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Neanderthals all around, resurrecting a mammoth, reverse evolution in action, “dwarf” dinosaur, and more!
A new genetic study has revealed that many modern humans have Neanderthal ancestry.
Scientists have resurrected a mammoth—a mammoth hemoglobin protein, that is.
If the Canadian Press is to be believed, whitefish provide the latest example of “evolution” in action. But as with previous examples, the evolutionary significance is overstated.
When most people think of dinosaurs, they think of the big ones, like brachiosaurs and T. rex, both of which would have towered over humans.
Dinosaur bones dug up more than a hundred years ago in what is now Romania go against the popular view of dinosaurs as hulking beasts. The Romanian fossil, classified as Magyarosaurus dacus, is related to the giant titanosaurs, some of which weighed ten times more than an elephant. Yet new research indicates M. dacus never grew beyond horse-size.
Although the first M. dacus fossil was discovered in 1895 and was considered a “dwarf” dinosaur (i.e., small, but nevertheless an adult), scientists later concluded the fossil must be a juvenile titanosaur with much growing left to do. Now, in the most recent development in the century-long investigation, a team led by the Steinmann Institute Division of Paleontology’s Koen Stein examined bones from nineteen different M. dacus fossils. The team applied lessons learned from studying other dinosaur bones to try to discover whether the M. dacus fossils are all juvenile titanosaurs, or whether M. dacus truly was a dwarf species.
Based on their knowledge of dinosaur bone development, the scientists concluded that the M. dacus fossils found so far were from dinosaurs that were at least 95 percent of their full size—in other words, they weren’t juveniles. For creationists, discoveries of small dinosaurs are reminders of two things. First, complaints that Noah’s Ark could not accommodate the required animals often ignore the fact that the average dinosaur was much smaller than the towering T. rex (and, in addition, Noah could have taken juveniles). Second, the argument that dinosaurs were too dangerous for humans to have lived “alongside” them ignores the fact that we live “alongside” some large, dangerous animals today; again, most dinosaurs weren’t that big (and, in addition, most of the big ones were herbivorous).
Rapid speciation (multiple species descending from a single population) is often cited as confirmation of the creation worldview. Can we say the same when no speciation occurs?
Do animals have a “right to privacy”? Or are such “animal-hugger” claims the logical consequence of evolutionary views only?
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Answers in Genesis is an apologetics ministry, dedicated to helping Christians defend their faith and proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ effectively. We focus on providing answers to questions about the Bible—particularly the book of Genesis—regarding key issues such as creation, evolution, science, and the age of the earth.