In a universe of non-living space and matter, life is incredibly rare. And in order to stay alive, humans and other organisms have to overcome a myriad of engineering challenges. Just how is this done? And more to the point, is an evolutionary process capable of producing the solutions to these many challenges? On today's episode, host Andrew McDiarmid concludes his conversation with Dr. Howard Glicksman, co-author with engineer Steve Laufmann of the new book Your Amazing Body. The book explores some of your body’s greatest marvels, including how your hearing and vision work, how you coordinate your movements, and — perhaps the greatest miracle of them all — how you developed from a single cell at conception. In Part 2, Dr. Glicksman dives into some examples of the countless challenges life must overcome. This is Part 2 of a two-part conversation. Read More ›
Is the human body a cosmic accident, or is it the handiwork of a master engineer? Today on ID The Future, host Andrew McDiarmid begins a two-part conversation with physician Dr. Howard Glicksman, co-author with engineer Steve Laufmann of the new book Your Amazing Body, a fresh, abridged version of their previous book Your Designed Body. In Part 1 of the conversation, Dr. Glicksman begins by contrasting unguided material causes (Darwinism) with intentional intelligent causes, emphasizing that intelligent design better explains the intricate, interdependent coherence found within the human body. He argues that Darwinian evolution only describes how life looks, failing to explain the complex functional capacity, control systems, and engineering principles required for life to actually work and survive. This is Part 1 of a two-part conversation. Look for Part 2 in a separate episode. Visit www.idthefuture.com for more episodes! Read More ›
Can viewing life as designed enhance scientific research? Today, host Andrew McDiarmid speaks with physicist Dr. Brian Miller about the fruitful research that can result when engineering principles are applied to the study of biological systems. Dr. Miller is part of a group that brings together engineers, scientists, and scholars to demonstrate how engineering principles, patterns, and tools can deepen the understanding of biology. The group hosts an annual Conference on Engineering in Living Systems, hosted by Discovery Institute, that highlights new insights and research projects in this bold new approach to the study of life. Here Dr. Miller gives the lowdown on current research as well as this year's conference. Read More ›
Is the famous “panda’s thumb” evidence of unguided evolutionary processes, or is it a masterpiece of engineering and the result of intelligent design? On this ID The Future, host Andrew McDiarmid concludes his conversation with retired geneticist, Dr. Wolf-Eckehard Lönnig, an intelligent design pioneer who has been offering robust criticism of Darwinian theory and advocating for intelligent design for over 50 years. The topic is Dr. Lönnig's new paper reviewing the debate over the panda’s thumb. Giant pandas have an extra digit, an elongated wrist bone, that aids the animal in walking and manipulating bamboo with great dexterity. Some claim it's a clumsy structure produced by evolutionary processes. It wouldn't win any design awards, but it gets the job done. Others call it one of the most extraordinary manipulation systems in the mammalian world and clear evidence of purposeful engineering. So which is it? Dr. Lönnig helps us answer that question. This is Part 2 of a two-part conversation. Read More ›
Traditional methods in biology have proven insufficient for understanding and accurately predicting complex biological systems. Why? The great majority of biologists are trained to study life from the bottom up, as the result of unguided evolutionary processes. It turns out there are better ways to observe, question, hypothesize, experiment, and analyze a complex system. On this ID The Future, host Andrew McDiarmid welcomes biochemist and metabolic nutritionist Dr. Emily Reeves to the podcast to discuss her co-authored paper on how biologists can apply principles from systems engineering to biology to better approach the study of complex living systems. Dr. Reeves explains how the new methodology works and how it can produce fruitful scientific research. Read More ›
Host Andrew McDiarmid welcomes science reporter David Coppedge to the show to explore some fascinating examples of intelligent design in the plant world. They look so helpless tied to the soil, but plants and fungi have perfected technologies for spreading themselves far and wide. Coppedge and McDiarmid unpack the ingenious methods plants and fungi use to disperse their spores. The conversation also touches on the engineering principles behind plant root systems, and how studying these natural designs can inspire advancements in human technology through biomimetics. Read More ›
When we look at feats of human engineering, like vehicles, skyscrapers, and computers, we don't doubt our intuition that they're intelligently designed. But when it comes to marvels of the natural world, like bird wings, whale flippers, and our own arms and legs, we're expected to suspend our design intuition and credit a gradual, undirected evolutionary process. Bio-engineer Dr. Stuart Burgess has been studying vertebrate limbs for over thirty years. On this episode of ID The Future, Burgess shares his cutting-edge insights on the universal optimal design of vertebrate limb patterns and the implications for fields like robotics. Read More ›
We’re asleep an average of about 26 years of our life! Most people have a sense that sleep is important, but many of us aren't sure exactly why. Why is sleep so crucial to survival? And how did the processes of sleep emerge in living things? Could a gradual Darwinian process be responsible, or are the systems involved another instance of intelligent design? On this episode, host Andrew McDiarmid begins a conversation with Dr. Eric Hedin about the origin and intelligent design of sleep. This is Part 1 of a two-part conversation. Look for Part 2 next! Read More ›
The biochemical revolution of the last century has revealed powerful evidence of design in living things. Now, scientists are beginning to realize the benefits of studying designed systems through an engineering lens. On today's episode, Dr. Emily Reeves discusses the intersection of biology and engineering with Fred Williams and Doug McBurney, hosts of the Real Science Radio podcast. In this 45-minute chat, Dr. Reeves explains the importance of using engineering principles to understand biological systems. This interview originally aired on Real Science Radio. Read More ›
Guppy Poecilia reticulata colorful rainbow tropical aquarium fish
Do living things evolve right before our eyes? Perhaps the most common evidence put forward to support evolutionary theory is the observation that organisms can adapt. But is this adaptability really a hallmark of a gradual Darwinian process? Or is it evidence of intelligent design? On this ID The Future, host Eric Anderson speaks with Dr. Emily Reeves about the adaptability of the humble guppy fish, a new icon of evolution heralded by biologists as proof positive of Darwinian evolutionary processes at work. In this episode, Dr. Reeves uses guppies to discuss why the adaptability of organisms is actually powerful evidence of design. She also explains how biologists can improve their abilities as scientists by learning more about engineering. Read More ›
