Stars, Cells, and God

Join biochemist Fazale “Fuz” Rana and astrophysicist Jeff Zweerink as they discuss new discoveries with theological and philosophical implications that point to the reality of God’s existence. Many anthropologists believe that the earliest modern humans’ production and interaction with cave art was a deeply spiritual experience. Interestingly, anthropologists often find children’s footprints and handprints associated with ancient cave art. But why? Archaeologists from the University of Tel Aviv argue that the earliest modern humans regarded children as liminal (transitional) agents between the physical and spiritual realms. In this episode, biochemist Fuz Rana explains how this insight can be marshaled to make a scientific case that human beings bear the image of God. Life’s abundance on Earth raises the question of whether other bodies in our solar system might host life. Besides Mars, proposed candidates include the moons Europa, Enceladus, and Titan because they have a large ocean underneath a surface layer of ice. Recently, scientists applied a model for life that considers metabolic pathways, moon conditions, and available chemical compounds to assess how much life Titan might host. Given reasonable values for these parameters, astrophysicist Jeff Zweerink explains how this model demonstrates that Titan might host a few kilograms of life in its ocean and what it means. LINKS & RESOURCES: Child in Time: Children as Liminal Agents in Upper Paleolithic Decorated Caves Saturn’s Moon Titan Could Harbor Life, but Only a Tiny Amount, Study Finds The Viability of Glycine Fermentation in Titan’s Subsurface Ocean

Join astrophysicists Hugh Ross and Jeff Zweerink as they discuss new discoveries with theological and philosophical implications that point to the reality of God’s existence. Engineers have designed two types of robotic hands: rigid ones that move precisely and can be carefully controlled, and soft ones that are flexible and resilient. Hugh Ross describes how these robotics, modeled after the human hand’s musculoskeletal system, can play a piano and pick up and twirl an egg without breaking it. The teleological argument, often expressed through fine-tuning, serves as a powerful way to point to the God of the Bible. However, Christians need to be diligent about keeping the specific examples up to date with the best scientific understanding. In this episode, Jeff Zweerink notes how we should use the cosmological constant to demonstrate both the power of the fine-tuning and the pitfalls to avoid when making the argument. LINKS AND RESOURCES: Biomimetic Rigid-Soft Finger Design for Highly Dexterous and Adaptive Robotic Hands Thinking About Evolution The Cosmological Constant

Join biochemist Fazale “Fuz” Rana and astrophysicist Hugh Ross as they discuss new discoveries with theological and philosophical implications that point to the reality of God’s existence. A team of German researchers discovered that genes located in bacterial chromosomes assume a precise order based on their function. Biochemist Fuz Rana explains why this discovery evinces a Creator’s role in the origin and design of life. Astrophysicist Hugh Ross comments on how the internet has blown up with blogs announcing astronomers have discovered signs of life on a distant planet called K2-18b. The reason for the excitement stems from a 99.7% probable detection of a molecule, dimethyl sulfide, in the planet’s atmosphere that might have been generated by living things. As an example, all of Earth’s dimethyl sulfide comes from marine microbes. However, several factors have been overlooked amidst the optimism: (1) Astronomers have found dimethyl sulfide in a comet and in the interstellar medium that’s indisputably nonbiological, (2) Astronomers question the detection, and (3) This distant planet and its host star’s physical characteristics rule out any possibility of physical life. Links and Resources: Most Bacterial Gene Families Are Biased Toward Specific Chromosomal Positions New Constraints on DMS and DMDS in the Atmosphere of K2-18b from JWST MIRI Signs of Life on a Distant Planet? Not So Fast, Say These Astronomers On the Abiotic Origin of Dimethyl Sulfide: Discovery of Dimethyl Sulfide in the Interstellar Medium Evidence for Abiotic Dimethyl Sulfide in Cometary Matter A Comprehensive Reanalysis of K2-18b’s JWST NIRISS+NIRSpec Transmission Spectrum Designed to the Core (chapters 9–11)

Join biochemist Fazale “Fuz” Rana and astrophysicist Jeff Zweerink as they discuss new discoveries with theological and philosophical implications that point to the reality of God’s existence. Scientists used CRISPR gene editing and modified in vitro fertilization techniques to create mice with two dads and no mother. How should Christians respond to these types of studies? Biochemist Fuz Rana discusses how this research team accomplished this feat and why scientists would do this work.  As scientists design new telescopes to search for habitable, or even inhabited, exoplanets, they also recognize that our searches may not find any signs of life. As they try to quantify what a lack of life measurements means, it benefits Christians to think about how we use the scientific data to argue for the truth of Christianity. Astrophysicist Jeff Zweerink examines what the science shows and how to use the current scientific data to argue for God’s robust design of Earth.  Links and Resources: Adult Bi-Paternal Offspring Generated Through Direct Modification of Imprinted Genes in Mammals    What If We Find Nothing in Our Search for Life Beyond Earth?   What If We Find Nothing? Bayesian Analysis of the Statistical Information of Null Results in Future Exoplanet Habitability and Biosignature Surveys

Join biochemist Fazale “Fuz” Rana and astrophysicist Hugh Ross as they discuss discoveries with theological and philosophical implications that point to the reality of God’s existence. Is it possible to mount a scientific defense showing that humans uniquely bear God’s image as Scripture teaches? In this episode, biochemist Fuz Rana discusses recent research from MIT that estimates the timing of the origin of human language and demonstrates that these results support the biblical account of humanity’s beginning. Astrophysicist Hugh Ross discusses the feasibility of obtaining solar power from space. Researchers have devised a system where large satellites collect and convert solar power to electricity and transmit the electricity to Earth wirelessly. Previously, the system costs were prohibitive. Technological advances—lightweight collectors that can be folded and unraveled robotically and dynamically controlled for high precision and stability—now make space solar power an economically viable, fossil-fuel-free, continuously available solution for humanity’s energy needs. Links and Resources: Linguistic Capacity Was Present in the Homo sapiens Population 135 Thousand Years Ago Rigid-Flexible Coupling Dynamics Modeling and Fractional-Order Sliding Mode Control for Large Space Solar Power Stations Wireless Power Transfer in Space Using Flexible, Lightweight, Coherent Arrays A Comprehensive Review on Space Solar Power Satellite: An Idiosyncratic Approach Weathering Climate Change: A Fresh Approach

Join astrophysicists Hugh Ross and Jeff Zweerink as they discuss new discoveries with theological and philosophical implications pointing to the reality of God’s existence. Astrophysicist Hugh Ross discusses the James Webb Space Telescope’s confirmation that a galaxy called JADES-GS-z14-0 is the farthest one ever found. We’re seeing it as it looked just 291 million years after the big bang—13.48 billion light-years from us. By analyzing light from the galaxy, scientists found signs of a specific type of oxygen (called OIII), and hints of dust. The presence of heavy elements in the galaxy means that many massive stars must have formed just 200 to 290 million years after the universe began. Does the presence of these metals challenge the big bang? Without Earth’s magnetic field, cosmic rays would sputter our atmosphere into space. Yet, scientists recently found that the magnetic field virtually collapsed for more than 20 million years as life transitioned from single-celled to complex, multicellular creatures. Astrophysicist Jeff Zweerink explains how detailed studies of Earth’s magnetic field direction and strength, coupled with measurements of the Earth’s core and the history of life, provide compelling evidence that Earth’s capacity to support life requires critical events occurring at precisely the right time. Such evidence points to a God who fashioned and developed our planet so life can thrive—particularly human life. Links and Resources: Photometric Detection at 7.7 µm of a Galaxy Beyond Redshift 14 with JWST/MIRI Spectroscopic Confirmation of Two Luminous Galaxies at a Redshift of 14 Earth’s Magnetic Dipole Collapses, and Life Explodes Is the Big Bang Theory in Trouble?

Join astrophysicists Hugh Ross and Jeff Zweerink as they discuss new discoveries with theological and philosophical implications pointing to the reality of God’s existence. For decades, young-earth creationists have used the existence of comets to argue that the earth can’t be a few billion years old. At first glance, this argument appears to have merit because comets are relatively short-lived phenomena. However, a closer examination of how comets formed and acquired orbits that bring them close to the Sun supports an old Earth. Even more importantly, cometary research provides strong evidence of God’s design in preparing Earth to support human life. Links and Resources: What 2024’s Bright Comet May Reveal About the Age of the Solar System Size and Albedo of the Largest Detected Oort-Cloud Object: Comet C/2014 UN271 (Bernardinelli-Bernstein)

Join biochemist Fazale “Fuz” Rana and astrophysicist Jeff Zweerink as they discuss new discoveries with theological and philosophical implications pointing to the reality of God’s existence. Can biotechnologists resurrect animals from extinction? Researchers from Colossal Bioscience have moved one step closer to making the woolly mammoth’s de-extinction a reality by gene-editing mice to exhibit woolly mammoth features. In this episode, biochemist Fuz Rana discusses this work and offers a Christian perspective on de-extinctions. In the late 1960s, scientists theoretically worked out how to build a new class of materials that use the structure of the material (rather than the substance) to manipulate sound waves. It took another three decades to develop the technology to design and build them. Yet we find numerous examples of animals utilizing these novel-to-human materials. In this episode, we’ll discuss the science behind the durability of the mantis shrimp’s dactyl club (punching fist), which it uses to deliver blows without harming itself, and highlight the apologetic significance of these well-designed features found in nature. LINKS & RESOURCES: Rui Chen et al., “Multiplex-Edited Mice Recapitulate Woolly Mammoth Hair Phenotypes,” https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.03.03.641227v1 Pablo D. Zavattieri, “Naturally Twisted to Sieve Stress,” https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adv3100 A. Alderete et al., “Does the Mantis Shrimp Pack a Phononic Shield?,” https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adq7100

Join biochemist Fazale “Fuz” Rana and astrophysicist Hugh Ross as they discuss discoveries with theological and philosophical implications pointing to the reality of God’s existence. In this episode, biochemist Fuz Rana describes recent work from researchers at Rockefeller University. The researchers edited specific mouse genes to express the human version of the protein NOVA1, and they believe their research explains human language capability. Their findings add evidence for the exceptional nature of human beings and, consequently, the image of God. Hugh discusses how four astrobiologists assert that intelligent life is the natural outcome of a hospitable environment. They note that the origin of life and every advance in Earth’s life occurred when physical and chemical conditions first permitted their appearance. Hence, they conclude that these appearances of life must be naturalistically straightforward and rapid. The team proposed a test of their hypothesis: exoplanets with the necessary physical and chemical conditions for each “hard step” in the origin and history of life will prove to be common and, in each case, chemical signatures for that life step will be found. Do the findings support their hypothesis?   Links & Resources:  A Humanized NOVA1 Splicing Factor Alters Mouse Vocal Communications A Reassessment of the “Hard-Steps” Model for the Evolution of Intelligent Life Who Was Adam? A Creation Model Approach to the Origin of Humanity  

Join biochemist Fazale “Fuz” Rana and physician Steve Willing as they discuss discoveries with theological and philosophical implications pointing to the reality of God’s existence.  In this episode, Fuz and Steve critique a recent Nature Human Behaviour article published by researchers at The Trevor Project claiming that anti-transgender laws increase suicides in young people with gender dysphoria. Is this claim valid? What is the relationship between suicide and gender dysphoria, and how does this discussion relate to the gospel? Links and Resources: State-Level Anti-Transgender Laws Increase Past-Year Suicide Attempts Among Transgender and Non-Binary Young People in the USA Gender Identity White Papers