Reasons to Believe Podcast

Stars, Cells, and God | Lab Meat and Photosynthetic Zone

Join Fazale “Fuz” Rana and Hugh Ross as they discuss new discoveries taking place at the frontiers of science—discoveries that have theological and philosophical implications, including the reality of God’s existence.

 

Lab Meat

Futurists think that lab meat will soon be commercially available as an ethical and environmentally friendly alternative to meat produced from animal stocks. However, a research team from UC Davis has challenged the environmental friendliness of lab meat by arguing that the effects of making such meat from current technology are much worse for the environment than meat produced through agricultural means. In this episode, biochemist Fuz Rana discusses the pros and cons of lab meat and offers a Christian perspective on this emerging biotechnology.

 

References:

Environmental Impacts of Cultured Meat: A Cradle-to-Gate Life Cycle Assessment

Additional Resources:

A Theology for Synthetic Biology, Part 1

A Theology for Synthetic Biology, Part 2

 

Photosynthetic Zone

Four astronomers have demonstrated the necessity of the photosynthetic habitable zone for any planet thought to be a candidate for advanced life. They explain why the range of distances from a host star for a planet to conceivably harbor photosynthetic life must be narrower than the range of distances where a planet could conceivably possess surface liquid water. The team concludes that the parameter space for signs of life is far narrower than the standard HZ (liquid water habitable zone). In this episode, Hugh explains that it takes a lot of design for photosynthetic life to exist on a planet.

 

References:

A New Definition of Exoplanet Habitability: Introducing the Photosynthetic Habitable Zone

 

Clear Thinking | How Humans Differ from Animals: Degree or Kind? Part 2

Human exceptionalism in light of the image of God

Stars, Cells, and God | AI-Human Collaboration and New Hubble Constant Measurement

Join Hugh Ross and Jeff Zweerink as they discuss new discoveries taking place at the frontiers of science, discoveries that have theological and philosophical implications, including the reality of God’s existence.

 

AI-Human Collaboration

Artificial intelligence (AI) can analyze enormous diverse databases at lightning speeds. But unlike humans, AI can’t reason, produce new databases, or make sense of things it hasn’t seen before. Only humans can determine what’s interesting and worth pursuing and what isn’t. Recognizing these distinctives, a team at Lam Research Corporation conducted experiments to determine how best to manage collaboration between AI and humans to optimize the development of computer chips with target characteristics. The Lam team found that AI works best when human experts operate as “data dieticians,” controlling the amounts, kinds, and timing of data being fed into AI systems. 

References:

Human-Machine Collaboration for Improving Semiconductor Process Development

 

New Hubble Constant Measurement

The strongest evidence supporting big bang models comes from measurements of the universe’s expansion. Although scientists have compelling evidence for expansion from Cepheid variables and Type 1a supernovae, as well as the cosmic microwave background radiation, astronomers continue to search for data that will confirm or falsify current understanding. Recently, scientists applied a new technique to measure the Hubble constant (which is a simple way to quantify the universe’s expansion) and found results consistent with the best measurements from other techniques. These results add to the already substantial evidence that we live in a big bang universe.

References:

Gravitationally Lensed Supernova Yields Novel Hubble Constant Result

Clear Thinking | How Humans Differ from Animals: Degree or Kind? Part 1

Do humans differ from animals only in degree?

Stars, Cells, and God | Deep Time Informing Care of the Earth?

Join Hugh Ross and Steve Mittwede as they discuss new discoveries taking place at the frontiers of science that have theological and philosophical implications, including the reality of God’s existence.

 

Deep Time Informing Care of the Earth?

What are the various views of Earth’s natural history? And how does our view tend to drive our interpretation of Earth’s processes and systems? As an interpretive framework, how does a grasp of deep time affect our outlook on the world and its future? And should our understanding of deep time inform how we take care of the planet and its resources? 

 

References:

Recommended Resources:

• Timefulness: How Thinking Like a Geologist Can Help Save the World
• How the Concept of Deep Time is Changing
• God’s Planet
• Rocks of Ages: Science and Religion in the Fullness of Life
• Deep Time Reckoning: How Future Thinking Can Help Earth Now
• Why Geology Matters: Decoding the Past, Anticipating the Future
• Creation Care: A Biblical Theology of the Natural World

Clear Thinking | ”Jesus Is Lord” in Earliest Church Creeds, Part 2

How to demonstrate Jesus's divinity from Scripture and early creeds 

Why ATP? and Trim the Fries | Stars, Cells, and God

Join Fazale “Fuz” Rana and Hugh Ross as they discuss new discoveries taking place at the frontiers of science that have theological and philosophical implications, including the reality of God’s existence.

 

Why ATP?

Biochemists have long wondered why ATP (adenosine triphosphate) was “selected” as the cell’s energy currency. It has several special properties that make it well-suited for its biochemical role. Recently, a research team from University College London offered an explanation. They argue that ATP assumed the role of the universal energy currency due to how easily it forms under prebiotic conditions. ATP selectively forms under plausible prebiotic conditions because of an unusual and just-right chemical reaction.

 

In this episode, biochemist Fuz Rana and astrophysicist Hugh Ross discuss how (1) ATP’s role as the cell’s energy currency, (2) insights about its suitability for its role, and (3) the prebiotic formation all work together to demonstrate that a Creator played a role in the origin and design of life.

 

References:

A Prebiotic Basis for ATP as the Universal Energy Currency

Additional Resources:

Fit for a Purpose: Does the Anthropic Principle Include Biochemistry?

 

Trim the Fries

The fastest rising health crises of the twenty-first century are anxiety and depression, which now rank as the two most prevalent mental health disorders. A decade ago, scientists discovered a causal link between anxiety and depression and the consumption of sugar, refined grains, fried and processed foods, and beer. Now, a research team led by Anli Wang, in a population-based study of 141,000 UK adults over an 11.3-year period, has identified fried foods and especially fried potatoes as the leading dietary cause of anxiety, depression, and other mental disorders. They showed that fried foods produce acrylamide. This chemical not only induces anxiety and depression, studies show it also disrupts cholesterol and glucose metabolism and produces learning and memory disorders. 

 

References:

High Fried Food Consumption Impacts Anxiety and Depression Due to Lipid Metabolism Disturbance and Neuroinflammation

Clear Thinking | ”Jesus Is Lord” in Earliest Church Creeds, Part 1

Earliest church creeds affirm the divinity of Jesus

Clear Thinking | Trinity and the Belgic Confession, Part 2

What the Trinity is and what it isn't 

Clear Thinking | Trinity and the Belgic Confession, Part 1

How historical confessions explained the Trinity

Clear Thinking | Spotlight on the Holy Spirit, Part 2

Ken discusses what Scripture teaches on the Holy Spirit's work

Clear Thinking | Spotlight on the Holy Spirit, Part 1

Scripture shows that the Holy Spirit is a divine person

Clear Thinking | Spotlight on the Holy Spirit, Part 2

Ken discusses what Scripture teaches on the Holy Spirit's work. 

Clear Thinking | Spotlight on the Holy Spirit, Part 1

Scripture shows that the Holy Spirit is a divine person. 

Stars, Cells, and God | LUCA’s Complexity and Missing in Evolution

Join Fazale “Fuz” Rana and Sy Garte as they discuss new discoveries taking place at the frontiers of science that have theological and philosophical implications, including the reality of God’s existence.

 

LUCA’s Complexity

A research team from the US and the UK discovered that LUCA (the last universal common ancestor) was perhaps more complex than contemporary bacteria and archaea. They used an approach based on physiological features instead of the gene set encoded in LUCA’s DNA. 

 

In the abstract of their paper, the researchers write: 

“Our results depict LUCA as likely to be a far more complex cell than has previously been proposed, challenging the evolutionary model of increased complexity through time in prokaryotes. Given current estimates for the emergence of LUCA we suggest that early life very rapidly evolved considerable cellular complexity.” 

 

In this episode, Fuz and Sy explore the far-reaching scientific implications of this work, which challenges the mainstream perspective about the mode and tempo for the origin and early evolution of life. They also discuss this work’s implications for the design argument and its confirmation of a key prediction of RTB’s origin of life model. 

 

References:

Phenotypic Reconstruction of the Last Universal Common Ancestor Reveals a Complex Cell

Additional Resources:

Origins of Life by Fazale Rana and Hugh Ross (book)

The Cell’s Design by Fazale Rana (book)

 

What’s Missing in Evolutionary Theory?

While the biological theory of evolution has been successful and made major progress since Darwin’s day, there remain fundamental gaps in the theory that have yet to be addressed. These include (1) a mathematical expression in the form of an evolutionary law that isn’t tautological or merely descriptive; (2) a more precise definition of fitness; and (3) investigations into the origins of consciousness, human behavior, and other higher functions that appear to be due to things beyond selection of genetic variants. Further explanations of these, as well as of thresholds and discontinuities during evolution, might require the inclusion of paradigms such as teleology and agency in biological science, with theological implications.

 

References:

Continuity, Simplification, and Paradigm Shifting in Biological Evolution