Science News
Challenge to Origin of Life: The Information Dilemma (Long Story Short)
Imagine you discovered a stone with ancient words carved into it! And they told a really good knock-knock joke. What an archaeological find! But to your surprise, scientists concluded that it came about through purely natural processes: “just physics and chemistry acting on an exposed rock.” What? You’d need very specific lines and shapes to form letters, and then those letters would need to be in very specific arrangements to even get a bad knock knock joke. “Well, if you leave rocks out in the wind and rain for long enough, you’re bound to get knock knock jokes eventually.” Nobody would buy that. But this is eerily similar to typical explanations for the origin of life, except life is no joke (pun intended), and there are many more layers of complexity that would have to come together to kickstart life.
Whale Cemetery
Are you ready for the next adventure? In this issue, also inspired by real research, the Creation Detectives travel to Peru to investigate the magnificent fossil whales of the Ica Desert.
Christians on Science - International Versions
The universe, planet Earth, and living organisms capture our attention because of their intricate complexity and beauty. How did they originate? When studying nature, should we consider or exclude the possibility of God as a cause for what we see? This short animated video, translated in several languages, explores these questions in a compelling way.
Did the Wutach Gorge (Baden-Württemberg, Germany) Form Rapidly?
In Germany, the Wutach Gorge is called the "Grand Canyon of the Black Forest." Conventional geological models assume that the Wutach Gorge formed at the end of the Ice Age over a period of thousands of years. However, it is possible that the landscape-altering process of carving this large gorge could have been caused by catastrophic events, rather than occurring gradually.
A Synthesis of the Peruvian Coastal Batholith: An Exploration of Temporal Histories, Causes of Compositional Diversity, and Tectonomagmatic Links in Arcs
Research partially funded by the Geoscience Research Institute has been published in an invited review paper which summarizes fifty years of data from the granitic rocks along the foothills of the Peruvian Andes. The paper tries to understand what, if any, relation might exist between: convergence rate and dip angle for plate tectonics, crustal thickness, magma source from mantle and subducted marine sediment, magma source from crustal and accreted terrane, geochemistry of major and trace elements, radiogenic Sr, Nd, and Pb isotope ratios, and magmatic variation in space and time.
GRI Leads Field Trip for Science Educators in Northern Arizona
A group of enthusiastic science teachers from North American schools set out on an exciting journey with scientists from the Geoscience Research Institute (GRI). The purpose of this expedition was to provide an enhanced understanding of geology and the planet's past, equipping the teachers with firsthand experience and direct examples of subjects covered in the classroom.
First Jurassic to earliest Cretaceous dinosaur footprints for Bolivia at the Castellón formation (Tacurú Group), Tarija
Bolivia continues to be a treasure trove for the study of dinosaur footprints. A recently published paper, coauthored by GRI Senior Scientist Dr. R. Esperante, documents new sauropod tracks in a stratigraphic interval (Jurassic to Lower Cretaceous) with no previous record of dinosaur tracks in Bolivia. Study of this site seems to support the case for herd behavior among these large terrestrial vertebrates.
Diversity of Dinosaur Tracks and Swim Traces in a New Site in the Upper Cretaceous El Molino Formation, Torotoro National Park, Bolivia
Cretaceous layers near the town of Torotoro (Bolivia) preserve an incredible record of dinosaur tracks. Research funded by GRI and led by Dr. R. Esperante has unveiled an exquisite set of swim traces left by theropod dinosaurs swimming in shallow water. Learn more about these traces from this article published in the Journal of South American Earth Sciences
Can Science and Religion Go Together? Yes, Adventist Scientist Says
Noemi Durán, director of the European branch of the Geoscience Research Institute, is an experienced biologist interested in the interactions between biblical faith and current scientific developments, particularly when it comes to origins of life and human beings. Against that background, she doesn’t see a conflict between her faith and her scientific endeavors.
On the Trail of Dinosaurs: Dr. Raúl Esperante
In this educational video, paleontologist Raul Esperante teaches how to identify and classify dinosaur tracks. Although dinosaurs are no longer with us, they left many clues that allow us to discover what they were like and how they lived. Dr. Esperante studies dinosaur footprints all over the world and in this program he visits various sites found in Spain; in the provinces of La Rioja, Burgos and Soria. Here there are footprints of sauropod, ornithopod and theropod dinosaurs, which you will learn to distinguish by paying attention to details such as the shape, proportions and number of digits on each limb. You'll also discover that the type of substrate dinosaurs walked on influences the shape of the tracks, and how paleontologists use tracks to learn important behavioral features of these fascinating animals. To view the Spanish version of this video, visit: https://www.grisda.org/audio-visual-media?album=10146315&video=792737472