Sunspots 1007

 

Gizmodo reports that President Trump praised the launching of an amazing new telescope. The Administration had tried to end the program a couple of times recently.

Gizmodo also discusses a recent attempt to have maps of the earth make Africa as appearing more like its real size. (Current maps make it look too small.) Since Gizmodo mentioned this, I have read, from a source that I can't locate, that the US is against this change.

Gizmodo also reports that lots of people, world-wide, are dying because of second-hand smoke.

And Gizmodo also reports that toilet flushing spreads dangerous microbes. Suggestion: close the lid before flushing the commode.

And another Gizmodo article reports on how the Environmental Protection Agency is working to NOT protect the environment.  This report is on greenhouse gases. Other actions by the Trump administration are removing protection of national parks and endangered species.

NPR considers the possible problems for air traffic, due to Trump's proposed arch.

The Good  News Network, and other sources, report on the discovery of a new South American cat species.

Sunspots 1006

 

Things I have spotted that may be of interest to you.

The Evidence is Plain blog examines what the Bible actually says about the Fall. The scripture does not claim that animal death, animal predation, and some other phenomena were caused by the Fall of Adam and Eve.

Heart, Mind, Soul, and Strength: Essential verses on payment of earned wages, as a topic of justice

ProPublica reports that we, the taxpayers, spent over 300 million on a weapons system that didn't work.

Gizmodo lists the richest people in the eorld, and their political donations.

NPR reports that NASA is scheduled to launch a powerful telescope tomorrow.

Sunspots 1003

Things I have spotted that may be of interest to you:

Gizmodo reports that sugar molecules have been detected in deep space. Note: These are not the kinds of sugar we use in cooking.

Gizmodo reports on occasions where President Trump claimed some event was actually staged using artificial intelligence, but the event really happened. 

Gizmodo also reports that ancient humans, living in Norway, caught fish and placed them in high bodies of water. Amazing! 

We get frequent (about 2 per week) calls suggesting that our Social Security benefits are not as great as they could be. I checked on-line, and these calls are scams. Hang up.

Science as part of humanity's responsibility

What is science? The Project Gutenberg dictionary says: Accumulated and established knowledge, which has been systematized and formulated with reference to the discovery of general truths or the operation of general laws; knowledge classified and made available in work, life, or the search for truth; comprehensive, profound, or philosophical knowledge.

Knowledge, generally, is commended in the life of Solomon: 1 Kings 4:31 For he was wiser than all men—wiser than Ethan the Ezrahite, Heman, Calcol, and Darda, the sons of Mahol; and his fame was in all the nations all around. 32 He spoke three thousand proverbs, and his songs numbered one thousand five. 33 He spoke of trees, from the cedar that is in Lebanon even to the hyssop that grows out of the wall; he also spoke of animals, of birds, of creeping things, and of fish. 

Solomon's works specifically included many kinds of living things. 

Here are some more passages that indicate that scientific study of the natural world is a good thing:

Studying astronomy helps us to praise God more fully. Psalm 19:1 The heavens declare the glory of God. The expanse shows his handiwork. 2 Day after day they pour out speech, and night after night they display knowledge. 3 There is no speech nor language where their voice is not heard.

According to Job 12:7 “But ask the animals now, and they will teach you; the birds of the sky, and they will tell you. 8 Or speak to the earth, and it will teach you. The fish of the sea will declare to you. 9 Who doesn’t know that in all these, Yahweh’s hand has done this, 10 in whose hand is the life of every living thing, and the breath of all mankind? 

This passage seems to encourage the study of the natural world.

Proverbs 25:2 "It is the glory of God to conceal a matter; to search out a matter is the glory of kings." This verse encourages the pursuit of knowledge and understanding, which aligns with scientific inquiry.

Genesis 1 says that humans were to have dominion over other living beings. This implies that the lives of non-human organisms should be studied and the studies should be applied. Dominion requires knowledge.

Here's another passages that indicate that scientific study of the natural world is a good thing:

Colossians 1:16 For by him all things were created in the heavens and on the earth, visible things and invisible things, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things have been created through him and for him. 17 He is before all things, and in him all things are held together.

If all things were created for him, shouldn't we honor Christ by learning about them?

Thanks for reading.

 

Sunspots 998

 

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Joel Duff examines the oft-repeated claim that the amount of salt in the earth's water was not deposited over a long period of time -- there's not enough salt, the argument says. Duff argues that the amount of salt is, in fact, an argument for an old earth.

Duff also shows that the Young-earth Creationist explanation of why about 140 types of marsupial mammals came to exist in Australia and nearby land areas, but only a handful of types of  placental mammals are found there.

Gizmodo reports that China is successfully transforming a desert into growth that acts to remove Carbon from the atmosphere.

Gizmodo also reports that the Vera Rubin observatory, in Chile, ia locating lots of asteroids, previously unknown. Like hundreds or thousands' of them.

Ken Schenck argues, from the Bible, that heaven will be on earth.

UTNews reports that a large group of chimpanzees has split into two groups, and they are engaging in violence toward between the two.

Thanks for reading!

Sunspots 993

 

Gizmodo discusses the history of the domestication (sort of) of cats.

NPR (and other outlets) discuss the evolution of kissing.

Gizmodo reports that astronomers may have found an exomoon. (A satellite of a star which is not in our solar system.)

Heart, Mind, Soul and Strength tells us how to stay happily married.

Ken Schenck on how the New Testament doesn't always interpret the Old Testament in context.

Sunspots 979

 

Gizmodo reports that a 3-D printer has been used to repair abnormal penis tissue. -- in rabbits and pigs, not in people,

NPR reports on why we like dessert, even if we are already full.

LiveScience reports on the discovery of a lot of moons orbiting Saturn.

NPR on how Alabama did better in math teaching than any other state.

Gizmodo reports on a study of back pain remedies. Almost none of them work.

NPR reports that microphone quality is a strong influence in on-line job interviews.

MIT has studied how people walk in crosswalks.

Sunspots 972

Special edition:

A Conversation writer discusses predictions of the Second Coming (all wrong, so far) based on astronomical phenomena, like the solar eclipse which is coming in a few days.

Christianity Today also considers the coming eclipse and the Second Coming.

Sunspots 962

According to Gizmodo, drivers with electric vehicles are wearing out their tires rapidly. This doesn’t affect me – the article says that someone who “drives like a grandmother” won’t have such quick wear.

Gizmodo also tells us that the moon is shrinking. Really.

Sunspots 957

Things I have recently spotted that may be of interest to others*

Health: A Conversation writer tells us why we often get nasal congestion when we're sick, and about the functions of snot.

Politics: (or something) A Conversation writer tells us that young black men are more likely to die in certain small areas of large cities than as if they were engaged in battle as part of the US military.

Russia has withdrawn support for the nuclear test ban treaty, according to Reuters.

A Conversation article tells us that Democrats and Republicans differ widely on whether or not to remove misinformation from social platforms.

Science: Gizmodo reports on how the Yucatán asteroid may have wiped out the dinosaurs.

Gizmodo also reports that scientists have found that an asteroid, less than a kilometer in size, has an even smaller asteroid orbiting it. A later report shows that the smaller asteroid is actually two rocks.

Phys.Org reports that studies of DNA from many species of crabs indicates that crabs took up residence out of the ocean about 17 different times.

A Conversation writer tells us how we come up with the word we want, fast.

*I try not to include items that require a password or fee to view

Thanks for reading.

Sunspots 949

Things I have recently spotted that may be of interest to others*

Health: PsyPost reports on a study that indicates that internet use protects significantly from dementia.

Science: The Indian moon exploration has found Sulfur at the lunar South Pole, according to Gizmodo. (The article used both "sulfur" and "sulphur.")

Gizmodo also reports that a pig kidney, inserted into a human, has functioned for six weeks, and is still functioning.

And Gizmodo reports that an amateur astronomer reported a collision between Jupiter and a much smaller body.

*I try not to include items that require a password or fee to view

Thanks for reading.

Sunspots 931

Things I have recently spotted that may be of interest to others*:

Computing: Gizmodo reports that the Federal Trade Commission is considering making it much easier to unsubscribe from all sorts of subscriptions (To news outlets, anti-malware software, and many more). Companies are not happy about this idea. (Surprise!)

Environment: Gizmo reports that California has adopted rules that protect Joshua trees.

Gizmodo reports that some national insurance companies have pulled out of certain states because of increased flooding, fires, and other problems. Yes, we are affected by global climate change.

Finances: The Hill tells us that China is in default to Americans on many billions of dollars of bonds.

Food: Gizmodo reports on a robot that prepares avocados for use.

Health: A Conversation writer discusses the biology of aging -- we all age differently.

Humor: (or not) Gizmodo reports on a sea otter that's taking over surfboards, from people who are using them.

Politics: An article in The Conversation considers the relationship between patriotism and nationalism.

Science: The Guardian reports on a palm tree that produces flowers underground.

Gizmodo reports on some splendid astronomy photos, submitted to the Royal Observatory, Greenwich.

Gizmodo also reports that ticks are especially efficient at connecting with us.

Science Alert reports that a New Zealand harvestman (aka daddy longlegs) has three different types of males.

A Conversation writer discusses research that indicates that we underestimate how much other people appreciate good deeds.

*I try not to include items that require a password or fee to view.

Thanks for reading.

Sunspots 922

Things I have recently spotted that may be of interest to others*:

Christianity (and Sports): According to KMBC News, Patrick Mahones, Kansas City quarterback, is not shy about his Christian faith.

Environment: Gizmodo reports that the court system might finally hold oil companies accountable for knowing that use increased climate temperature, but denying that.

Food: (and Science) A Conversation writer tells us a lot about the processing of chocolate.

Politics: FiveThirtyEight analyzes the current congressional  Republicans.

FiveThirtyEight also discusses the effectiveness of gun laws. We don't know much about this because government was forbidden to study some of these, until recently.

NPR on why we didn't hear about 4 other incursions by Chinese balloons.

Science: Gizmodo reports that Neanderthals hunted what would today be supersized elephants, several thousands of years ago, in Europe.

NPR reports that artificial intelligence programs are a dismal failure at planning for a rocket launch.

NPR also reports that commuting may make working life less stressful.

Gizmodo reports that Jupiter has 92 verified moons, which is more than Saturn has, but searches for more around Saturn are continuing.

The Scientist reports that structures made from human brain cells respond to visual stimuli when placed in rat brains.

Todd Wood on Neanderthal hunting of giant elephants.

Sports: (and Finances) FiveThirtyEight shows, graphically, how the NFL has captured the attention of the US over the past several years.

*I try not to include items that require a password or fee to view.

Thanks for reading.

Sunspots 920

Things I have recently spotted that may be of interest to others*:

Christianity: A Christianity Today writer says that the American church should celebrate diversity, not shun it.

Computing: The US State Department is changing fonts/typefaces, and not everyone is happy about it.

Gizmodo gives us a primer on ChatGPT, the artificial intelligence tool.

Education: (and computing) a Gizmodo author argues that teachers should adapt to writing generated by artificial intelligence, rather than trying to stamp that out.

Finances: NPR tells us why the price of eggs has gone up so much.

Politics: A writer for The Conversation analyzes Florida Governor DeSantis's injustice denial.

Science: Gizmodo reports that the amount of artificial light at night is rapidly making it more difficult to see stars.

NPR reports that we may be choosing the wrong kinds of stones to skip across water.

According to the MIT Technology Review, an alligator gene has been added to catfish, making them more resistant to infections. (Lots of catfish are eaten in the US).

*I try not to include items that require a password or fee to view.

Thanks for reading.

Sunspots 918

Things I have recently spotted that may be of interest to others*:

Computing: Gizmodo reports on an app that is designed to differentiate between human-written and ChatGPT output.

Gizmodo also reports that a company is trying to find lawyers who will let their artificial intelligence entity argue a case before the Supreme Court.

Politics: (and Sports, and Health) Anti-vaxxers are blaming COVID vaccination for Damar Hamlin's collapse, during an NFL game, and claiming other problems experienced by athletes, according to Gizmodo.

The Conversation has an article on Netanyahu's attack on democracy in Israel and the West Bank.

Science: The Scientist reports that some animals are changing their shape in response to climate change.

The Scientist also discusses microgenes -- tiny sections of DNA that are, in some cases, unique to humans.

Gizmodo reports that an organism that consumes viruses has been found.

Gizmodo also reports that the US Department of Agriculture has approved vaccinating bees. (Bee populations have declined in recent years, partly due to an infectious disease.)

And Gizmodo reports that stars which are at the edge of our galaxy have been identified.

*I try not to include items that require a password or fee to view.

Thanks for reading. 

The earth is fixed in place?

Some quotations from the Bible:

1 Chronicles 16:30 Tremble before him, all the earth. The world also is established that it can’t be moved.

 

Psalm 93:1 Yahweh reigns! He is clothed with majesty! Yahweh is armed with strength. The world also is established. It can’t be moved.

 

Psalm 96:10a Say among the nations, “Yahweh reigns.” The world is also established. It can’t be moved.

Psalm 104:5 He laid the foundations of the earth, that it should not be moved forever. (World English Bible, public domain)

The Bible seems to say, in at least these four places, that the earth can’t be moved. But it does move! It goes around the sun, and the sun, itself, is in motion through space.  And it rotates. What’s going on? Is the Bible in error? No. The Bible was mostly written according to the culture and world view of the times. If the writers had said something like “The world is traveling in a stable elliptical orbit, and has done so for many years, and will continue to do so,” the readers or listeners, to say nothing of the human author(s), would not have understood what was said, and might well have thought that the speaker or writer was insane. Like most of the Bible, these passages used the worldview of the current speakers, writers, readers and hearers. 

None of these four scriptures were statements about the principles of astronomy. All of them were statements about God's glory and power.

Thanks for reading.

Sunspots 906

Things I have recently spotted that may be of interest to others*:

Environment: Gizmodo discusses recycling. There isn't nearly as much of it as the labels on containers would imply.

CNN reports that the Mississippi River is very low. It's possible to walk (dry-footed) out to rock formations that are normally not visible, because they are under water.

Health: NPR contradicts some common misconceptions about how much water to drink.

Politics: A Christianity Today author argues that Herschel Walker has shown no sign of repentance, and he should have.

Science: The Scientist describes teaching an array of cells to play Pong, a simple video game.

The Scientist also discusses research on placing human nerve cells into rat brains. They functioned.

Phys.org reports on research into an insect pest. The pest was found to have incorporated several genes from a host plant into the insect's genome.

CNN reports on studies of two very hot exoplanets, in orbit around the same star.

Gizmodo reports that the attempt to change the trajectory of an asteroid worked -- it was changed

*I try not to include items that require a password or fee to view.

Thanks for reading.

Sunspots 890

Things I have recently spotted that may be of interest to others*:

Christianity: (And politics) CNN talks with an author who argues that white evangelicals honor supposed masculinity, regardless of what various sins that these male figures have committed, and that speaking out against this hypocrisy often leads to consequences for those who speak out.

Education: (and politics) Slate, and other outlets, report on Carson v. Makin, which Supreme Court ruling requires state funding instruction based on the beliefs of  conservative Christians.

Food: Gizmodo reports that Texas has the worst corn in the US.

Health: A report says that, if you can't stand on one leg for 10 seconds, you are twice as likely to die within 10 years as if you can.

Science: Gizmodo tells us more than we want to know about the tiny mites that live in the pores of your facial skin.

Terry Gross, of NPR, interviews a scientist who describes sensory experiences in some animals that are quite different from those of humans.

Gizmodo reports that wild bats can remember a phone-made sound for at least four years.

Gizmodo has posted some fine photos of several of the moons in the solar system.

*I try not to include items that require a password or fee to view.

Thanks for reading.

Sunspots 879

Things I have recently spotted that may be of interest to others*:

Science: Gizmodo reports that dog facial muscles are constructed so that the faces are attractive to humans.

Gizmodo also posted videos of squid, almost instantaneously changing color for camouflage purposes.

NPR on why some smells (like ripe peaches) are appealing

Gizmodo also reports that the planet Neptune is getting colder, and astronomers don't understand why this is so.

The graphic used in these posts is from NASA, hence, it is free to use like this.

*I try not to include items that require a password or fee to view.

Thanks for reading.

Sunspots 866

Things I have recently spotted that may be of interest to others*:

Finances: FiveThirtyEight discusses the so-called eviction tsumani that didn't happen.

Health: (or something) NPR has 22 tips to use if you want to pass on drinking alcohol.

Gizmodo reports that the COVID vaccination rate in the US is 59th in the world, below all other first-world countries.

Politics: NPR has a discussion of why it's so hard to get some people to reject Donald Trump's false claim that he is the rightful President.

(and Christianity) Relevant has an article distinguishing between Christian Nationalism and following Jesus.

The Dallas Morning News also discusses Christian Nationalism.

Science: Gizmodo reports that it is possible to track animals using DNA fragments in the air around them. This is a non-invasive technique.

Gizmodo also reports that dogs can tell when a person talks in a language they aren't familiar with.

The Scientist reports that 14 new species of shrews have recently been found on the island of Sulawesi, part of Indonesia.

The Scientist also reports that preserved human feces, about 2000 years old, indicate that gut microbial diversity has decreased dramatically, as well as showing what the diet of humans was like, in that time and place.

CNN reports on a large exploding star.

Gizmodo and The Scientist discuss the recent use of a genetically modified pig heart to replace a man's heart. So far, all is going well. 

The graphic used in these posts is from NASA, hence, it is free to use like this.

*I try not to include items that require a password or fee to view.

Thanks for reading.