Mitochondrial DNA Analysis of Three Terrestrial Mammal Baramins (Equidae, Felidae, and Canidae) Implies an Accelerated Mutation Rate Near the Time of the Flood

If modern species descended from “two of every kind” aboard Noah’s Ark, as creationists commonly assert, then intrabaraminic diversification and speciation must have been extremely rapid. Although there has been limited creationist research on the genetic component of the speciation mechanism, a simple means of gaining insight into possible molecular mechanisms related to speciation is to evaluate the molecular diversity of known baramins, especially those with ancient DNA (aDNA) sequences recovered from extinct taxa, which can give us a window to the genetic diversity of a baramin soon after the Flood. Here, published mitochondrial DNA sequences from members of three baramins (Equidae, Felidae, and Canidae) are evaluated. For each group, the results show that the diversity of the aDNA sequences fall within the range of modern sequences, thus implying that the modern sequence diversity must have already been established by the time the fossils were formed soon after the Flood. Comparisons to outgroups also indicate that transversion substitutions might be a means of distinguishing different baramins

A Review of the Last Decade of Creation Biology Research on Natural History, 2003-2012

Creationists and evolutionists radically differ in their proposed natural history, with creationists looking to sudden origins at creation and the Fall and to catastrophes at the Flood and Babel to explain features of the living world. Over the past decade creationists have made important advances in understanding this unique, biological natural history. The emerging model proposes the existence of created kinds, phylogenetically – and possibly morphologically – discontinuous from other created kinds. Within these created kinds, species developed very rapidly after the Flood, possibly by a mechanism of directed mutations involving transposable elements. The development of natural evil, while partially explicable by degeneration, is now understood to be a designed part of God’s curse on creation. Though a full understanding of design has not been achieved, creationists have expanded our understanding of God’s original plan for the organisms that occupy His creation

Australopithecus Sediba, Statistical Baraminology, and Challenges to Identifying the Human Holobaramin

The recent discovery and description of Australopithecus sediba proved controversial among creationists after Wood (2010) broke with the majority and proclaimed it human based on an analysis of craniodental characters using statistical baraminology. Since creationists often judge postcranial characters more significant than craniodental characters, a re-analysis of the hominin holobaramin was undertaken using 78 postcranial characters published by Berger, et al. (2010) and 25 characters of the hand published by Kivell, et al. (2011). These character sets, along with subsets of the original craniodental characters evaluated by Wood (2010) were used to calculate baraminic distance correlations (BDC) and multidimensional scaling (MDS). The inconclusive results raise questions about the value of using correlation and clustering methods to identify holobaramins

A Survey of Cenozoic Mammal Baramins

To expand the sample of statistical baraminology studies, we identified 80 datasets sampled from 29 mammalian orders, from which we performed 82 separate analyses. We analyzed each dataset with standard statistical baraminology techniques: baraminic distance correlation (BDC) and multidimensional scaling (MDS). We evaluated the BDC and MDS results from each character set for potential continuity and discontinuity. We found evidence of holobaramins in 57 of the 82 analyses (69.5%). Of the remaining character sets, three showed evidence of monobaramins and 22 (26.8%) were inconclusive. These results are consistent with previous efforts to test the discontinuity hypothesis, which found that a majority of character sets showed evidence of holobaramins. Tentative holobaramins represent 57 taxonomic groups, many of which have not been previously analyzed by statistical baraminology. Together with previously identified holobaramins, this study increases the number of putative mammal holobaramins to 64

A Creationist Perspective on the Origin of Pathogenic Vibrio Cholerae and Vibrio Cholerae Toxin (CT)

Many microbial pathogens and toxins exhibit elaborate mechanisms of engagement with mammalian cell structure and cell biochemistry. For instance, some toxins gain entrance into cells using exquisite secretory devices and, once inside cells, interact in very specific ways with intracellular membrane trafficking factors and cell signaling components. Because many microbial pathogens and their associated toxins appear to be created to interact with human cells, they are difficult to explain within the context of a “good creation.” In this paper, we examine the pathogenic role of V. cholerae, the cholera toxin (CT) and other associated virulence factors, and their origin in the context of the creation model. We examine the literature and use methods of genomic comparison to investigate the origin of CT and the corresponding origin of cholera. Our results are consistent with a model of nonpathogenic function for CT prior and even after the Fall. We suggest that the originally beneficial function of CT has been subsequently modified by the presence of phages and mobile genetic elements

Baraminological Analysis of Jurassic and Cretaceous Avialae

The baraminic status of Jurassic and Cretaceous Avialae was evaluated using statistical baraminology. Baraminic distance correlation (BDC) and three dimensional multidimensional scaling (MDS) was applied to six previously published character matrices. The results reveal discontinuities between most Avialae and the Deinonychosauria (Troodontidae + Dromaeosauridae) and little evidence of continuity between modern birds and dinosaurs, suggesting that recent claims that statistical baraminology supports the evolution of birds from dinosaurs are misplaced. Nevertheless, we did find positive BDC and MDS clustering of some Avialae and deinonychosaurs in four of our analyses, suggesting that at least some Jurassic and Cretaceous Avialae may be clustered with dinosaurs. This observation raises the interesting philosophical question: what is a bird

Functional Imaging of the Outer Retinal Complex using High Fidelity Imaging Retinal Densitometry

We describe a new technique, high fidelity Imaging Retinal Densitometry (IRD), which probes the functional integrity of the outer retinal complex. We demonstrate the ability of the technique to map visual pigment optical density and synthesis rates in eyes with and without macular disease. A multispectral retinal imaging device obtained precise measurements of retinal reflectance over space and time. Data obtained from healthy controls and 5 patients with intermediate AMD, before and after photopigment bleaching, were used to quantify visual pigment metrics. Heat maps were plotted to summarise the topography of rod and cone pigment kinetics and descriptive statistics conducted to highlight differences between those with and without AMD. Rod and cone visual pigment synthesis rates in those with AMD (v = 0.043 SD 0.019 min-1 and v = 0.119 SD 0.046 min-1, respectively) were approximately half those observed in healthy controls (v = 0.079 SD 0.024 min-1 for rods and v = 0.206 SD 0.069 min-1 for cones). By mapping visual pigment kinetics across the central retina, high fidelity IRD provides a unique insight into outer retinal complex function. This new technique will improve the phenotypic characterisation, diagnosis and treatment monitoring of various ocular pathologies, including AMD

The Remote Observatories of the Southeastern Association for Research in Astronomy (SARA)

We describe the remote facilities operated by the Southeastern Association for Research in Astronomy (SARA), a consortium of colleges and universities in the US partnered with Lowell Observatory, the Chilean National Telescope Allocation Committee, and the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias. SARA observatories comprise a 0.96 m telescope at Kitt Peak, Arizona; one of 0.6 m aperture on Cerro Tololo, Chile; and the 1 m Jacobus Kapteyn Telescope at the Roque de los Muchachos, La Palma, Spain. All are operated using standard VNC or Radmin protocols communicating with on-site PCs. Remote operation offers considerable flexibility in scheduling, allowing long-term observational cadences difficult to achieve with classical observing at remote facilities, as well as obvious travel savings. Multiple observers at different locations can share a telescope for training, educational use, or collaborative research programs. Each telescope has a CCD system for optical imaging, using thermoelectric cooling to avoid the need for frequent local service, and a second CCD for offset guiding. The Arizona and Chile telescopes also have fiber-fed echelle spectrographs. Switching between imaging and spectroscopy is very rapid, so a night can easily accommodate mixed observing modes. We present some sample observational programs. For the benefit of other groups organizing similar consortia, we describe the operating structure and principles of SARA, as well as some lessons learned from almost 20 years of remote operations

The Remote Observatories of the Southeastern Association for Research in Astronomy (SARA)

We describe the remote facilities operated by the Southeastern Association for Research in Astronomy (SARA), a consortium of colleges and universities in the US partnered with Lowell Observatory, the Chilean National Telescope Allocation Committee, and the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias. SARA observatories comprise a 0.96 m telescope at Kitt Peak, Arizona; one of 0.6 m aperture on Cerro Tololo, Chile; and the 1 m Jacobus Kapteyn Telescope at the Roque de los Muchachos, La Palma, Spain. All are operated using standard VNC or Radmin protocols communicating with on-site PCs. Remote operation offers considerable flexibility in scheduling, allowing long-term observational cadences difficult to achieve with classical observing at remote facilities, as well as obvious travel savings. Multiple observers at different locations can share a telescope for training, educational use, or collaborative research programs. Each telescope has a CCD system for optical imaging, using thermoelectric cooling to avoid the need for frequent local service, and a second CCD for offset guiding. The Arizona and Chile telescopes also have fiber-fed echelle spectrographs. Switching between imaging and spectroscopy is very rapid, so a night can easily accommodate mixed observing modes. We present some sample observational programs. For the benefit of other groups organizing similar consortia, we describe the operating structure and principles of SARA, as well as some lessons learned from almost 20 years of remote operations

Corrigendum: The Remote Observatories of the Southeastern Association for Research in Astronomy (SARA)

Bill Gray of Project Pluto brought to our attention an error of 0.03° in the listed latitude of our Kitt Peak telescope. While correcting the table where this occurred, we also take the opportunity to update the instrument properties and weather statistics of our remote telescope