Stars, Cells, and God

DNA Data Storage and Most Hunted Particle

DNA Data Storage
In this episode, biochemist Fazale Rana discusses one of the latest advances in DNA data storage technology and explains how this insight adds to the evidence that a Creator played a role in the origin and basic design of life.
Most Hunted Particle
The most sought-after particles in the universe are axions, the leading candidate to comprise most of the universe’s dark matter. A team of physicists led by Dion Noordhuis has shown that the best place to look for axions is around rapidly spinning neutron stars, where scientists believe axion clouds reside. Current radio telescopes may be able to detect the mystery particles, a discovery that would bolster the evidence for a big bang creation model.
Links and Resources:
Parallel Molecular Data Storage by Printing Epigenetic Bits on DNA
Axion Clouds Around Neutron Stars
Dark Matter Particles

Is Gender Reassignment Surgery Safe and Effective?

In this episode, biochemist Fazale Rana and OB/GYN Christina Cirucci discuss the safety of gender-affirming care, including gender reassignment surgeries.
•What do these procedures entail?•Are there benefits to these procedures?•What are the complications?•How should Christians respond to someone who is considering these types of operations?
Warning: This content may include explicit material. Viewer discretion is advised. Theintention is not to offend but to provide information. Proceed only if you are comfortable with conversations regarding gender-affirming care and gender reassignment surgeries.
Disclaimer: Reasons to Believe is expressing our Christian beliefs on the issues of gender identity in the intersection of science and faith, as it’s an important discussion and many people have valid questions.
This research showcases the expertise of select members of the RTB Scholar Community on matters of gender identity. RTB is not offering medical or other professional advice. People need to consult with their own physicians, psychologists, psychiatrists, etc. We want to see everyone make informed, educated decisions.
Reference:The Truth About Transgenderism—What Scripture, Science, and Medicine Say

Fine-Tuning and the Multiverse

Fine-Tuning and the Multiverse
Join Jeff Zweerink and Rabbis Elie Feder and Aaron Zimmer 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.
Scientists have discovered that the fundamental constants needed to describe our universe provide evidence of an intelligent cause that made the universe. In recent years, many scientists have argued that the multiverse provides an alternative explanation of the fundamental constants. However, for a multiverse to fulfill this role, it must exhibit specific features. A close examination of those features shows that workable multiverse models also demonstrate the same evidence of an intelligent cause. In this episode, we discuss the fine-tuning argument and multiverse response with Rabbis Elie Feder and Aaron Zimmer.
Links and Resources:
3 Proofs of God from Science
Physics to God Episodes
Multiverse Musings: An Updated Summary

Dark Matter Antarctica Experiment | News of the Day

Join Hugh Ross in this breaking News of the Day episode of Stars, Cells, and God. Hugh interviews fellow RTB astrophysicist Jeff Zweerink while Jeff is in Antarctica. Jeff is part of a research team that’s preparing to launch a balloon loaded with instruments that will either detect dark matter particles or impose more stringent constraints that will guide future efforts to find the universe’s elusive dark matter particles. The quest to find dark matter particles is considered the holy grail for astrophysicists, with a Nobel Prize in the waiting for the discovery team.
Links and Resources:
No Dark Matter Near the Sun—Oh Wait, We Found It
Designed to the Core
 

Racism, Worldview, and Science

Join Jeff Zweerink in a conversation with authors Krista Bontrager and Monique Duson as they discuss their theological and philosophical journey toward understanding what the Bible says about racial harmony.
How good and pleasant it is for brothers and sisters to dwell together in unity! Yet conversations between people who hold different views on the topic of race rarely bring unity. Join Jeff, Krista, and Monique as they provide a shining example of how seeking biblical truth can bring true unity even while exploring a divisive topic.

Will AI Ever Be Like Us?

Will AI Ever Be Like Us?
In this episode, biochemist Fuz Rana and philosopher Kristen Davis explore the question, Will AI ever be like us?
One of the most important questions to emerge from advances in AI is the age-old, Who are we as human beings?
Some people claim that when we achieve artificial general intelligence—the ability of machines to learn intellectual tasks that human beings can—AI systems will be persons, just like us. Others claim that when we achieve artificial superintelligence—the ability of machines to surpass human beings’ capabilities—AI systems will represent the next stage in evolutionary history.
Are these viewpoints valid?

AI and the Genome and Earth's Past Temperature

AI and the Genome
In this episode, biochemist Fuz Rana describes recent insight from two investigators who make the case that genomes are generative AI systems. The architecture and operation of biochemical information is far more sophisticated and complex than previously recognized and points to purposeful design.
Earth’s Past Temperature
Two new studies on Earth’s past climate have provided important data for predicting Earth’s future climate, as well as exoplanet habitability. Oxygen-18 measurements from shale, iron oxide, carbonates, and chert show that Earth’s climate was warm from 2.0–0.5 billion years ago. Then a drop in global mean surface temperature (GMST) occurred 500 million years ago to a decline in atmospheric carbon dioxide. An integration of geological data with climate model simulations shows that GMSTs varied from 11–36°C over the past 485 million years, a much larger range than previous reconstructions. Temperature changes were especially dramatic at high latitudes. During the Phanerozoic, Earth spent more time in warm climate states than cold ones and atmospheric CO2 was the dominant control on climate. Throughout the past 2 billion years, atmospheric CO2 played the most important role in compensating for increasing solar luminosity.
Links and Resources:
Hot and Cold Earth Through Time
A 485-Million-Year History of Earth’s Surface Temperature
Oxygen Isotope Ensemble Reveals Earth’s Seawater, Temperature, and Carbon Cycle History
The Genomic Code: The Genome Instantiates a Generative Model of the Organism

Winter Gatekeeper Hypothesis

Join Jeff Zweerink and Kevin Birdwell 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.
Winter Gatekeeper Hypothesis
Virtually all public discussion about climate changes focuses on greenhouse gases—usually only carbon dioxide. Clearly greenhouse gases impact the climate, but scientific research demonstrates that the climate system is far more complicated than any single set of gases could describe. Specifically, one of the dominant drivers of the climate may be Earth’s capacity to transport energy from the tropics to the poles. This episode describes the winter gatekeeper hypothesis and its consequences for the global climate.
 Links and Resources:
The Winter Gatekeeper Hypothesis (VII). A Summary Plus Q&A
Solving the Climate Puzzle. The Sun’s Surprising Role

Nuclear Power and Climate Change

Nuclear Power and Climate Change
One undeniable question accompanies any discussion about climate change: How much power do we need and what existing technologies are capable of generating that power? Most technologies capable of producing sufficient power for the world’s energy needs also emit large amounts of greenhouse gases. Technologies emitting fewer greenhouse gases don’t produce abundant power—except for nuclear power. In this episode, atmospheric scientist Kevin Birdwell and astrophysicist Jeff Zweerink discuss how current and future nuclear power technologies dramatically impact our ability to generate adequate power for humanity in an environmentally friendly way.
Links and Resources:
Safe, Clean, Proliferation Resistant and Cost-Effective Thorium-Based Molten Salt Reactors for Sustainable Development
Time Warp: Molten Salt Reactor Experiment—Alvin Weinberg’s Magnum Opus

No Sign of Dark Photons | News of the Day

Join Hugh Ross in this breaking News of the Day episode of Stars, Cells, and God. Hugh describes a search for dark photons, a candidate for comprising a large fraction of the universe’s dark matter. The search consisted of comparing a detailed map of the cosmic microwave background radiation (CMBR) with a catalog of more than 500 million galaxies.
Dark matter makes up 24.5% of the universe.
Probability of ordinary photons from the CMBR morphing into dark photons peaks when they pass through the plasma of electrons surrounding galaxy clusters.
Loss of CMBR photons will be correlated with galaxy cluster positions and would make the CMBR map look more splotchy.
The search team accounted for other effects known to distort the CMBR map.
The search team found no evidence for dark photons. They placed an upper limit on dark photon contribution to dark matter more than 10 times lower than previous analyses.
Future comparisons of the CMBR map with positions of denser, older galaxies will yield more stringent limits on dark photons.
Axions remain as the leading candidate particles to comprise the majority of the universe’s dark matter.
Links & Resources
Dark Photon Limits from Patchy Dark Screening of the Cosmic Microwave Background
News of the Day episode: Dark Matter Particles?