HOW DO YOUR OPALS GROW?
Proverbs 20:15
"There is gold, and a multitude of rubies: but the lips of knowledge are a precious jewel."
Opals are precious multicolored gemstones made primarily of silica. How do they form? Scientists admit that much of the chemistry is not well understood. However, according to the traditional explanation, their formation begins as water filters through silica-rich rock, dissolving some of the silica. When that water passes through a cavity in a suitable rock, the silica precipitates as a film on the wall of the cavity. After tens of millions of years, say the scientists, you will have an opal.
Now opals have been found along with fossilized soil bacteria, similar to typical soil bacteria you find today. With this finding, some scientists have suggested that the acids produced by the bacteria may have helped form the opals. They propose that the acids produced by the bacteria dissolved some of the minerals in nearby feldspar, forming the opals. Obviously, this process would not take as long as the purely natural process traditionally thought to form opals. Other geologists are reluctant to give bacteria any credit for opal formation. However, one opal expert, Dr. Len Cram, has been growing opals in a process that takes only a few months.
Creationists do not oppose real knowledge. We know that when truth is discovered it will never contradict Scripture. Actually demonstrating that opals can be produced in a matter of months is far better science than speculating about it taking millions of years.
Thank You, Lord, for revealing the truth of salvation in Jesus Christ to us in Your inerrant Word, the Bible. Amen.
Creation, 12/00-2: 2001, p. 5, "Opals from Bacteria?" Photo: Multicolor rough crystal opal from Coober Pedy, South Australia. Courtesy of Dpulitzer. (CC-BY-SA 3.0)
Proverbs 20:15
"There is gold, and a multitude of rubies: but the lips of knowledge are a precious jewel."
Opals are precious multicolored gemstones made primarily of silica. How do they form? Scientists admit that much of the chemistry is not well understood. However, according to the traditional explanation, their formation begins as water filters through silica-rich rock, dissolving some of the silica. When that water passes through a cavity in a suitable rock, the silica precipitates as a film on the wall of the cavity. After tens of millions of years, say the scientists, you will have an opal.
Now opals have been found along with fossilized soil bacteria, similar to typical soil bacteria you find today. With this finding, some scientists have suggested that the acids produced by the bacteria may have helped form the opals. They propose that the acids produced by the bacteria dissolved some of the minerals in nearby feldspar, forming the opals. Obviously, this process would not take as long as the purely natural process traditionally thought to form opals. Other geologists are reluctant to give bacteria any credit for opal formation. However, one opal expert, Dr. Len Cram, has been growing opals in a process that takes only a few months.
Creationists do not oppose real knowledge. We know that when truth is discovered it will never contradict Scripture. Actually demonstrating that opals can be produced in a matter of months is far better science than speculating about it taking millions of years.
Thank You, Lord, for revealing the truth of salvation in Jesus Christ to us in Your inerrant Word, the Bible. Amen.
Creation, 12/00-2: 2001, p. 5, "Opals from Bacteria?" Photo: Multicolor rough crystal opal from Coober Pedy, South Australia. Courtesy of Dpulitzer. (CC-BY-SA 3.0)
DRINK YOUR ORANGE JUICE
Genesis 1:29
"And God said, Behold, I have given you every ... tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat."
Presumably, before the fall into sin, we didn't have any bad cholesterol, or at least it didn't do any damage in our bloodstream. The so-called "bad cholesterol" is low-density-lipoprotein. It's called bad because it tends to cause our arteries to clog unless countered by the so-called "good cholesterol" or high-density-lipoprotein.
Based on earlier research, scientists wanted to test the idea that substances in orange juice could improve levels of good cholesterol. Volunteers had their cholesterol levels checked on a regular basis during the test period. After six weeks of a low cholesterol diet, they were to drink one glass of orange juice every day for four weeks. The result was a 5 percent increase in the good cholesterol. Then they drank two glasses of orange juice per day for four weeks. The result was another 7 percent increase in good cholesterol. Then they were directed to drink three glasses per day. The result was a 27 percent overall improvement. Surprisingly, researchers found that five weeks after they stopped the three glasses-a-day portion of the experiment, their good cholesterol remained high.
We can be thankful that, in His perfect foreknowledge, God created some foods that counter the effects of sin on us. We can be even more thankful that His plan to save us from our sins was in place even before there was sin.
Thank You, Father, for providing for all my needs, especially my need for a Savior. Amen.
Science News, 11/18: 2000, p. 327, J. Raloff, "Path to heart health is one with a peel." Photo: Orange juice. (PD)
Genesis 1:29
"And God said, Behold, I have given you every ... tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat."
Presumably, before the fall into sin, we didn't have any bad cholesterol, or at least it didn't do any damage in our bloodstream. The so-called "bad cholesterol" is low-density-lipoprotein. It's called bad because it tends to cause our arteries to clog unless countered by the so-called "good cholesterol" or high-density-lipoprotein.
Based on earlier research, scientists wanted to test the idea that substances in orange juice could improve levels of good cholesterol. Volunteers had their cholesterol levels checked on a regular basis during the test period. After six weeks of a low cholesterol diet, they were to drink one glass of orange juice every day for four weeks. The result was a 5 percent increase in the good cholesterol. Then they drank two glasses of orange juice per day for four weeks. The result was another 7 percent increase in good cholesterol. Then they were directed to drink three glasses per day. The result was a 27 percent overall improvement. Surprisingly, researchers found that five weeks after they stopped the three glasses-a-day portion of the experiment, their good cholesterol remained high.
We can be thankful that, in His perfect foreknowledge, God created some foods that counter the effects of sin on us. We can be even more thankful that His plan to save us from our sins was in place even before there was sin.
Thank You, Father, for providing for all my needs, especially my need for a Savior. Amen.
Science News, 11/18: 2000, p. 327, J. Raloff, "Path to heart health is one with a peel." Photo: Orange juice. (PD)
MUSIC AND LANGUAGE ARE LINKED
Psalm 40:3
"And he hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God: many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the LORD."
Evolutionists often claim that language and music evolved independently of each other. However, new research along several lines is showing that there is a close connection between music and language.
Researchers have been studying the effect of music on verbal comprehension. Electrical activity within the brain was tracked, using electrodes attached to the scalps of volunteers. They found that those volunteers who had just heard the trilling of flutes, for example, identified the word "bird" a split second faster than those who had not heard the music. This effect is called priming. When volunteers heard a church anthem, they more quickly identified the word "devotion" than those who had not. The study showed that these effects were consistent, whether the words had concrete meanings, were cultural references or were abstract concepts. Other research has shown that when a region of the brain called Broca's area is damaged, both recognition of harmonic chords as well as language are impaired, also suggesting a connection between language and music.
Both music and language are gifts of God. As the Psalmist noted, the songs he sang were placed into his mouth by God. Genesis tells us that Adam and Eve could talk the day they were created. While music isn't mentioned, we see that within a couple of generations, they were making musical instruments and must therefore have played music.
Father, thank You for the gifts of music and language. Help me to use these to praise You. Amen.
Science News, 2/28: 2004, p. 133, B. Bower, "Song Sung Blue." Illustration: Approximate location of Broca's area highlighted in gray. (PD)
Psalm 40:3
"And he hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God: many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the LORD."
Evolutionists often claim that language and music evolved independently of each other. However, new research along several lines is showing that there is a close connection between music and language.
Researchers have been studying the effect of music on verbal comprehension. Electrical activity within the brain was tracked, using electrodes attached to the scalps of volunteers. They found that those volunteers who had just heard the trilling of flutes, for example, identified the word "bird" a split second faster than those who had not heard the music. This effect is called priming. When volunteers heard a church anthem, they more quickly identified the word "devotion" than those who had not. The study showed that these effects were consistent, whether the words had concrete meanings, were cultural references or were abstract concepts. Other research has shown that when a region of the brain called Broca's area is damaged, both recognition of harmonic chords as well as language are impaired, also suggesting a connection between language and music.
Both music and language are gifts of God. As the Psalmist noted, the songs he sang were placed into his mouth by God. Genesis tells us that Adam and Eve could talk the day they were created. While music isn't mentioned, we see that within a couple of generations, they were making musical instruments and must therefore have played music.
Father, thank You for the gifts of music and language. Help me to use these to praise You. Amen.
Science News, 2/28: 2004, p. 133, B. Bower, "Song Sung Blue." Illustration: Approximate location of Broca's area highlighted in gray. (PD)
WHAT CORAL AND HUMANS SHARE
Psalm 95:6
"O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the LORD our maker."
According to the theory of evolution, all life is related. There is claimed to be a hierarchy of rising complexity from the earliest simple organisms to man. The earliest organisms are said to include corals, sea anemones and jellyfish that thrived 500 million years ago. These early creatures eventually led to the first creatures to move onto land, and worms were among them.
Based on this supposed evolutionary history, one would expect the DNA of humans to be closer to worms than to coral. However, recent mapping of the DNA of these creatures has produced some surprises. While corals have the simplest nervous system of any animal, their genetic sequences are similar to those in human nervous systems. Even more strange is that worms, which are supposed to stand between us and the corals, lack these sequences. These sequences are called ESTs. Researchers have found that, in general, coral ESTs tended to be closer to human ESTs than to worm ESTs. Baffled by this and still convinced that evolution is true, the scientists simply assumed that worms must have lost these DNA sequences. However, they stressed that more creatures need to be studied.
Would it not be simpler to conclude that corals, worms, people and everything else were made by the same Creator Who created specific DNA coding for each creature without concern for evolutionary history?
Father Who has wondrously made us, You are worthy of all honor and worship. Amen.
Science News, 1/24: 2004, p. 55, John Travis, "Reef Relations." Photo: Pillar coral. (PD)
Psalm 95:6
"O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the LORD our maker."
According to the theory of evolution, all life is related. There is claimed to be a hierarchy of rising complexity from the earliest simple organisms to man. The earliest organisms are said to include corals, sea anemones and jellyfish that thrived 500 million years ago. These early creatures eventually led to the first creatures to move onto land, and worms were among them.
Based on this supposed evolutionary history, one would expect the DNA of humans to be closer to worms than to coral. However, recent mapping of the DNA of these creatures has produced some surprises. While corals have the simplest nervous system of any animal, their genetic sequences are similar to those in human nervous systems. Even more strange is that worms, which are supposed to stand between us and the corals, lack these sequences. These sequences are called ESTs. Researchers have found that, in general, coral ESTs tended to be closer to human ESTs than to worm ESTs. Baffled by this and still convinced that evolution is true, the scientists simply assumed that worms must have lost these DNA sequences. However, they stressed that more creatures need to be studied.
Would it not be simpler to conclude that corals, worms, people and everything else were made by the same Creator Who created specific DNA coding for each creature without concern for evolutionary history?
Father Who has wondrously made us, You are worthy of all honor and worship. Amen.
Science News, 1/24: 2004, p. 55, John Travis, "Reef Relations." Photo: Pillar coral. (PD)
GOD'S ARCHITECTURE WINS AGAIN
Psalm 127:1
"Except the LORD build the house, they labour in vain that build it: except the LORD keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain."
If you live in a temperate climate, you have probably heard your home pop and crack on cold days. Those sounds are caused by the different materials that make up your house contracting at different rates as the temperature falls. At some point, the growing tensions are released and you hear the result. If you live in a warm climate that is subject to hurricanes, you know that a building is likely to fail at the point where different parts of the house, like the roof and wall, meet together.
Buildings are made up of a large number of things, each of which acts differently under the same conditions. That makes for weak points in any structure. British architects have looked at the structure of living things to find an answer to this problem. They noted that skeletons can work well under conditions that would cause many other building materials to fail. One researcher noted that a skeleton is more efficient than any man-made structure. One architect's suggestion was to build structures like walls and bridges out of artificial bone that is formed to the needs of the structure.
We should not be surprised that, once again, man is looking to the living world for solutions to his problems. The living world, like everything else, was designed by our all-wise God Who does all things well.
Father, I thank You that I am wonderfully made. Now help me to build my life on Your Word. Amen.
New Scientist, 9/16: 2000, p. 7. Illustration: Cross-section of bone. (PD)
Psalm 127:1
"Except the LORD build the house, they labour in vain that build it: except the LORD keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain."
If you live in a temperate climate, you have probably heard your home pop and crack on cold days. Those sounds are caused by the different materials that make up your house contracting at different rates as the temperature falls. At some point, the growing tensions are released and you hear the result. If you live in a warm climate that is subject to hurricanes, you know that a building is likely to fail at the point where different parts of the house, like the roof and wall, meet together.
Buildings are made up of a large number of things, each of which acts differently under the same conditions. That makes for weak points in any structure. British architects have looked at the structure of living things to find an answer to this problem. They noted that skeletons can work well under conditions that would cause many other building materials to fail. One researcher noted that a skeleton is more efficient than any man-made structure. One architect's suggestion was to build structures like walls and bridges out of artificial bone that is formed to the needs of the structure.
We should not be surprised that, once again, man is looking to the living world for solutions to his problems. The living world, like everything else, was designed by our all-wise God Who does all things well.
Father, I thank You that I am wonderfully made. Now help me to build my life on Your Word. Amen.
New Scientist, 9/16: 2000, p. 7. Illustration: Cross-section of bone. (PD)
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