News to Note, March 13, 2010

1. Supposed Confirmation of Meteorite Impact that Killed Dinosaurs

“Confirmation” that a meteorite impact killed the dinosaurs has come in the form of panel consensus at the recent Lunar and Planetary Science Conference.

2. Homeschool Science Textbooks Too Much for Secularists?

Many homeschool science textbooks are from Christian authors and are designed for Christian parents and students. Is that too much for secularists to handle?

3. ScienceDaily: “Students’ Perceptions of Earth’s Age Influence Acceptance of Human Evolution”

A University of Minnesota study reveals a correlation between students’ belief in a billions-of-years-old earth and belief that humans evolved.

Researchers surveyed 400 students in an introductory biology course, asking questions about knowledge of evolution, political and religious views, and high school science education. The results are largely unsurprising: students to the political left were more likely to believe in an old earth and were more familiar with evolution; students to the political right were more likely to believe in a young earth and know less about evolution. (We previously covered a survey by the same researchers in the May 16, 2009 edition of News to Note.)

University of Minnesota biologist Sehoya Cotner, the lead researcher, commented, “About one in four high school biology teachers in the upper Midwest are giving students the impression that creationism is a viable explanation for the origins of life on Earth. That’s just not acceptable.” (She erroneously added, assuming she was quoted accurately, “The Constitution prohibits teaching creationism in schools.”)

Insofar as the survey’s results reflect the beliefs, attitudes, and experiences of students around the country, the link between old-earth beliefs, evolutionary beliefs, and left-of-center political views is notable, if unsurprising. Assuming that there is a definite correlation, is it true that there is a slippery slope from accepting compromise on God’s Word (specifically with regard to the age of the earth) to later adopting evolutionary and unbiblical ideas? Although the University of Minnesota survey itself does not prove that, the Already Gone research along with anecdotal evidence strongly suggests that. Once one abandons the principle that God’s Word means what it plainly says—and decides that the Bible must be reinterpreted in the light of “science” (i.e., naturalist science)—the Bible soon becomes diluted with all manner of fashionable anti-God ideas.

4. Pitcher Plants Symbiosis

Creationists often respond to challenges that certain animals could not have been vegetarian before the Fall. Only rarely does this topic turn to carnivorous plants, but a new study of pitcher plants may provide support for creationists’ views.

5. Big Bang Machine Shutting Down Again

The once controversial, multi-billion-dollar “big bang machine” beneath Switzerland will be shutting down yet again.

6. And Don’t Miss . . .

• Two weeks ago we commented on a variety of research revealing certain animals’ mental abilities. This week we might add news that orangutans understand the “context” of certain far-away calls and behave accordingly.
• Recent research has shed light on improving the ability for adult stem cells to propagate, which (we hope) will lead to more willingness to use adult stem cells rather than embryonic stem cells in research and therapy.
• Did the rupture of an ice dam and the consequential draining of a huge lake in Canada give rise to the story of Noah’s Ark?
• A South African news site offers an interesting review of a coelacanth exhibit. For those who are unfamiliar with the coelacanth, it was long considered an extinct ancient fish and speculated to be a transitional form between fish and tetrapods—until a live specimen was recovered in 1938, not a transitional form at all.
• Genesis is coming to the big screen, Digital Spy reports. The reportedly $30 million Paramount and Reel Fx project is tentatively titled In the Beginning and will be a 3-D version of the creation story. We hope the final product will be a film Answers in Genesis can support.