According to evolutionists, the early family of mammals called Diatomyidae, has been extinct for eleven million years. Of course, as creationists, we do not accept this dating. This Diatomyidae family included rat-like creatures with long skulls, a furry tail and rounded ears.

Then, in 1996, a wildlife-survey team bought some strange looking animals in a meat market in Laos. This led to the discovery of living Laotian rock rats. These animals were placed into a family that includes porcupines and guinea pigs. Others argued that it belonged to a new family. The debate sparked a more detailed look at its DNA and bone structure by researchers in five countries. The results ruled out any possibility that the rats were related to guinea pigs. But the rock rat’s characteristic long skull, furred tail and round ears seem to settle the matter. The Diatomyidae are not extinct and the Laotian rock rat is indeed a member of this family. This discovery of thought-to-be extinct families happens frequently enough that such families are called Lazarus taxon or, more popularly, “living fossils.”

So, when evolutionists proclaim that this or that creature or family has been extinct for millions of years, it takes only one living specimen to disprove it. Furthermore, many creatures do not appear in the recent fossil record and this puts the entire interpretation into question.

Prayer: Lord, I yield all my wisdom to Your greater wisdom, and ask for Your Holy Spirit to grant me heavenly wisdom. Amen.

References: Science News, 4/28/07, p. 260, S. Milius, “Living Fossil.”

A parasitic worm that matures on land, but must breed under the water has some remarkable abilities to make this difficult trick possible.

The worm grows to maturity on dry land, but must return to a body of water to find a mate and breed. It grows inside insects like crickets. The insects it infests are typically not aquatic, making this problem number one. When breeding time comes, the worm causes the insect to move in such an uncontrolled manner that it eventually ends up in the water. Once in the water, it takes the worm about 10 minutes to escape from the insect. However, an insect struggling on the surface of the water is very attractive to a hungry fish. This is problem number two. But if the worm can’t wriggle free of the insect before it is eaten, the worm has more abilities to put into play. The worm inside an eaten insect continues to wriggle until it finally escapes through the fish’s mouth or gills. Scientists studying the worm reported observing six escapes each from frogs and perch and more than 20 escapes from trout.

God has marvelously provided for this little worm. But then, this is easy for Him, considering He has provided us with escape from sin, death and Satan through the innocent death of His Son, Jesus Christ.

Prayer: Thank You for providing for all Your creatures, Father, and especially for providing me salvation in Jesus Christ. Amen.

References: Science News, 4/22/06, p. 252, “Worm Can Crawl Out of Predator.”

Birds do it. Whales do it. Now, it appears that male mice do it. They all sing!

Scientists have long known that mice produce ultrasound. Their pitch is about two octaves above what we can hear. For example, when mouse pups lose track of mom they begin to cry so that mom can find them. Researchers carried out investigations to see whether there is any structure to the sounds that adult mice make. They did this by recording the vocalizations of 45 male mice. Then they slowed down the recordings to study them. The researchers found distinct syllables at about ten syllables per second. In addition, their “voices” also rise and fall in pitch at varying rates. The research then found that certain syllables were repeated, creating phrasing sequences that sound very much like music. The researchers compare the mouse vocalizations to the songs sung by whales and birds. While other scientists recognize that the mouse sounds are not random, they question whether they should be called “song”.

We know that music is a gift from God. It appears that God has been generous with His gift of music, and just possibly has even extended this to the animal kingdom. However, only we humans have the privilege of praising Him with words and music for His gift of salvation through His Son, Jesus Christ.

Prayer: I praise You, Father, for the gift and beauty of music and for sharing it with so much of Your creation. Amen.

References: Science News, 11/5/05, p. 293, B. Harder “Beyond Falsetto.”

Insects offer some novel designs. For example, they can have ears on their stomachs, wings or legs. Now scientists at the University of Zurich in Switzerland have discovered an even more novel arrangement in the fruit fly.

Scientists have been aware for many years that fruit flies can respond to sound. Sound plays an important part in their mating rituals. However, scientists were unsure just how the fruit fly’s hearing worked. They also knew that their antennae, known singularly as arista, had something to do with the way the fruit fly can hear sound. Because an arista is so small, only 300 microns long, scientists have until recently, lacked the ability to take the fine measurements necessary to find out what is really going on. Now all that has been overcome and we learn that the base of the arista, which also senses smells, actually turns each arista toward the incoming sound. In short, the fruit fly actually rotates its nose so that it can hear better. Researchers have since found a similar arrangement in related flies. They suspect that such an arrangement will be found in several related species.

As amazing as this arrangement is, God’s greatest wisdom is seen in His plan of salvation. Through His Son, Jesus Christ, He has gained the victory of sin, death and Satan for mankind.

Prayer: I praise You, heavenly Father, as I see Your wisdom all around me, especially in Your plan of salvation for me. Amen.

References: Science News, 6/23/01, p. 391, S. Milius, “Fruit Flies Hear by Spinning Their Noses.”

While many people recognize the virtues of feeding their infants human breast milk, science is still learning its amazing secrets. Although cow’s milk contains many substances found in human milk, it does not contain certain very specific substances necessary to protect the infant.

Human milk not only helps protect the infant’s digestive system by discouraging bad bacteria, it also introduces and encourages good bacteria. In fact, some of the good bacteria that protect the infant are found in no other place on earth. Oligosaccharides in milk kill bad bacteria in a way in which the bad bacteria can never develop immunity. Lactoferrin in human milk can suppress inflammation. It also boosts the immune system and kills viruses, bad bacteria and fungi. Not only does the mother’s milk pass mom’s immunities on to the infant, the milk’s oligosaccharides give infants immunity to germs the mother has never even encountered. The protein alphalactalbumin, in an acid environment such as the digestive tract, can even reduce warts and kills cancer cells. So far, alphalactalbumin has been shown to effectively kill forty different kinds of cancer cells. Use of this protein in preliminary clinical trials to treat bladder cancer has been promising.

God has given us so many good things, we are still only discovering them. But the greatest of His gifts is salvation through His Son, Jesus Christ.

Prayer: Dear Father, thank You for all Your good gifts, especially the forgiveness of sins, eternal life and salvation. Amen.

References: Science News, 12/9/06, pp. 376-378, Julie J. Rehmeyer, “Milk Therapy.”

Evolutionists claim that human intelligence began to develop when early man invented language. Genesis tells us that human language began when Adam named the animals. Names, that is, nouns are the first requirement for language but this must be preceded by intelligence. Creationists have always viewed both language and intelligence as gifts from God.

New research disproves the old evolutionary idea. Of course, we use language to test human intelligence using, say, a series of cards. Researchers at Columbia University did something similar with rhesus macaques. They sat the monkeys in front of computers with touch screens. The screens showed seven photographs that were not in sequential order. After learning how to place the photographs in order, the monkeys did just that for a banana pellet. This task involves both memory and logic. The monkeys quickly became good at ordering the photos. As they were shown new pictures they showed that they could apply what they had learned to new problems. What’s more, they learned the task as quickly as a control group made up of college students!

Since the monkeys in this experiment don’t use language, and they clearly possess memory and logic, language cannot be the source of our intelligence. A better explanation is that both language and intelligence are the gifts of God, given us by the Word Who created us.

Prayer: Father, thank You for the gifts of language and intelligence. Help me to always use these gifts to Your glory. Amen.

References: Discover, 6/03, p. 13, Jocelyn Selim, “The Smart, Speechless Types.”

The largest flower in the world is a bright red-orange color and, according to its DNA, is related to the poinsettia. That relationship might make you suspect that world’s largest flower would be beautiful. But you probably wouldn’t want the flower, called the rafflesia, growing in your garden.

The largest of this species has flower buds the size of a basketball. When it opens, the flower is three feet across. Its petals not only look like big slabs of meat but the flower smells like rotting meat. The result is a rather ugly flower that you wouldn’t want around. That bad smell attracts the carrion-eating insects that pollinate it. The flower looks so strange that when they were first discovered, scientists debated whether they were flowering plants or fungi. If this is not all strange enough, rafflesias have no true roots or leaves. They make their living as parasites growing on other plants. This makes them so difficult to grow that only four botanical gardens in the world have done it successfully.

The rafflesia’s beauty lies not in its appearance, but in its amazing design features. Little about its design seems to be helpful for survival, as evidenced by how difficult it is to grow. This fact, of course, works against evolution’s claim that the living things we see are the survivors of the fittest.

Prayer: Father, I praise Your unlimited creativity and the care You provide to all of Your creatures. Amen.

References: Science News, 1/13/07, p. 21, S. Milius, “Biggest Bloom.”

Try using superglue in wet conditions and you’ll find that the glue is not so super. Even epoxy doesn’t work well in water. Scientists finally decided to turn to the lowly mussel to learn how to make better glues for use in wet environments.

Mussels manufacture their glue under water, yet the glue can withstand the force of thousand pounds per square inch. Mussel glue will even stick to Teflon! The mussel begins by making the glue in two parts, each part of the glue is made by a separate gland. One gland produces proteins that are like resin. The other gland makes the hardeners. When these are mixed, they harden into a strand in only a couple of minutes. The mussel will make many of these strands as it fastens itself to a rock. As more of these strands are made, they begin to cross-link with one another, greatly adding to the strength of the bond. The mussel makes between five and ten different kinds of protein strands, carefully limiting the cross-linking to produce the greatest strength. Without this mix, the bond would be brittle and easily break.

God’s creation is marvelously designed. His designs are still teaching us how to do even simple things better. The theory of evolution depends upon random chance events that even if believable can teach us nothing.

Prayer: Father, I stand in awe of Your handiwork and rejoice in Your salvation. Amen.

References: Discover, 2/03, pp. 22-23, Alan Burdick, “Cement on the Half Shell.”

In past Creation Moments we have told how certain plants release aromatics known as pheromones when attacked. By this means they communicate to others of its species or even to animals. These discoveries led more researchers to enter this field and a great deal is now known about what can only be called plant communication.

Researchers report that this plant communication is more widespread than thought, in fact, they suspect that it is almost universal among plants. What’s more, plants not only communicate with their own species, but with other plants and even with animals. Some, like the wild tobacco, even know not to communicate when the intended recipient of the message is not around. It does not emit its anti-caterpillar scent until night time when nocturnal moths are liable to be around to lay eggs on them. Should the moths lay eggs on the plants the plant will signal to an all-purpose insect ally to eat the eggs. That same ally will also eat other insect pests that harm the plant. Scientists say that not only are the plants’ messages specific, it appears that an individual plant will vary its message based on its experience.

That plants even communicate with other species is a wonder that cannot be explained by chance mutations. That their messages are so specific bespeaks the intelligence of their Creator.

Prayer: Father, I thank You that I can call out to You when I need help and You will help me because I am Yours in Christ. Amen.

References: Discover, 4/02, pp. 46-51, Sharman Apt Russel, “Talking Plants.”

How long does it take for large mineral formations to form? While evolutionists say millions of years, creationists assume that most of the rock formations we see formed relatively quickly as the waters of the Genesis flood receded.

In 1903, someone pounded an iron pipe into the ground in what is today, Hot Springs State Park. The mineral-rich water beneath the ground immediately began flowing out of the pipe. As the warm mineral water evaporated, the minerals that were left behind, deposited as travertine. Within just a few years, there was a mound of travertine as high as the pipe and tapering to the ground. Today, the water has stopped flowing. What remains today is a mound of minerals sheeted in pastel curtains over 20 feet high and more than 15 feet across.

The Bible’s description of the fountains of the deep being broken up at the beginning of the Genesis flood suggests huge hot water geysers. Much of that water would undoubtedly have been like the mineral-rich waters of today’s hot springs. This mineral water then mixed with the sediment created by the violence of the flood. As the sediment finally settled out and the waters dried up, the remaining minerals would help quickly bind the sediment together into the sedimentary rock layers we commonly see today. Those long evolutionary ages would be unnecessary.

Prayer: Father, I thank You that in Christ, you do not judge me as You judged those in Noah’s day. Amen.

References: Creation, 9-11/05, p. 56, Tas Walker, “A Monstrous Mound of ... Minerals!”

Many people like to have a nice perfume around the house. They brew a potpourri of mint, citronella, lavender and similar fragrant plants to make home smell more like home. But humans aren’t the only creatures that appreciate a nice smell around their house.

During field studies scientists have found that a small bird called the Corsican Blue Tit also like to have a pleasant-smelling nest. This was an unexpected discovery, made quite accidentally when one researcher discovered various sprigs of aromatic plants in dozens of nests. When she starts to lay her eggs, the female bird will begin keeping her nest stocked with fresh, fragrant herbs until all the eggs hatch. The birds prefer yarrow, citronella, mint and lavender. When researchers secretly removed these herbs from the nests that they were observing, the parent birds were quick to replace the fragrant sprigs with others. It also turns out that these herbs also have disinfectant and anti-pest characteristics. They inhibit bacteria and fungi and act as mosquito repellents. Rather than simply beautifying their nests or adding a nice perfume, the birds are also protecting their offspring from diseases and pests. You might wonder, Who taught them to do this?

As the Bible says, herbs are a blessing from God. They are not just a blessing to man, but also to many of God’s creatures.

Prayer: Lord, I thank You for all of the blessings You have given us. I especially thank You that You sent Your Son to save us. Amen.

References: Discover, 11/02, p. 13, Josie Glausiusz, “Eau D’Oiseau.”

When we read biology textbooks or watch television programs about science and discovery we are led to believe that evolution is not a theory but a scientifically established fact. We are told with great confidence how life first arose on the ancient earth, or when each species first evolved and the precise evolutionary relationships between different creatures. And, of course, the impression is given that all of this is established beyond question.

But is that what scientists themselves are telling each other behind the closed walls of academia? In 2005, the scientific journal, Science, celebrated its 125th anniversary. As part of their celebration, they listed 125 questions that science has not answered. One of the questions was, “How and where did life on earth arise?” Apparently scientists have not established the origin of life as a fact. Another question they said that science has not answered was, “What determines species diversity?” If this question has not been answered by science, how can science describe the history of the various species and their evolutionary relationships?

It would seem that the origin and evolution of life are not scientifically established facts, despite how these are portrayed in textbooks and on television. These Godless and fraudulent claims made for what is still the theory of evolution should not be allowed to deceive us and our children.

Prayer: Father, I thank You for Your revealed truth in Holy Scripture. Guide us so that none are misled by the world. Amen.

References: World, 7/23/05, p. 30, “Unanswered Science Questions.”

Laughing is good for you even if it does begin with the release of adrenaline and other stress hormones.

Whether you are tickled or reacting to a good joke, at least seven different centers in the brain react in various ways. Your response begins with the release of stress hormones. Your normal breathing rhythm gets interrupted and various neurotransmitters, including dopamine are released. And, yes, your brain also interprets the tickle so that you cannot tickle yourself since your brain knows when your own fingers are involved. Scientists also believe that as you begin laughing, your saliva glands begin to secrete extra immune compounds. Antibodies and virus killing T-cells are also released in larger doses. Your heartbeats also increase and your blood pressure goes up to support the muscle spasms that result from your laugh. Those muscle spasms are actually a good aerobic exercise. In fact, one minute of a good laugh is said to be as good as ten minutes of exercise on a rowing machine!

Besides promoting social bonds, laughing is indeed good for you in many ways. Tickling is common way that parents bond with their young children. And wholesome humor can cheer the heart and raise the spirits. Moreover, while laughing appears to have no evolutionary advantage, it is easily explained as a gift of God to raise our spirits.

Prayer: Father, I thank You for the gift of laughter. Help me to use humor and laughing in a wholesome way. Amen.

References: Discover, 4/03, pp. 62-69, Steve Johnson “Laughter.”

According to modern thinking, intelligence is a product of several factors. Of course, the most important requirement is that the creature must be high on the evolutionary tree. Intelligence is also related to life span, the longer the better, and the fact that they are social creatures.

However, don’t tell this to a group of creatures who are considered very low on the evolutionary tree, for they have very short life spans and are usually solitary. Various studies are showing that octopuses, cousin to the lowly clam, are among the most intelligent creatures on earth. Researchers have found that octopuses not only learn how to solve problems like mazes, but remember what they learn. They report that at one marine lab, some octopuses would sneak out of their tanks at night to eat fish in other tanks. But more indicative of intelligence is the fact that octopuses show personality. Different individuals may, for example, react to an unfamiliar item with curiosity, fear, or even by attacking it. Another indication of intelligence is play. Octopuses will play with floating objects in their tanks in much the same way as a child will play with floating toys in the tub.

None of the traditional evolutionary explanations for intelligence apply to the octopus. Actually, none of those explanations apply to any creature, since all received their intelligence from our Creator.

Prayer: Father, I thank You for intelligence, help me to use it wisely to number my days on earth. Amen.

References: Discover, 10/03, pp. 46-51, Eric Scigliano, “Through the Eye of an Octopus.”

The dodder is a very unusual plant and is known as one of the ten worst weeds found in the United States. A newly sprouted dodder seed does not bother to grow roots. Rather, it sprouts a tendril that grows out, looking for other plants. It has, at most, a week to find a plant from which to steal water and nutrients.

The dodder is a parasite and while it does not kill its victims, it will take enough water and nutrition to stunt their growth. The dodder actually costs California tomato growers $4 million dollars a year in losses. Researchers found that the species of dodder that causes most trouble to tomato plants actually “sniffs out” its victims. Scientists knew that plants emit pheromones or scents unique to each species. The researchers gave a sprouting dodder seed a choice of targets to grow toward, including a tomato plant. When the dodder seed sprouted it immediately sent a tendril out to the tomato. In a more rigorous test, researchers connected possible targets in separate enclosures to the sprouting dodder with curved tubes. The dodder still found the tomato plant.

The dodder has no nervous system and scientist’s marvel at what it can do. Rather, they should be marveling at what our Creator can do in providing for the needs of all living things.

Prayer: Father, I thank You for supplying our daily bread as well as our eternal salvation. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

References: Science News, 9/30/06, p. 214, S. Milius, “Scent Stalking.”