Responding to the Puddle Analogy
Does Quantum Mechanics Explain the Universe?

28:19 - Is There a Biochemical Anthropic Principle?

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Clear Thinking | 8 Aspirational Qualities of the Christian Mind, Part 2

Episode Description:
Join Fazale “Fuz” Rana and Jeff Zweerink 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.
 
ERVs and Embryo Development
For many people, the shared ERV (endogenous retrovirus) sequences in the human and great ape genomes evince common ancestry and an evolutionary origin for humanity. Yet, new discoveries about the physiological role of ERVs suggest another interpretation for why they appear in the human genome. In this episode, biochemist Fuz Rana discusses the latest insight into ERV molecular biology and explores the question, “Can a creation model explain the occurrence of ERV sequences in the human genome?”
References:
 
PODCAST LINK:
 
Endogenous Retroviruses Shape Pluripotency Specification in Mouse Embryos
 
Additional Resource:
Insights about Suppressyn Support Creation Model View of ERVs
 
 
YOUTUBE LINK:
 
Sergio de la Rosa et al., “Endogenous Retroviruses Shape Pluripotency Specification in Mouse Embryos,” https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.adk9394
 
Fazale Rana, “Insights about Suppressyn Support Creation Model View of ERVs,” https://reasons.org/explore/blogs/the-cells-design/insights-about-suppressyn-support-creation-model-view-of-ervs
 
 
Just the Right Amount of Water
Most people know that life depends on Earth’s oceans, but the continents play an equally critical role in Earth’s capacity to support life. However, a planet’s ability to have land relies on having just the right amount of water. Too little and there are no oceans at all but too much and the continents never rise above the ocean’s surface. One factor that influences the amount of surface water is the planet’s capacity to store water in its interior. Recent studies indicate that the ancient earth could store much less water than today. Therefore, doubling the amount of water on Earth would have prevented the formation of continents that rise above the oceans and stymied Earth’s capacity to support life.
 
References:
 
PODCAST LINK:
 
Constraining the Volume of Earth’s Early Oceans with a Temperature-Dependent Mantle Water Storage Capacity Model
 
YOUTUBE LINK:
 
Junjie Dong et al., “Constraining the Volume of Earth’s Early Oceans with a Temperature-Dependent Mantle Water Storage Capacity Model,” https://doi.org/10.1029/2020AV000323

Stars, Cells, and God | ERVs and Embryo Development and Just the Right Amount of Water

Clear Thinking | 8 Aspirational Qualities of the Christian Mind, Part 1

Join Jeff Zweerink and Josh Swamidass 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.
 
AI Abilities Emerging or Not?
One concern regarding the development of artificial intelligence (AI) relates to the emergence of unpredictable features that arise as the systems grow in scale. Researchers consider an “emergent ability” as something that the AI has routinely failed to accomplish but suddenly performs well as the system grows in size (either from hardware or software growth). A number of papers claiming emergent abilities populate scientific literature. However, a recent study shows that these “emergent” abilities often reflect poorly designed measurement metrics or insufficient statistics. Better metrics and statistics remove the indicators of emergence. In this episode, computational biologist and physician Josh Swamidass and astrophysicist Jeff Zweerink discuss the details surrounding this issue and offer some insights from a Christian perspective.
 
 
PODCAST LINK:
 
Are Emergent Abilities of Large Language Models a Mirage?
 
YOUTUBE LINK:
 
Rylan Schaeffer, Brando Miranda, and Sanmi Koyejo, “Are Emergent Abilities of Large Language Models a Mirage?,” https://arxiv.org/abs/2304.15004

Stars, Cells, and God | AI Abilities Emerging or Not?

Clear Thinking | Chemistry & Origin of Life: Interview with Steve Baertschi

Reasons to Believe Podcast

28:19 - Is There a Biochemical Anthropic Principle?

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