Origins of Horse Domestication Found

German scientists have published in the journal Science their theory that horse domestication occurred in the third millenium B.C.   The theory is based on an DNA analysis of genes responsible for coat coloration.   (Basically, domesticators selectively bred for coat color, so an increase in color variations  indicates domestication).   Sort of reminds me of how Jacob selectively bred for his sheep and goats.  Nevertheless, the story is an... Read more

God of the Gaps, Part II

Several weeks ago here, I suggested that I.D. must do three things in order to overcome the perception that it is nothing more than an appeal to some unknown unexplained power when encountering the unexplainable: Given a species and its closest descendent which is at the same time supposedly a “transitional species”, provide a description of the biological differences and the time span between the two life forms. Demonstrate that this time is... Read more

Physical Description of Hyracotherium

Following is a physical description of the hyracotherium fossils, followed by the conclusions that have been drawn by paleontologists, and finally the classifications that have been made. Rather than get into conjecture, I have tried to 1) state the physical facts; 2) distinguish the conclusions that have been drawn; from those physical facts; and 3) summarize classification based on those conclusions, all the while giving my sources of information. These... Read more

Roller Coaster

What started out to be a blog about the fossil record of a certain fleet-footed mammal and how it presents significant problems to Intelligent Design has turned into one about my philosophical and scientific roller coaster ride. I read “Darwin’s Black Box” when it came out in 1996, and “The Edge of Evolution”, when it was released last year. These books were written by Michael Behe, a biochemist at Lehigh University, as a challenge to current... Read more