New developments in the origin of life

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Where is ET? Fermi’s paradox turns 65

Introduction

In 1950, while having lunch with colleagues Edward Teller and Herbert York, who were chatting about a recent cartoon in the New Yorker depicting aliens abducting trash cans in flying saucers, physicist Enrico Fermi suddenly blurted out, “Where is everybody?” His question is now known as Fermi’s paradox.

Fermi’s line of reasoning was

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Does public opinion always agree with scientific fact?

New Pew Research Center poll on scientists’ views versus public views

A new poll by the Pew Research Center has highlighted some stark differences between views of leading scientists, in particular members of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), and those of the general U.S. public. The results are summarized in this

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Are there “missing links” in the fossil record?

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Can biblical chronology be used to date creation?

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Do religious colleges teach old-earth geology and evolution?

Popular wisdom holds that old-earth geology and evolution remain somewhat controversial in the scientific community, and, in particular, that many scientists question evolution. But on this count popular wisdom is quite mistaken — only a fraction of 1% of qualified scientists believe there are reasonable grounds to question the basic tenets of these theories. See

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Prehuman fossils: an embarrassment of riches

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Creationists: modern-day Don Quixotes?

Don Quixote

September 29, 2014 is the 467th birthday of Spanish author Miguel de Cervantes, whose immortal Don Quixote is widely regarded as one of the greatest works of literature in any language. In fact, in 2002 the Norwegian Book Club named Don Quixote as “best literary work ever written” in their listing of the

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Is intelligent design a legitimate scientific movement?

Background

The “intelligent design” movement was formed in the mid-1990s by a group of scholars whose objective was to present a significantly more tenable alternative to evolution than that promoted by young-earth creationists such as Henry Morris and John Whitcomb. The principal figures of the intelligent design movement, notably Michael Behe, William Dembski, Phillip Johnson

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Is the Bible supported by modern archaeology?

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