Science and Culture Today Discovering Design in Nature
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enzymes

ATP Synthase
Image: A scene from "Molecular Machines — ATP Synthase: The Power Plant of the Cell," via Discovery Institute.

Can New Proteins Evolve?

What enables a long chain of linked amino acids to perform highly specific molecular functions with machine-like precision? Read More ›
photosynthesis
Photo credit: Kumiko SHIMIZU, via Unsplash.

The Molecular Machine Behind Carbon Balance

Plants are icons of sustainability. They create critical products for other living organisms while utilizing waste products. Read More ›
DNA
Image credit: Reimund Bertrams via Pixabay.

Hierarchical Systems in Biology — DNA Packaging

It is hard to fathom that such a highly complex, hierarchical mechanism of information storage on a microscopic scale could come about purely by chance. Read More ›
Kepler-442b
Image: Kepler-442b (per the artist's imagination) along side Earth, by Ph03nix1986, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons.

Study: Planets Capable of Sustaining Photosynthesis Are Extremely Rare

So how did the paper determine that photosynthesis has an “overall simplicity,” despite the complexity just described? Read More ›
Zinc
Photo: Zinc, by Alchemist-hp (talk) (www.pse-mendelejew.de), FAL, via Wikimedia Commons.

Do Proteins Lack Metals, Reflecting Poor Design?

According to Erika DeBenedictis, “one of the big limitations of biology are the basic building blocks themselves.” Read More ›
tree and a man
tree and a man
Photo credit: Gilly Stewart via Unsplash.

Credulity Is the Soil for Darwin’s Tree

The secret is to restrict one’s explanations for life to unguided natural events. Once that decision has been made, everything else flows deductively from it. Read More ›
reel-to-reel
Photo credit: Gelpgim22, CC BY-SA 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons.

Cells Use Loop Extrusion to Keep DNA Optimized

A paper illustrates the action of DNA loop extrusion processes, which serve multiple functions to maintain the genome, with an interesting graphic: gears. Read More ›
laboratory
Photo credit: Dariusz Bartosik, CC BY-SA 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons.

Experiments on “Self-Replicating” RNA Indicate the Need for Intelligent Agency in Life’s Origin

Any evolving system of RNAs would quickly include almost exclusively RNAs that performed no biologically useful actions. Read More ›
honey bee
Photo credit: Tanner Smida, CC BY 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons.

Put Some of This on That Wound, Honey

The antiseptic properties of natural honey are getting more attention as antibiotic-resistant bacteria proliferate. Read More ›
Greenland Ice Sheet
Photo: Greenland Ice Sheet.

Glaciers Enhance the Biosphere — By Design

Glacial meltwater performs unexpected and surprising roles that benefit life on earth. Read More ›

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