Tag: origin of life

^{Type
post

Author
Rob Stadler

Date
April 5, 2021

Tagged
abiogenesis, amino acids, cell membrane, cell membrane gates, cell membrane pumps, Craig Venter, devolution, diffusion gradient, E. coli, early Earth, Evolution, gene loss, homeostasis, lipid bubbles, membrane, minimal bacterial genome, minimal cell, minimal organism, origin of life, phospholipid, phospholipid bilayer membrane, pre-biotic chemistry, Proteins, protocells, reverse engineering, ribose operon, Richard Lenski, single-celled organisms}

Origin of Life’s Purple Unicorn: Protocells

_{Rob Stadler

April 5, 2021}

On today’s ID the Future, host Eric Anderson sits down with Rob Stadler, co-author with Change Tan of The Stairway To Life: An Origin-Of-Life Reality Check. The topic of discussion–protocells. Stadler notes that the simplest existing single-celled organisms are far too sophisticated to have emerged through a blind process of prebiotic evolution. He further notes that this is widely acknowledged in the origin-of-life community, but those committed to a purely materialistic origin of the first life have a fallback explanation–protocells. That is, early biological structures far simpler than anything we find today. An intriguing hypothesis, but the problems with it, according to Stadler, are legion. Tune in as Stadler and Anderson walk through several lines of evidence that appear to Read More ›

^{Type
post

Author
Eric Hedin

Date
March 22, 2021

Categorized
Intelligent Design

Tagged
age of the universe, Albert Einstein, anthropic fine tuning, beginning of the universe, Big Bang, Edwin Hubble, entropy, expansion rate of the universe, fine tuning of the expansion rate of the universe, fine tuning problem, fine-tuning of the proton-neutron mass difference, Hallmarks of Science, Intelligent Design, Materialism, methodological materialism, Naturalism, origin of life, origin of the universe, proton-neutron mass difference, second law of thermodynamics}

Physicist Eric Hedin: Cosmology Points to Cosmic Design

_{Eric Hedin

March 22, 2021

Intelligent Design}

On this ID the Future host Eric Anderson continues his conversation with physicist and Canceled Science author Eric Hedin. Here Hedin argues that the dogmatic rule that natural science should only ever invoke natural causes has at its heart a logical problem. He and Anderson also review some startling cases of fine-tuning for life and why a “theory of everything” would not solve the fine-tuning problem for atheists but merely move it back to the theory of everything itself. Also in today’s conversation, a highly accessible flyover of how scientists came to realize that the universe wasn’t eternal but had had a beginning. Hedin also tackles a theological poser: If the universe was designed for life, why did the designer Read More ›

^{Type
post

Author
James Tour

Date
March 17, 2021

Categorized
Evolution

Tagged
abiogenesis, chemical evolution, Dave Farina, Denis Noble, James M. Tour, John Narcum, Justin Brierly, Lee Cronin, origin of life, prebiotic evolution, primordial soup, synthetic organic chemistry}

James Tour: Primordial Soup Bluffing Goes Right to the Top

_{James Tour

March 17, 2021

Evolution}

Today’s ID the Future features another installment in James Tour’s hard-hitting and evidence-based YouTube series on abiogenesis. Here Dr. Tour, a world-leading synthetic organic chemist at Rice University, describes the early Earth primordial soup concept for the origin of first life (OOL) and shows why it’s simplistic, bogus, and doesn’t represent the current science on the issue. He also reviews survey data showing just how misinformed the public is about how far scientists have gotten in creating life in the lab. One critic of Tour protested that the simplistic primordial soup story might be found in highly simplified textbooks for sixth graders but isn’t peddled at higher levels. Tour provides video evidence to the contrary.

^{Type
post

Author
James Tour

Date
March 10, 2021

Categorized
Evolution

Tagged
ability to reproduce, abiogenesis, adaptation to evolution, ammonia, atmosphere of the early Earth, Biological Information, carbohydrates, catalysis, cellular life, characteristics of life, chemical evolution, DNA, early Earth, entropy, enzymes, genetic information, homeostasis, homochirality, lipids, metabolism, molecular degradation, nucleic acids, nucleotides, origin of life, panspermia, polysaccharides, Proteins, reducing atmosphere, response to stimuli, RNA, Sugars, synthetic organic chemistry}

James Tour–A Flyover of the Challenges Facing Abiogenesis

_{James Tour

March 10, 2021

Evolution}

Today’s ID the Future features the next in a YouTube video series by Dr. James Tour on the origin-of-life problem. Here Tour, a distinguished synthetic organic chemist, lists the characteristics of life and describes some features of the early Earth where life first appeared. Then he provides a fast flyover of the many grave problems of blindly evolving the first living cell from prebiotic materials.

^{Type
post

Author
Eric Hedin

Date
March 3, 2021

Categorized
Academic Freedom

Tagged
abiogenesis, Academic Freedom, academic integrity, Atheism, Ball State University, cancel culture, censorship, cosmology, fine tuning, Intelligent Design, origin of life, origin of the universe, physics, the Big Bang, Theism}

Physicist Eric Hedin Discusses His New ID Book, Canceled Science

_{Eric Hedin

March 3, 2021

Academic Freedom}

Today’s ID the Future spotlights Canceled Science: What Some Atheists Don’t Want You to See. Host Robert Crowther and author Eric Hedin begin by revisiting the atheist attack on Professor Hedin and his Ball State University course, the Boundaries of Science. The course was an interdisciplinary honors course exposing students to some basic astrophysics and cosmology, as well as to some of the big questions raised by such discoveries as the Big Bang and the fine-tuning of the laws and constants of physics for life. The course included mention of world-leading scientists who saw evidence of design in some of these findings, as well as mention of scientists who denied any evidence of design in nature. Atheist Jerry Coyne and Read More ›

^{Type
post

Author
James Tour

Date
March 1, 2021

Categorized
Evolution

Tagged
abiogenesis, ad hominem fallacy, biochemistry, Brian Miller, Christianity, Dave Farina, entropy, high energy, James M. Tour, low entropy, OOL, organic chemistry, origin of life, synthetic organic chemistry, Thermodynamics}

A James Tour Course on Abiogenesis: Prologue

_{James Tour

March 1, 2021

Evolution}

Today’s ID the Future features audio of the first in a series of YouTube videos by Dr. James Tour on the origin-of-life problem. Here Tour, a renowned synthetic organic chemist and professor at Rice University, explains why he is addressing the origin-of-life issue, also known as abiogenesis, and touches on some common misconceptions about the field. He says the organizing impetus for the series is a YouTube video by Dave Farina, “Elucidating the Agenda of James Tour: A Defense of Abiogenesis.” As Farina’s title suggests, he begins his video with an ad hominem attack, seeking to discredit Tour by showing that Tour is a Christian. Tour briefly responds to this line of attack and then moves into matters scientific. There Read More ›

^{Type
post

Author
Cornelius Hunter

Date
February 8, 2021

Categorized
Evolution

Tagged
abiogenesis, Alexander Oparin, Biological Information, Brian Green, Charles Carter, Charles Darwin, chemical evolution, chemical soup, Cornelius Hunter, Epicureans, Eric Anderson, Evolution, first life, J.B.S. Haldane, Joseph Hooker, Natural Selection, Occam’s Razor, origin of life, origin-of-life research, prebiotic conditions, principle of parsimony, RNA world, RNA World hypothesis, RNA-DNA World, Robert Hook, self-replicating molecule, self-replication, simplest organism, synthetic organic chemistry, Urey-Miller experiment, warm little pond}

RNA World in a World of Hurt

_{Cornelius Hunter

February 8, 2021

Evolution}

On this ID the Future, biophysicist Cornelius Hunter and host Eric Anderson discuss the RNA World hypothesis, an explanation for how the first self-reproducing organism might have arisen via mindless chemical processes. Hunter and Anderson have each written on the topic, and together they unpack some of the many and growing problems with this RNA-first explanation for the origin of life. They also spotlight some recent admissions in mainstream scientific publications that it’s time to move on from the cherished but embattled RNA World. The conversation pivots off of a recent essay by Hunter at Evolution News, “RNA World: Repeated Downfalls, Repeated Resurrections.” For more on the challenges of creating the first self-reproducing biological entity, see Eric Anderson’s Chapter 3 Read More ›

^{Type
post

Author
Casey Luskin

Date
January 27, 2021

Categorized
Intelligent Design

Tagged
Ann Gauger, Brian Miller, Casey Luskin, citrate, common descent, common design, Darwin Devolves, degradative mutations, dependency graph model, devolution, Douglas Axe, E. coli, Evolution, evolutionary tree, genetic data, genetics, human origins, ID 3.0, Intelligent Design, Jeremy England, Jerry Coyne, Journal of Bacteriology, Journal of BIO-Complexity, Journal of Theoretical Biology, Michael Behe, Ola Hössjer, origin of life, polar bear evolution, Richard Lenski, Scott Minnich, useful adaptations, William Dembski, Winston Ewert}

Casey Luskin Returns, Teases a New Book, Celebrates ID 3.0

_{Casey Luskin

January 27, 2021

Intelligent Design}

On today’s ID the Future, Rob Crowther continues his conversation with Casey Luskin, the intelligent design proponent who previously worked for Discovery Institute’s Center for Science and Culture and has now returned. As Luskin explains, he left to pursue a PhD in geology at the University of Johannesburg in South Africa. The two discuss the wild conspiracy theories circulated by opponents of intelligent design when Luskin stepped away from Discovery Institute five years ago. Luskin also tells about an upcoming book he’s been working on with William Dembski, another intelligent design proponent who stepped away from day-to-day ID work and is now putting a foot back in the ID waters. Also on tap in today’s conversation, Luskin and Dembski’s upcoming appearance Read More ›

^{Type
post

Author
Brian Miller

Date
December 14, 2020

Categorized
Faith and Science

Tagged
amino acid chains, amino acids, ATP, ATP synthesis, Biological Information, cells, cellular information, chemical evolution, chemical reactions, disorder, DNA, Elbert Branscomb, energy, engines, entropy, enzymes, equilibrium, feedback loops, fidelity, free energy, high energy, improbable states, information, Jeremy England, low entropy, Michael Russell, molecular engines, Molecular Machines, Natural Selection, non-equilibrium thermodynamics, order, origin of life, physical impossibilities, polymers, pre-biology, Proteins, Stanley Miller, Yasir Demirel}

James Tour and Brian Miller Talk Engines We Can’t Live Without

_{Brian Miller

December 14, 2020

Faith and Science}

Today’s ID the Future features Part 1 of an extended interview that first appeared on a podcast show hosted by distinguished Rice University synthetic organic chemist James M. Tour. As he typically does, since it’s the Science & Faith podcast, Dr. Tour begins his show by asking his guest for a statement of faith. Miller, a Christian, gives his, and then they dive into origin-of-life science. In a surprisingly accessible discussion given the depth of the material, the pair cover a range of issues—thermodynamics and the origin of the first cell, entropy, free energy, order and disorder, molecular engines, non-equilibrium thermodynamics, and the need for engines and information to overcome the vicissitudes of entropy. Also in the mix—feedback loops, Jeremy Read More ›

^{Type
post

Author
Michael Denton

Date
September 30, 2020

Categorized
Science

Tagged
__edited, amoeba, cell, elements of life, fine-tuning, fitness paradigm, Intelligent Design, Jacques Monod, Michael Denton, origin of life, periodic table of elements, primal blueprint, prior fitness, Privileged Species, protozoa, single-cell organism, The Miracle of the Cell}

A Reading from Michael Denton’s New Book, The Miracle of the Cell

_{Michael Denton

September 30, 2020

Science}

On this episode of ID the Future, Andrew McDiarmid reads an excerpt from the new book The Miracle of the Cell by Michael Denton. Denton, a biochemist from Perth, Australia, and senior fellow of Discover Institute’s Center for Science and Culture, introduces the wonders of the cell as “the universal constructor set of life.” The diversity of cells — their variety of form, function, and locomotion — is beyond describing, with some cells almost seeming sentient, even ingenious. As Denton notes, our growing knowledge of the cell’s staggering sophistication has provoked the name “the third infinity.” And this quick flyby of the cell is just an excerpt from the book’s introductory chapter. There Denton lays the groundwork for the book’s deeper dive into the Read More ›