Sunday, December 23, 2007

The Daily Mammal

The elephant shrew, above, is more closely related to elephants than rodents.

Jennifer Atkins has an ambitious goal: draw every mammal species on Earth. Since there are 5,000 named mammals, she expects the project to take 14 years if she draws one animal every day.

Follow her progress here.

Top 10 Wildlife Conservation Stories for 2007



Read brief summaries about the work being done by conservationists to save nature's endangered species.

Tuesday, December 18, 2007

Duelity

At duelity.net, the Vancouver Film School presents a pair of beautiful animations that illustrate two opposing theories of the origins of life, evolution and creationism.

View the videos here.

I want to stress that the theory of evolution is a scientific one, supported by evidence gathered from the natural world. Creationism is a religious doctrine; it is substantiated not by scientific data but by Christian belief.

The conflict between science and religion, I think, arises when one discipline infringes upon the boundaries of the other. Science -- because of its inability to gather data beyond the natural world -- should not make any claims about the existence or non-existence of God. Religion -- because of its inability to discredit scientific theories based on rigorous data -- should not make any claims about the validity of the theory of evolution.

Science can not tell you that you do not have a soul, or that God does not exist. Likewise, religion can not tell you that the world is flat or that humans did not share a common ancestor with other primates. To avoid conflict, keep the areas of expertise between the two disciplines distinct. For I believe there should be room for both science and religion in a moral, rational, and free-thinking human being.

Best Astronomy Photos of 2007

APOD (Astronomy Pic of the Day) has posted its favorite astronomy pics of 2007. The one below is my favorite -- be sure to click inside the pic to view a larger image of it.

Saturday, December 15, 2007