Neanderthal Brains, Redux and Local Realism Is Dead

Join Fazale “Fuz” Rana and Jeff Zweerink 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.

Neanderthal Brains, Redux

Are human beings exceptional? Recent work by a large collaborative team from the Max Planck Institute in Leipzig, Germany, explores this question by examining the behavior of the TKLT-1 protein in archaic and modern humans. This discovery points to differences in brain development in modern humans and Neanderthals, suggesting cognitive differences between the two.

Local Realism Is Dead

In our macroscopic world where quantum mechanical effects seem remote, we operate as though the universe obeys two obvious properties. However, a suite of experiments over the past five decades demonstrates that both properties can’t be true in the world of quantum mechanics. We’ll describe the experiments that establish this remarkable conclusion as well as the implications for the science/faith discussion.

Fuz and Jeff discuss these important topics in this episode of Stars, Cells, and God.

Links and Resources:

• Human TKTL1 Implies Greater Neurogenesis in Frontal Neocortex of Modern Humans than Neanderthals
• Reduced Purine Biosynthesis in Humans after Their Divergence from Neanderthals
• Fazale Rana, “Brain Organoids Cultivate the Case for Human Exceptionalism”
• Fazale Rana, “Key Difference in Developing Human and Neanderthal Brains”
• Nobel Prize: Quantum Entanglement Unveiled