal tissue regeneration to treat tendon damage and disease and sports injuries, without the use of drugs or external stimulation.

Lead researcher on the study, CÚRAM Investigator Dr Manus Biggs, said: "One of the most exciting parts of our study is that these implantable devices may be tailored to individual patients or disorders and may show promise in accelerating the repair of sport-related tendon injuries, particularly in athletes."

The study investigated whether electrical therapy, coupled with exercise, would show promise in treating tendon disease or ruptures. It showed that tendon cell function and repair can be controlled through electrical stimulation from an implantable device which is powered by body movement.
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Syringe

The Science Is Clear - The Case Against Mandating Vaccines: One Executive's POV


Sott.net
Tue, 31 Aug 2021 16:54 UTC
vaccine
SOTT Editors: We are publishing below, with permission, an email from a top executive at an American company whose clients include 100 of the Fortune 500 companies. The email was sent in reply to another executive asking for the writer's thoughts on whether he plans to be vaccinated himself or mandate it for his employees as a requirement for returning to the office. All names and company references have been redacted for privacy reasons.

Unlike most of us who are worried about being on the receiving end of vaccine mandates by employers, this executive also has to worry about pressure from other executives and investors to mandate it on others. Few such business leaders are actively fighting for the rights, dignity, peace, and financial security of their employees. This exec is currently the only voice in his company opposing the madness.
Email to the executive:
Hey [REDACTED] - are you giving any thoughts to getting vaccinated with all this Delta variant stuff going on? We've been having management committee discussions here about mandatory vaccinations to be able to come in to the office. We have office support people coming in most days that are not vaccinated and some of those with kids don't want to come in when they are in the office or invite clients into the office for meetings. Just curious as to how you are approaching it. Thx, [REDACTED]
The executive's reply:

From: [REDACTED]
Date: Fri, Aug 27, 2021 at 9:56 PM
Subject: MY POV on Mandating Employee Vaccinations
To: [REDACTED]

I appreciate you reaching out. What follows is admittedly lengthy (though I do provide my "summary POV" a couple paragraphs down before I dive into supporting detail). I tried to be succinct, but practically speaking your question for me was akin to "hey, so what's your take on management?" The analogy here being I'm passionate about both subjects so it was hard to choose between sending back a brief 2-minute POV, or filling this email with enough content fit for a university level course. I didn't know what you had an appetite for, so I just simply did my best to try and be helpful (and heck, even had some fun while I was at it...).

My framework for this entire POV: in the famous words of W. Edwards Deming, "In God we trust. All others must bring data." As I hope you've come to know me by now, I care more deeply about facts & morals than I do ideology or identity politics (for the latter I just don't give a shit). If you give me a good reason to do something, I am 100% all over it. But if you give me either faulty reasoning or an unethical ultimatum, I simply cannot get on board out of a moral obligation to do what's right.
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Satellite

Astronauts find another crack on aging International Space Station - this time in original 1998-launched Russian module 'Zarya'

Jonny Tickle
RT
Mon, 30 Aug 2021 10:58 UTC
Nauka lab module
© Reuters/Oleg Novitskiy
The Nauka (Science) Multipurpose Laboratory Module is seen docked to the International Space Station (ISS) next to Soyuz MS-18 spacecraft on July 29, 2021.
Astronauts on the International Space Station have found a crack on the planet's only inhabited satellite, just five months after they fixed another leakage back in March this year, a Russian space rocket designer has revealed.

Speaking to RIA Novosti, Vladimir Solovyov, the chief designer of the 'Energia' Rocket and Space Corporation, revealed a crack was found in the station's oldest segment.

"Several non-penetrating cracks were found in the Zarya module," he explained.

The Zarya is the first module of the ISS to have been launched, having been sent up by the Russian space agency in 1998. Zarya - which means 'dawn' in Russian - provided the initial electrical power and propulsion to the station, and guided the ISS through its early stage.

According to Solovyov, the discovery of the new crack has sparked fears that new ones will begin to spread throughout the module, as they did in another Russian-built segment. In September 2019, a small air leak was discovered on the ISS, which was discovered over a year later to be coming from a chamber of the Zvezda module. It was fixed in March this year.
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Blue Planet

A bad solar storm could cause an 'internet apocalypse'

Lily Hay Newman
Wired
Thu, 26 Aug 2021 18:20 UTC
power cables
© Jean Claude MOSCHETTI/REA/Redux
Even if the power comes back after the next big solar storm, the internet may not.
Scientists have known for decades that an extreme solar storm, or coronal mass ejection, could damage electrical grids and potentially cause prolonged blackouts. The repercussions would be felt everywhere from global supply chains and transportation to internet and GPS access. Less examined until now, though, is the impact such a solar emission could have on internet infrastructure specifically. New research shows that the failures could be catastrophic, particularly for the undersea cables that underpin the global internet.

At the SIGCOMM 2021 data communication conference on Thursday, Sangeetha Abdu Jyothi of the University of California, Irvine presented "Solar Superstorms: Planning for an Internet Apocalypse," an examination of the damage a fast-moving cloud of magnetized solar particles could cause the global internet. Abdu Jyothi's research points out an additional nuance to a blackout-causing solar storm: the scenario where even if power returns in hours or days, mass internet outages persist.

Comment: See also: And check out SOTT radio's:

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