Biology - A Tippling Philosopher

A Tippling Philosopher

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Biology

A collection of 15 posts

If Low-Level Life Exists on Other Planets, What of God?

With the news that certain cloud compositions on Venus are best explained by molecular Venutian life existing, this prompts some interesting questions. If life can only be explained by God, that naturalism struggles to explain abiogenesis, as certain theists (including creationists) claim, then why do we have complex sentient life

Image Credits: Daniel Biber/lensculture

Life as an Emergent Property, and Rocks

Abiogenesis and wondering how life started for the very first time here on Earth, is endlessly fascinating. Believers prefer to plug the hole of ignorance with the ever-useful GodPutty™. GodPutty™ plugs any holes in a way that leaves you never wanting for answers again. It's the perfect antidote

The Causes of Homosexuality, and What It All Means

So now it is time to return to the idea of homosexuality and Christianity about which I posted the other day. Having looked at biblical issues concerning the position of deeming homosexuality (h/s) morally wrong, let us now look at what makes people h/s and whether it is

poisson lucas @flickr - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.0/

Abiogenesis Wars: Fine-Tuning and Complexity

There's a pretty heated stand off between Smilodon's Retreat (SR) and Jim Dailey (JD) over on this thread here. The crux of the argument seems to be about how difficult it is for the believer to swallow the notion that something like life, and the complexity

Origins of Life

My old blogging compadre, Smilodon's Retreat, recently chipped in on some abiogenesis chat on a few threads I posted. He has kindly let me repost an old piece of his that should have some relevance. It can be found in original for here at his home at SIN.

Abiogenesis and Probability

There has been a fascinating discussion on a recent post thread concerning abiogenesis, the creation of molecular chemistry in the context of RNA and DNA, and probability. I thought I would point people to a few articles, now some years old and probably out of date in certain areas of

Abiogenesis: An Unsolved Mystery Is Not Evidence of a Creator

Logic of Science, which looks like a really interesting blog over here, gave me permission to repost this good synopsis of theists' approach to abiogenesis in the context of the sort of Goddidit Argument from Ignorance we so often see, and have seen here from some commenters. Here is

Did life begin on land rather than in the sea?

This has come from the University of California Santa Cruz: For three years, Tara Djokic, a Ph.D. student at the University of New South Wales Sydney, scoured the forbidding landscape of the Pilbara region of Western Australia looking for clues to how ancient microbes could have produced the abundant

Biblical Exegesis

Debunking the Nativity: The Male Genome

This is the third instalment in the "Debunking the Nativity" series and I will concentrate on the virgin birth. These posts sit alongside my book The Nativity: A Critical Examination. Continuing along the theme of the conception of Jesus, let us look at biological problems that have theological

On freely loving your mother...

Further to my comments to a fellow Tippling Philosopher, I emailed this a few years back: Another thing I wanted to add was the idea that the mental, the experiential, supervenes on the physical. This means that the physical in some way defines and is necessary for the mental. Another

Bright flash of light marks incredible moment life begins when sperm meets egg

The Telegraph reports on this fascinating finding: Human life begins in bright flash of light as a sperm meets an egg, scientists have shown for the first time, after capturing the astonishing ‘fireworks’ on film. An explosion of tiny sparks erupts from the egg at the exact moment of conception.

Growing Up Poor, Stressed Impacts Brain Function as Adult

Childhood poverty and chronic stress may lead to problems regulating emotions as an adult, according to research published online in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Generosity Leads to Evolutionary Success, Biologists Show

Recently, I have run a number of articles about morality and its intersection with biology: Human Brains Are Hardwired for Empathy, Friendship Altruism or Manipulated Helping? Altruism May Have Origins in Manipulation New Studies Link Gene to Selfish Behavior in Kids, Find Other Children Natural Givers Some Plants Are Altruistic,

Grandma's Experiences Leave a Mark on Your Genes

Check out this fascinating article from Discover. H/T Neil Webber. Your ancestors' lousy childhoods or excellent adventures might change your personality, bequeathing anxiety or resilience by altering the epigenetic expressions of genes in the brain. [This article originally appeared in print as "Trait vs. Fate"] Darwin

How Life May Have First Emerged On Earth: Foldable Proteins in a High-Salt Environment

Apr. 4, 2013 — A structural biologist at the Florida State University College of Medicine has made discoveries that could lead scientists a step closer to understanding how life first emerged on Earth billions of years ago.