By John Roberts, September 1, 2006

Last year I reported that dinosaur soft tissue (such as blood, DNA, and biomolecules) had been recovered from a T. rex dug up in the state of Montana.  This discovery has now been reviewed, validated, and accepted by the scientific community; although they are doing there best to suppress the story in hopes the public will forget about it. 

On a scale of one to ten this story would be a ten!  This is a story that needs to be told over and over again until it becomes common knowledge.

This is on a par with uncovering Noah's Ark, finding the remains of the Philistine giant Goliath, recovering the Ten Commandments carved on stone with the finger of God, recovering an alien space ship or finding life on Mars for that matter.

Just in case you missed it the first time, here are the pictures showing de-mineralized fragments of tissues lining the marrow cavity of a Tyrannosaurus rex femur.

The tissue is flexible, resilient, and when stretched (arrow) returns to its original shape.

T. rex vessel fragment showing detail of branching pattern and structures morphologically consistent with endothelial cell nuclei (arrows) in vessel wall.

It's not very often that evidence surfaces that can resolve a hotly debated issue such as the origin of life.  This discovery does however.

Evolutionists claim that T. rex died out and or evolved about 65 million years ago on a supercontinent which eventually split up to form today's seven continents.  But the discovery of T. rex soft tissue proves this theory wrong.

Believe it or not it is very common for scientists to tout a theory as scientific fact for generations only to change their minds at a later date.  For example, scientists have just decided to remove Pluto from the list of planets and add several others to the list.  (No surprise to me, I always knew there would be twelve planets revolving around our Sun because the Sun represents God and the planets the tribes of Israel.)

This illustrates the creditability gap that exists within the scientific community.  The Bible is the same today as it was the day it was written.  Science flip flops as often as our politicians on any given issue.

People don't understand that science can not tell you how their theories of evolution and natural selection supposedly work because they don't know, they have never been observed in nature; no wonder, that's because they don't exist in nature.  But the longevity of soft tissue is another matter.

Soft tissue has been widely studied and the data is conclusive and unlike evolution, observable.  Soft tissue self destructs quickly after its host or container dies.  It absorbs radiation quickly and begins to break down.

All the data on this issue is in complete agreement, soft tissue will break down in a matter of thousands of years under any condition, and environmental factors are unable to inhibit the process to any significant degree.  The result of this is that soft tissue can survive at most a few ten thousands of years.

The bottom line is it not impossible, but statistically highly improbable that T. rex blood cells could retain their shape, structure, elasticity, and general good condition for 65 million years.

In layman terms, it is more probable that an ice cream cone can survive intact for a million years without melting, under the mid day sun with triple digit temperatures, than it is for T. rex soft tissue to survive fresh as a daisy for a million years.

A rational person must admit that this debate about evolution and natural selection is over until evolutionists can proved scientific evidence that soft tissue can survive for 65 million years.

I understand that evolution has been a religion and a crutch to scientists, but they will just have to get over it.

The discovery of T. rex soft tissue once and for all proves that a T. rex was walking around Montana in our recent past.  And that proves without question that dinosaurs did not evolve.  Consequently life did not evolve but was created.

This is worth repeating.  The time has come to stop the dialogue over evolution.  In light of this discovery the old arguments for and against evolution are inconsequential.  We now know for certain that a T. rex was alive and walking around what's now the Hell Creek Formation in Montana a few thousand years ago.  That is a conclusive scientific fact.

Evolutionists can kick, scream and whine all they want.  And I will repeat this one more time, the debate is over until such time as science can provide concrete evidence that soft tissue can survive for 65 million years.

So here we are two years after the discovery and few people have even heard about it.  No wonder, almost nothing has been published on this story.  To understand why one need look no further than Discovery magazine.

In their April 2006 issue they ran a story titled, "Schweitzer's Dangerous Discovery."  A "dangerous discovery," that's an interesting way to characterize conclusive evidence that refutes Darwin.  Sounds like someone is in denial!

The article goes on to say, "it's a matter of FAITH among scientists that soft tissue can survive at most for a few tens of thousands of years, not the 65 million since T. rex walked."  Actually, it’s a matter of FACT among scientists that soft tissue can not survive 65 million years.

So what is going on here?  Clearly, the scientific community is attempting to downplay this story, characterizing Christians as jumping to conclusions and making way too much out of this in an effort to keep the theory of evolution alive.

That is perfectly understandable.  They have a lot invested in Darwinism and if you take that away form them they will be out of a job.  Darwinism is the foundation for thousands of PhD and other degree programs, tons of books, periodicals, reports, studies, and most importantly research grants. And that is the real crux of the matter.

If the theory of evolution is proven false then funding and research grants for scientists all over the globe would instantly dry up.  Even government agencies like NASA would be out of business.  So they view this discovery as a threat to their livelihood.

But suppressing the truth for ones own personal benefit is unethical.  Science is about uncovering truth, what ever that might be.  If science could prove that man was not created but evolved, or came to earth from another planet, I would accept it.  If the evidence proves that God created then science should in turn be willing to accept that as well.  But they won't.

To illustrate my point consider the story of a satellite that was launched to study the age of the universe and help scientists understand the "Big Bang."  When the data from the mission was analyzed it led to only one conclusion, the whole universe from one end to the other came into existence in a trillionth of a trillionth of a second.

That is an imperceptible amount of time.  So picture this, all the matter in the universe expanding from a microscopic pinhole to the outer reaches of space in a fraction of the time it would take for you to blink your eyes.  We are talking about unimaginable speeds here.

If matter could travel that fast how could it slow down in the vacuum of outer space, coalesce into stars and planets, and then change orientation and start moving and rotating in different directions, all in a trillionth of a trillionth of a second?

And I would like to know how scientists can keep a straight face when talking about a theory called the Big Bang?  Are these really the same people that claim to be too educated and intellectual to believe in God? "We don't believe in God, we believe in the Big Bang!"

The term Big Bang sounds like something a two-year-old blurted out.  "I heard a bang outside daddy, a botta boom bang, a really Big Bang."  "Wow, a Big Bang, that's great little Johnny, just the term to describe my PhD thesis on the origin or the universe!"

The problem is matter traveling faster than "Tackion Speed," or Warp Speed for you Treckies, from this so called Big Bang would still be traveling on and on beyond the visibility of even our most powerful telescopes.  Consequently, if the Big Bang theory were true the visual parts of our universe would be void of all matter, our solar system would not be here and we would not be here.

But we are here and our universe is full of matter, spinning, revolving, and traveling at various speeds and in every possible direction.  That is clearly not the result of a "botta boom Big Bang."  But the data from this satellite makes perfect sense when you compare it to the creation revelation given in Genesis.

A trillionth of a trillionth of a second is for all practical purposes instantaneous - like nothing is there one moment then you blink your eyes and everything is in its place. Clearly, the term Big Bang is a poor way to describe that process.  "God spoke and it was" is a much better fit, and it is fully compatible with this recent scientific data!

While touring the Smithsonian Natural History museum I noticed a new display attempting to explain away "Living Fossils."  But not a word about the T. rex tissue could be found anywhere.

I understand why the Smithsonian would be slow to react to a discovery like this T. rex soft tissue.  The National Museum of Natural History has 124 million objects displayed on two floors.  And next to each is an explanation which presents Earth's history through the context of theories like "the Big Bang, Evolution, Natural Selection and Continental Drift."

Remove those theories and you create a big problem for not just the Smithsonian but thousands of museums and other organizations around the globe.  This is no small matter.

Much of this problem was self induced when scientists insisted on calling these far out theories fact.  Just look up "evolution" on that very popular on-line encyclopedia and here is what you will find:

"The word evolution has been used to refer both to a fact and a theory."

"When evolution is used to describe a fact, it refers to the observations that populations of one species of organism do, over time, change into new species.  In this sense, evolution occurs whenever a new species of bacterium evolves that is resistant to antibiotics which had been lethal to prior strains."

"When evolution is used to describe a theory, it refers to an explanation for why and how the process of evolution (in the sense, for example, of "speciation") occurs."

In other words they are saying that evolution is a fact.  But they can't explain why and how it occurs.  They are asking us to accept it on faith because they can't prove it.  That sounds just like religion, not science.

Now to the truth, no one has ever observed a species of organism "evolve through natural selection" into a new species.  And there is absolutely no evidence that this has ever taken place.

The process by which bacterium becomes resistant to antibiotics is already hard coded into its DNA and controlled by hormones.  This process is called "metamorphosis," and it has nothing to do with natural selection or random mutations.

Metamorphosis is a biological process in invertebrates by which a creature physically develops after birth or hatching, and involves significant change in form as well as growth and differentiation.

Metamorphosis plays a very important role in the typical life cycle of lower life forms, such as bacterium, insects and amphibians.  It allows them to survive changing environments long enough to reproduce.  Larva transforming into butterflies is an example of this process.

The point being, the examples evolutionists use to support natural selection are in fact examples of metamorphoses, changes already programmed into DNA, and not random mutations or what evolutionists call natural selection.

Furthermore, it is totally untrue that random mutations in the DNA genetic code can alter the physical characteristics of an organism to give it a survival or reproductive advantage over its fellows, which will then be represented in the second generation more frequently than it was in the first generation.

For example, let's say a thousand deer are stuck on an island with a dwindling food supply.  Evolutionists say random mutations will over time transform that deer into a whale. That is in fact how they describe the origin of whales.

There are several obvious problems with this theory.  First, living organisms give birth to their own kind, their own species.  There has never been a case where one species gives rise to another.  A deer is always going to give birth to a deer and a whale to a whale.  And when different species mate, their offspring are unable to reproduce.

In addition, there is nothing in the fossil record to support the theory that one species can over time change into another.  Because of the limited time in which each species is reproductively active only a few genetic alterations can be passed down from one generation to another.  Consequently, it would take a trillion generations and mutations to transform a deer into a whale.  And those transitional forms are not in the fossil record.

But the biggest hole in the theory of natural selection is that random mutations in the DNA genetic code always result in sickness, disease, and death and not a survival or reproductive advantage.  If natural selection were true our parents would not pass on their harmful genetic mutations down to the next generation.

To explain this obvious problem with their theory evolutionists contend that every disease carries a benefit and that is why disease is passed on from one generation to another; because disease is good for you! 

And to prove their point they will site a single example, such as the sickle cell disease.  Sure, those stricken with sickle cell disease tend to be more immune to Malaria.  But the harmful effects of sickle cell disease far outweigh any benefits.  With millions of people dieing every year from inherited diseases like cancer its intellectually disingenuous to go around touting terminal diseases as something desirable and advantageous.

It is true that over the course of our lives our cells divide and our genome does change.  But that change is the product of random errors introduced during the DNA copying process or the result of exposure to harmful environmental factors such as rays or toxic substances.  Any benefits gained by these mutations are greatly overshadowed by the harm they cause the host organism.

Admit it or not on this issue real science and the Bible are in complete agreement.  A living organism can not by desire or will or necessity change their genome, unless that change is already hard coded into their DNA.  And the only changes that enter the DNA genetic code after birth are mutations, errors and defects introduced by the DNA replication process when cells divide, and these mutations are the cause of most sickness, disease, and malformities.

This T. rex soft tissue discovery reminds me of 1990, when the Grammy award winning pop group Milli Vanilli was caught lip syncing at a live performance for MTV when a recording of the song "Girl You Know It's True" jammed and began to skip, repeating the line "Girl You Know It's-" over and over again.

It was kind of funny to watch because at first the duo tried to keep up the charade by acting like nothing happened.  But the incident wouldn't go away and people demanded to hear proof that the duo could in fact sing.

At their next live performance it became clear that these guys could dance, but they were tone deaf.  The whole thing turned out to be a money making scam.  Their award winning recordings were done by standins.

This fresh as a daisy dinosaur tissue is as revealing as that jammed Milli Vanilli record.  The scientific community is now on the hot seat.  They need to prove that soft tissue can last 65 million years or I am afraid their evolution gravy train is over.

Natural selection, it was entertaining while it lasted, deer morphing into whales, it’s the stuff of Harry Potter and Star Wars.  Great fiction, but should never be confused with reality.  The reality is God created, with intelligence and purpose.

And I find it absolutely fascinating that a T. rex was walking around Montana in the recent past.  What do you think Smithsonian, is this another one of those "living fossils?"  I think its time to start cracking open some of those dinosaur bones, I think you might be surprised at what you will find.

By John Roberts, October 25, 2005

Earlier this year scientists made one of the most important discoveries of our time.  They recovered soft tissue from the fossil remains of a Tyrannosaurus Rex dug up in the state of Montana.

What makes this so significant is the fact that soft tissue degrades quickly and can not survive more than a few tens of thousands of years.   Consequently, the discovery of unfossilized T. rex soft tissue means this Tyrannosaurus Rex was walking around a few thousand years ago.

And a live T. rex in our recent past does not reconcile with the theory of evolution, evolutionary time spans, the geological time scale, plate tectonics, and current understanding of fossilization.  According to those theories T. rex evolved 70 million years ago on the super continent of Pangea.

So it is now up to evolutionists to show how soft tissue could possibly survive so long.  However, scientists have said very little.  I am not surprised.  They are in shock or denial. 

Never the less creationists are completely justified in pointing to this discovery as vindication of the biblical account of creation.  Not that we need any evidence at all since we accept God's word on faith. 

The following photos show de-mineralized fragments of tissues lining the marrow cavity of a Tyrannosaurus rex femur.

The tissue is flexible, resilient, and when stretched (arrow) returns to its original shape.

This story began way back in March when a team of Paleontologists attempted to transport the femur of a Tyrannosaurus rex by helicopter from the Hell Creek formation in eastern Montana.  The bone was too big to fit into the copter so they deliberately broke it into pieces for ease of transportation.

Now, I hope you understand the irony in this picture.  T. rex fossils are extremely rare.  Scientists have told us that this particular artifact lay undisturbed and miraculously preserved and undamaged for over 70 million years.  Yet here they are smashing it into pieces and forcing this precious cargo into an undersized helicopter.

Common sense says get a bigger copter or find another mode of transportation.  Did the Neanderthals really die out or did they evolve into Paleontologists?

When the field team broke up the T. rex femur they expected to get solid pieces of fossilized bone.  Instead they were surprised to see something that looked hollow and "a bit less like a rock."

The bones were taken to a lab for examination by Dr. Mary Schweitzer, assistant professor of paleontology with a joint appointment at the N.C. Museum of Natural Sciences, and her technician, Jennifer Wittmeyer, along with colleagues at Montana State University.

The museum is actually part of Montana State University and its lab specialized in cellular and molecular paleontology.  Dr. Schweitzer and her colleges are evolutionists and are on a mission to prove that birds evolved from dinosaurs.  (In Genesis God reveals that He created fish and birds before land creatures)

They soaked the bones in a chemical bath to remove the hard minerals.  Amazingly, what remained looked like blood vessels, bone cells and blood cells.

T. rex vessel fragment showing detail of branching pattern and structures morphologically consistent with endothelial cell nuclei (arrows) in vessel wall.

Electron microscope view of an exploded T. rex vessel showing small round microstructures partially embedded in internal vessel walls.

"The microstructures that look like cells are preserved in every way," added Schweitzer, whose findings were published in the journal Science.  "Preservation of this extent, where you still have this flexibility and transparency, has never been seen in a dinosaur before."  Feathers, hair and fossilized egg contents yes, but not true soft tissue.  "If we can isolate certain proteins, then perhaps we can address the issue of the physiology of the dinosaur," Schweitzer said.

The big question is whether it will be possible to see dinosaur DNA. "We don't know yet.  We are doing a lot in the lab now that looks promising," said Schweitzer.

Five months later we are still waiting for an answer.

The only additional information coming out of Dr. Schweitzer has been an announcement of the dinosaur's gender and another theory proposing a connection between the extinct T. rex and living birds, specifically ostriches and emus.

What is going on here?  Why are they talking about this absurd theory of birds evolving from dinosaurs when they have acknowledged finding unfossilized soft tissue from inside the broken femur of the T. rex known as MOR 1125?

I believe the answer to that question can be found in the words of Dr. Schweitzer.  "I am quite aware that according to conventional wisdom and models of fossilization, these structures aren't supposed to be there, but there they are.  I was pretty shocked."

In other words evolutionists are downplaying or outright hiding the discovery of soft tissue because it completely and undeniably disproves the theory of evolution.

Higher magnification of a portion of T. rex vessel wall, showing endothelial nuclei (EN).

The fact is this discovery of soft tissue is not an isolated case.  Since the MOR 1125 find Dr. Schweitzer has recovered similar samples of soft tissue from two other Tyrannosaur fossils and a Hadrosaur.

In 1990 DNA was extracted from fossil Magnolia leafs found in lake bottom sediments of Miocene age, supposedly 17-20 million years old. DNA has also been recovered from insects and plants preserved in amber, including a termite estimated to be 25-30 million years old.  DNA has also been extracted from a Hymenaea leaf thought to be 25-40 million years old and a weevil estimated to be 120-135 million years old.

These discoveries always get reported but the problem they create for the widely accepted geological time scale goes ignored.

If you accept the theory of evolution and plate tectonics then this T. rex died on the super continent of Pangea 70 million years ago.  This mythical super continent then supposedly broke up, land masses "drifted," and new continents formed.  Over the next seventy-million years the carcass of T. rex MOR 1125 was exposed to multiple ice ages, meteor strikes, sedimentation, erosion, freezing, thawing, scavengers, bacteria, oxidation, heat, water, and mineralization. 

Could the massive rex femur protect soft tissue from all of these destructive environmental factors acting upon it?  Not likely, but even so the tissue would not last a million years.  Why?  Because DNA, like all other biological macromolecules, is very unstable and spontaneously breaks down.  In living cells, DNA is maintained by repair mechanisms, but after death DNA self-destructs at a rather rapid rate.

DNA sequences tens of thousands of years old can be recovered, particularly if the fossil has been retained at low temperature.  Such is the case with DNA from frozen mammoth tissue thought to be 40,000 years old.  But 70 million year old soft tissue, not likely.

John's Take

There are several key points to remember about this story:

1.  Unfossilized T. rex soft tissue "proves" these bones are recent.  And that unquestionably means that dinosaurs roamed the earth in the recent past and did not evolve millions of years ago.

Scripture identifies a dinosaur called Behemoth and a great sea creature Leviathan that existed just a few thousand years ago during the time of Job.  The Biblical description of Behemoth in Job 40:15-24, with "his tail like a cedar" and "he drinketh up a river," is a clear reference to the huge herbivorous dinosaur Supersaurus.  And Leviathan could possibly be a Plesiosaurus.

2.  Scientists know this to be the case but they can't accept it because they are so indoctrinated with evolutionary fiction that they are incapable of recognizing or accepting the truth.  They immediately reject all facts that support the Holy Bible. 

Why?  In their minds the Holy Bible and Christianity is a crutch for the weak and unintelligent.  But the fact remains not a single verse of scripture has ever been proven to be untrue.  And that includes the revelation of creation and prophecy.

3.  Professions such as evolutionary biology, astronomy, geology, archeology, anthropology, and paleontology left the realm of real science long ago.  Today these fields are more closely aligned with fields like astrology.  They are completely controlled by ungodly men and women in rebellion against God. 

4.  The vast majority of scientists are atheists or Luciferians.  Luciferians believe the Luciferian Doctrine, which does not associate Lucifer with Satan, the evil fallen angel.  Instead they worship the Devil as a god, and claim he also elevated mankind to godhood by opening up Eve's eyes to sin.  Thus they say Lucifer brought "enlightenment" to mankind.

Now you understand the real reason why these pseudo sciences always publish work that contradicts scripture.  It has nothing to do with science or facts. It's all about their personal beliefs skewing their work.  They are on a campaign to disprove the Holy Bible which means they will always ignore evidence that supports creationism.

The point being when you hear a scientist discuss evolution and natural selection understand that these are nothing more than articles of faith adopted by Luciferians and should not be mistaken for scientific fact.

This discovery of T. rex soft tissue is real scientific evidence. And it clearly puts the theory of evolution and plate tectonics to bed once and for all and backs up the revelation of creation described in Genesis.  Soft tissue can not survive 50 thousand years, let alone 70 million.

Credit And Thanks To Tracie Roberts, June 20, 2005

A 2,000 year old date palm seed found in an ancient storeroom on Masada has been brought back to life in Israel by Dr. Sarah Sallon and UCLA educated botanist Dr. Elaine Solowey.

"It's certainly the oldest tree seed that's ever been sprouted. Wheat seeds from pharaohs' tombs have been sprouted, but none of the plants have survived for very long.  Before this, the oldest seed grown was a lotus from China, which was 1,200 years old," she said.

"I'm very excited. I wasn't expecting anything to happen.  I'm really interested in finding out what the DNA testing is going to show.  I know that date seeds can stay alive for several decades.  To find out that they can stay alive for millennia is astonishing."

This date palm seedling, nicknamed Methuselah, stands only 14 inches high, and has produced seven leaves.

This story begins with Dr. Sarah Sallon, a pediatric gastroenterologist trained at University College, London.  She came to Israel 20 years ago and is the director of the Lousis L. Borick Natural Medicine Research Center at Hadassah Medical Organization, which she founded 10 years ago to study natural products and therapies, from Tibetan and Chinese medicine to the indigenous medicinal plants of the Middle East.

Dr. Sallon heard about some ancient date seeds just sitting around for three decades in a drawer and wondered if they could be brought back to life.  Now, these weren't just any seeds.  They were 2,000 year-old Judean date palm seeds in the possession of Mordechai Kislef, director of botanical archeology at Bar-Ilan University.  He got the seeds from Ehud Netzer, who found them while excavating Masada in the 1970's.

Dr. Sallon asked Mordechai for one of the seeds, he said 'You're mad,' but he gave her three.  Sarah then gave them to Elaine, who's an expert on arid agriculture and dates.  Elaine didn't have much hope that any would sprout.

Dr. Elaine Solowey grew up in the San Joaquin Valley in California and studied horticulture.  Now she teaches agriculture and sustainable farming at the Arava Institute for Environmental Studies, based at Kibbutz Kentura in the southern Negev.

She works on finding new crops for arid and saline areas like Jordan, Gaza, and Morocco.  Elaine also collaborates with Dr. Sallon to domesticate indigenous plants that appear to have medicinal uses.  She has nurtured more than 100 rare or near-extinct species back to life as part of a 10-year project to study plants and herbs used as ancient cures.

When Elaine received the seeds from Sarah she thought, "The chances of this experiment succeeding were less than zero.  But Dr Sallon insisted and I took this very seriously.  Lotus seeds over 1,000 years old have been sprouted, and I realized that no one had done any similar work with dates, so why not give it our best shot - and we were rewarded."

The three seeds were long and thin, grayish-brown in color.  Elaine soaked them in warm water to soften the coat, then in gibberellic acid, a potent growth hormone used to induce germination in reluctant seeds, then in a special rooting hormone for woody plants called T8, and finally in an enzyme-rich fertilizer made of seaweed and other nutrients to supplement the natural food inside the seed.

She then planted them in sterile potting soil on January 25, the Jewish holiday of Tu Baishvat - the New Year for trees and equivalent of Arbor Day.

Elaine has done other recalcitrant seeds and had no idea if the food in the seeds were still good.  She plugged the black pot into a drip irrigation system and "kind of forgot about them."

About five weeks later, she said, "I saw the earth cracked in the pot and much to my astonishment, one of these came up."

"It was pale, almost whitish green.  The first two leaves were abnormal-looking.  They were very flat and very pale.  The third leaf started to have the striations of a normal date plant.  Now it looks perfectly normal to me."

"The only difference between this date seedling and any other date seedlings I've seen come up is the length of the third leaf.  This is very unusual," one very long, thin leaf growing out of the pot.

"We have to figure out where we can put it so it can grow to maturity.  Then we'll hope that it grows up and flowers so we can figure out whether it's male or female, and then it has offshoots and seeds so we can propagate it.  It's very exciting to think that maybe someday we can eat 2,000-year-old dates, but there's a 50 percent chance that it's a male, in which case that won't happen," she said.

Only female date palms bear fruit, and it's too early to tell the sex of Methuselah.  And it takes about five to seven years for palms to fruit.

After the seed sprouted, a sample from the same cache excavated on masada were sent to the University of Zurich for radio-carbon dating.  The results came back showing the samples were 2,000 years old, plus or minus a margin of error of 50 years.

The sixth leaf has been sent to the Volcani Centre, Israel's agricultural research institute, for DNA testing by date palm expert Yuval Cohen.

"I find it remarkable," said Cohen.  "Two thousand years ago, during the Roman Empire, Israel was known for the quality of its dates.  They were famous throughout the Roman Empire. But date growing as a commercial fruit export stopped at the end of 70 A.D., when the Second Temple was destroyed by the Romans. From then, the tradition was lost.

"It's an interesting question what were the ancient dates like. We hope by genetic analysis, we can learn more about the character of the ancient date population."  During the first century thick forests of date palms towered up to 80 feet high and 7 miles wide and covered the Jordan River valley from the Sea of Galilee to the shores of the Dead Sea.  The tree so defined the Judean economy that Emperor Vespasian celebrated the conquest by minting the "Judea Capta," a special bronze coin that showed the Jewish state as a weeping woman beneath a date palm.

Dr. Sallon said the project is more than a curiosity.  She and her colleagues hope it may hold promise for the future, like the anti-malarial treatment artemisinin, developed out of traditional Chinese plant treatment, and a cancer medicine made from the bark of the Pacific Yew tree.

"Dates were highly medicinal. They had an enormous amount of use in ancient times for infections, for tumors, "she said.  "We're researching medicinal plants for all we're worth, we think that ancient medicines of the past can be the medicines of the future."

John's Take

The prophetic significance of the rebirth of this 2,000 year-old Date Palm can not be overstated:

• Three seeds were planted, and one came to life.

Zechariah 13:6-9

  6    And one shall say unto him, What are these wounds in thine hands?  Then he shall answer, Those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends.
  7    Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, and against the man that is my fellow, saith the LORD of hosts: smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered: and I will turn mine hand upon the little ones.
  8    And it shall come to pass, that in all the land, saith the LORD, two parts therein shall be cut off and die; but the third shall be left therein.
  9    And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried: they shall call on my name, and I will hear them: I will say, It is my people: and they shall say, The LORD is my God.

• The seeds slept for 2,000 years, just like the State of Israel:

Hosea 3:4-5

  4    For the children of Israel shall abide many days without a king, and without a prince, and without a sacrifice, and without an image, and without an ephod, and without teraphim:
  5    Afterward shall the children of Israel return, and seek the LORD their God, and David their king; and shall fear the LORD and his goodness in the latter days.

• One came to life in these last days just like the State of Israel, and at at time when many Jews are comeing to Christ:

Joshua 3:1-4

  1    And Joshua rose early in the morning; and they removed from Shittim, and came to Jordan, he and all the children of Israel, and lodged there before they passed over.
  2    And it came to pass after three days, that the officers went through the host;
  3    And they commanded the people, saying, When ye see the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God, and the priests the Levites bearing it, then ye shall remove from your place, and go after it.
  4    Yet there shall be a space between you and it, about two thousand cubits by measure: come not near unto it, that ye may know the way by which ye must go: for ye have not passed this way heretofore.

This prophecy speaks of the spiritual birth of the nation of Israel.  The Ark represents God, the Mercy Seat represents Christ, the Jordan River is a symbol of death, and the land of Israel is the promise of eternal life in the kingdom through faith in Christ.

The Ark entered the Jordan and stopped its waters and showed the Israelites the way to the Promised Land.  This symbolizes Christ conquering death and sin on the cross and showing us the way to God's kingdom.

The people were told to stay back 2,000 cubits because they did not know the way.  That's very interesting.  Could the cubits represent 2,000 years, the time it has taken for Jews as a nation to start accepting Jesus as the Messiah?

Matthew 24:32-36

  32    Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh:
  33    So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors.
  34    Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.
  35    Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.
  36    But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.

By John Roberts, November 4, 2004

Genesis 1:26-31

  26    And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
  27    So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.
  28    And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.
  29    And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat.
  30    And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so.
  31    And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.

The news wires are a buzz today with a story that Australian Scientists have found a new species of "hobbit-sized humans" who lived about 18,000 years ago on the Indonesian island of Flores.  Local legends tell of hobbit-like creatures existing on islands long ago but there has been no evidence of them until now.

Peter Brown of the University of New England, Armidale, Australia, discovered the partial dwarf skeleton in September, 2003, in a shallow limestone cave known as Liang Bua.  The find was reported in the science journal Nature.  They have named the hobbit species Homo Flores man.

Mixed in with the Flores man bones scientists found stone tools and animal remains from a prehistoric dwarf elephant, as well as fish, birds and rodents.  Some of the bones were charred, suggesting they were cooked.

Professor Chris Stringer of the Natural History Museum in London told a news conference on Wednesday, "It is an extraordinarily important find.   It challenges the whole idea of what it is that makes us human."   Scientists say the find adds another piece to the complex puzzle of human evolution.

Scientists say Flores man is a descendent of Homo erectus.  These full-sized large brained humans supposedly arrived on the island of Flores from a journey out of Africa through Asia.   Once on the island these Homo Erectus evolved into tiny winy hobbits with brains one third their original size and chimpanzee like features in order to fit in with environmental conditions and coexist with modern humans. 

Right!  As silly as it may sound that is what scientists are saying. 

Okay, I may have exaggerated some by throwing in the bit about the cheese and wine.

Brown said in a statement, "Finding these hominins on an isolated island in Asia, and with elements of modern human behavior in tool making and hunting, is truly remarkable and could not have been predicted by previous discoveries."

John's Take

The theory of evolution is getting sillier all the time.  Evolutionists now want us to believe that life came to Earth from Mars and then evolved into prehistoric apes which continued to evolve into full sized humans that then evolved back into 3 foot dwarf apes to fit in with the environment on Flores Island.

The truth is Flores Man was not a man at all but rather a species of chimp or ape.  It makes no difference if they walked upright or on all fours.  Flores bones were found mixed in with other animal bones all of which showed clear signs of having been cooked and eaten.  The tools found in the cave belonged to the human cooks, not the animals they ate.

Well, maybe I shouldn't be too hasty in my judgment of Flores Man.  They have been digging in this particular cave for over four decades.  Perhaps next year they will find something really significant such as Gollum's Ring, an Elven Brooch, or perhaps Sting the Sword of Frodo.

DO YOU WANT TO KNOW MORE?

By John Roberts, June 1, 2004

John 1:1-5

  1    In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
  2    He was in the beginning with God.
  3    All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.
  4    In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.
  5    And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.

JPL Scientist

"Mars is the nearest and most likely place life might have existed elsewhere in the solar system, and could illuminate human origins.  Maybe life evolved first on Mars and was knocked off the surface and carried to the Earth.  Maybe we're all Martians!"

It is common knowledge that Christianity and the scientific community have opposing views when it comes to answering questions on the origin of life.   Christians accept God on faith and we are not looking for evidence or proof.   And Christians do not get a penny from our government to teach or research creationism.   On the other hand the scientific community is spending billions upon billions of our tax dollars on fruitless projects with the sole mission of disproving the revelation of creation given to us by God in the Holy Bible. 

NASA scientists openly admit that their primary reason for going to Mars is to look for evidence to support the theory of evolution.  Why?  Despite the unlimited resources and modern technology at their disposal science has struck out on all efforts to find evidence supporting Darwin's theory of evolution here on planet Earth.   And that is the real reason why science has now turned their attention to the red plant Mars.   What do I mean by that?

Well, here are the facts.   Anthropologist were stunned by the results of DNA testing that proved mankind is not related to Neanderthal or any other creature in their evolutionary tree; which supports creationism described in the book of Genesis.   And recent mitochondria DNA research has proven that all mankind traces back to a single woman, supporting the Biblical revelation of Adam and Eve.  

Geologists have also been shaken by the recent discovery that the Earth is mostly a solid with a tiny liquid core.   This puts an end to scientific theories of "moving continents and plates," and backs up the Bible, where God reveals He raised up the continents and dry land out of this water covered planet; a process which can still be observe today when volcanism raises up small islands.

Keep in mind, scientists look down with distain upon the Holy Bible, which they view as a collection of stories written thousands of years ago as a crutch for the ignorant and feeble minded.   And it irks them to no end that every time they set out to disprove creationism it backfires and only serves to validate the Word of God and weaken their case for Darwinism.

So in the face of real science the theory of evolution and "a prehistoric super continent" are slipping further and further into the realm of science fiction. Consequently, scientists have decided to aviod admitting defeat by taking their quest for evidence to support the theory of evolution in a new direction, outer space.   In the words of the JPL scientist in charge of Mars exploration, "Maybe life evolved first on Mars and was knocked off the surface and carried to the Earth.   Maybe we're all Martians!"   Then again maybe you have lost your mind.  

Look, when a child gets scared at bedtime thinking about Martians coming into their bedroom we laugh it off, tell them they have a vivid imagination, and explain there are no such things.   But when JPL scientists say we evolved from Martians they get a billion dollars.  Then with our tax dollars in hand scientists from the United States, Japan, Russia, and Europe head off to Mars to look for our ancestors. 

Japan, the fourth nation ever to send a satellite to Earth orbit, became the third nation to ever send a spacecraft to Mars.  But the Japanese probe named Planet-B ran low on fuel after a thruster malfunction and arrived near Mars in December 2003, five years behind schedule.  The probe, renamed Nozomi (Hope), was unable to slow down and drop into orbit and simply flew past Mars.  The $88 million probe is now in a useless orbit around the Sun.  Noxomi carried 14 instruments for scientific research at Mars that were supplied by Japan, United States, Canada, Germany, France, and Sweden.

Next up was the European Space Agency Mars Express spacecraft launched last June by a Russian rocket, carrying Britain's Beagle 2 lander.   This Beagle, named for the ship on which Charles Darwin sailed while formulating his ideas about evolution, was programmed to test rock, soil and air samples for signs of past or present life on Mars.

The Europeans scheduled the Beagle 2 to touch down on Mars on December 25, the day Christians celebrate our Savior's birthday.   And I think that says volumes about the true spirit in which these Mars missions are being conducted, which is the spirit of antichrist.   The Mars Express is working, but the Beagle 2 with its instrumentation designed to test for alien life dropped to the Martian surface and has never been heard from again.

The United States followed the Japanese and Europeans with two robotic rovers named Spirit and Opportunity.   Both successfully landed on Mars and have been providing over 300 scientists at JPL and NASA with tons of eye candy.   America's success and Europe's failure to land on Mars is sure to fuel more envy and anti-American rhetoric across the pond.   The fact is our German scientists are just better than their German scientists.

It takes seven months for a spacecraft to make the 300 million mile trek to the red planet.   Just getting there is difficult enough, but landing on the surface in one piece is a risky proposition.   Of the nine previous spacecraft that have tried to land on Mars only three have succeeded – the two Viking landers of 1976 and the Sojourner rover of the Mars Pathfinder mission in 1997.

It is an undeniable fact that of those missions that do succeed in getting to the surface of Mars to test for signs of life the results have always been one hundred percent consistent.   No signs of life past or present have ever been found on the Martian surface.   No surprise to me.

Of course NASA and JPL refuse to admit the truth.   They put on a dog and pony show to announce their rovers have discovered that water was once on the Martian surface.   Their next point being if there was water there must have also been life.

Well, let's be honest.   What did you expect NASA and JPL to say, "Once again we failed to find any evidence of life and we are sorry for wasting another billion dollars on our fruitless quest to disprove creationism."   The press release about Martian water was most likely written before the mission ever got off the ground and should be taken with a grain of salt.

In the wake of these missions to Mars NASA has just launched an 800 million dollar mission in an effort to prove Einstein's theory of relativity.   Will this madness ever stop?

John's Take

All government funding for NASA and JPL should be put on hold while their priorities are shifted away from the theory of evolution and towards missions with a quantifiable and qualifiable benefit for the taxpaying public.   Sending spacecraft anywhere off planet Earth to look for life is a waist of time.

If atheist scientists want to embrace the spirit of antichrist they have the free will to do so, but not with our tax dollars.   If you enjoy fiction then the theories coming out of JPL should provide some entertainment.   But don't think for a moment that these Mars missions are furthering our understanding of how the universe was created or the origins of life.

The Holy Bible reveals everything we need to know about creation and our origins.   And unlike NASA the Bible is one-hundred percent accurate and reliable.   So what should you believe and where should you put your faith?

JPL scientists say, "Maybe life evolved first on Mars and was knocked off the surface and carried to the Earth.  Maybe we're all Martians!"

Scripture reveals:

"By the word of the LORD the heavens were made, and all the host of them by the breath of His mouth." (Psalm 33:6)

"By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible." (Hebrews 11:3)

"GOD, who at various times and in different ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds." (Hebrews 1:1-2)

DO YOU WANT TO KNOW MORE?

By John Roberts, March 13, 2003

The burial box that once contained the remains of James the head of the early Christian Church in Jerusalem and the brother of Jesus Christ has surfaced in Israel.   This is undoubtedly the most significant archeological find of our generation.

The limestone ossuary bears the Aramaic inscription, “James, son of Joseph, brother of Jesus.”   Finding historical evidence verifying the existence of James and Joseph, the brother and father of Jesus, is in its own right very important.   But it is the reference to Jesus in the inscription that makes this discovery so monumental.

We now have irrefutable archeological and scientific evidence that Jesus Christ existed.   What makes that so significant is that for over nineteen hundred years the first argument against Christianity has been the false claim that Jesus never really existed.   Rather than judging Christ by His life and work or the cross, blasphemers have attempted to write Him out of history altogether and label the Bible as nothing more than a collection of fictional stories.

Now those detractors have now been silenced.   The Holy Bible and the thousands of ancient documents referencing Jesus Christ have been validated.   That simple inscription, “James, son of Joseph, brother of Jesus,” forever puts that argument to rest.   Critics will no longer be able to deny that Jesus Christ lived.   Now they must come to grips with His message.

What is an ossuary?   For a relatively short period from 100 B.C. to 70 A.D. the Jewish population engaged in the practice of “ossilegium.”   When a person died their corpse would be first laid in a niche carved into the wall of a burial cave; after about a year the bones of the deceased were gathered together and placed in a box or chest typically made of Jerusalem limestone called an ossuary.

Make no mistake about it this is an example of solid archaeological proof of the existence of Jesus Christ.   One of the world’s leading specialists in Hebrew and Aramaic writing along with a team of geologists have authenticated and dated the limestone ossuary to the first century.

The inscription and the ossuary were examined in the laboratory of the Geological Survey of Israel with a binocular microscope.   Samples of the limestone, patina, and attached soil were studied with a SEM (Scanning Electron Microscope) equipped with EDS (Electron Dispersive Spectroscopy).   And the box and inscription were declared by these scientists to be genuine.

This ossuary is part of a private collection of Israeli antiquities collector Oded Golan.   He was keeping the priceless artifact in his apartment in Tel Aviv.   According to Israeli law, if the owner of an antiquity legally purchased it before 1978 they have the right to own it.   But they are required to produce a receipt from a licensed antiquities dealer who in turn must have a record of where the piece came from.  

Golan has no receipt, and before he fully realized its value he said that it had been in his possession for only 15 years.   That means the Israel Antiquities Authority should take possession of James’ ossuary to ensure proper care is taken to protect it from damage.  However, it appears they may be too late.

This presious item was shipped from Israel to Canada negligently packed by Brinks in bubble wrap and a cardboard box.   Then, instead of a non-stop flight from Israel to Toronto the ossuary was first flown to New York, unloaded and then loaded onto another plane bound for Ontario, then unloaded and loaded on a truck for transportation to Toronto.

The box has been now been repaired.   But I question how anything like this could happen by accident.  

John's Take

Why was this artifact with its irrefutable proof of Jesus kept from the world for at least fifteen years by Israelis?   Why was it sent to Canada with so little care in transit and handling?   What was the purpose of the stop over in New York?

You can bet there are many in Israel and around the world that wish this evidence of Jesus had remained hidden or would disappear.   Was there perhaps a more sinister explanation for the damage to the James ossuary?   If the ossuary of James with an inscription referencing Jesus was knowingly kept secret for years then I ask, what other artifacts validating the Bible and Christianity are still being kept in storage and away from the public?

Without a doubt this ossuary has in a single stroke silenced thousands of scientists, archaeologists, and “Rabbis” that have emphatically stated that there is no scientific or any other proof that Jesus Christ ever existed.

When Christ returns to defend Israel against the armies of the Antichrist then the world will know that Jesus Christ not only lived, but died for our sins and rose from the dead.   Then every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.

By John Roberts, July 12, 2002

NASA is planning to go back to the moon after all these decades.   Manned and unmanned missions will be announced in the near future.

The official reason for jumpstarting lunar mission is the possibility of ice trapped just under the lunar surface.  NASA claims there is good evidence to support the possibility of lunar ice.  If so, the ice can be used to sustain life and also broken down to provide fuel.  A permanent moon base with a self replenishing supply of water would provide a perfect staging area for NASA missions into deep space.

I support NASA 100% and I think this is a great idea.  We should have built a permanent facility on the moon decades ago.  I hope this project kicks into full gear tomorrow.

So what is wrong with this picture?  First off, if there is evidence of ice on the moon don’t you think someone knew about it twenty years ago?  And if NASA knew about the ice, a valuable resource, why did they wait until 2002 to mention it?

What is the real reason for going back to the moon now?  Why all this sense of urgency by NASA?  Believe it or not the United States has just figured out that communist China has an ambitious space program and they plan to go the moon as soon as possible.

They are busy using those super computers from the Clinton administration and the stolen technology from DOE to build MIRV warheads for the military AND the space vehicles needed to put a communist Chinese astronaut on the surface of the moon.  And it is the idea of the communist Chinese flag flying over vast areas of the lunar surface that has the U.S. worried. 

John's Take

Most people do not understand the significance of a Chinese flag on a piece of real estate.  According to the Chinese a single flag entitles them to claim exclusive rights to all the surrounding land and water for hundreds of miles beyond what is recognized by international law.  The Chinese have dotted the South China Sea with one-man shacks on stilts right up to their neighbor’s borders thus claiming the oil rights for China.  I am not sure if any international laws or agreements even apply to the moon, but if so you can bet China would ignore them anyway.

The U.S. was on the moon first but we claimed it for all mankind, not America.  The Chinese don’t play by our rules.  If China does get to the moon there is a good possibility they will consider it their territory.  And ice or no ice, the surface of the moon is actually one of the most strategic spots in the solar system, especially for those engaged in space warfare and exploration.

China is currently testing their version of a space shuttle and I would bet that red lunar landing modules are in development as well.  The Chinese have the drive, money, and now the technology to get to the moon in five to ten years.

The U.S. spends more money supporting the UN and Palestinian refugee cities, to call them camps is misleading, than we give to NASA.  NASA’s current budget would not get us half way back to the surface of the moon.  Even if we had the funds it would take a long time to tool up and build the required lunar vehicles.

The possibility of a communist flag on the surface of the moon might be just what it takes to get Congress to properly fund NASA.

By John Roberts, October 18, 2001

Following the 911 atrocities Islamic terrorist launched an attack on America with anthrax. This is the first use of a biological weapon against U.S. citizens on American soil.

First struck was the American Media Inc. in Boca Raton, Florida. The terrorists sent the company a letter laced with a powdery substance that contained anthrax spores.

This facility is less than two miles from where several of the terrorists took flying lessons. There were other connections tying this business to the terrorists. American Media publishes several tabloids, one of which ran an article about mass murder Osama bin Laden. And the editor's wife, a realtor, actually helped two of the terrorists look for a place to stay.

Robert Stevens, 63, a photo editor at The Sun tabloid published by American Media died of anthrax Friday. Ernesto Blanco, 73, a mailroom employee at American Media has been diagnosed with the inhaled form of anthrax and is now in intensive care.

Anthrax laced letters have now been found in New York, New Jersey, Nevada, Florida, and the District of Columbia. Almost two dozen people either have anthrax or were exposed to the anthrax spores.

Tom Brokaw of NBC News was also sent an anthrax letter. A 7-month-old baby boy tested positive for anthrax after visiting ABC studios.

Authorities are suggesting we not open any suspicious mail. Envelopes in question may be stained on the outside with a brown or white powder covered letter enclosed. The anthrax-contaminated letters all contain threatening language towards the United States and Israel.

John's Take

Intelligence Agencies are still saying that there is no evidence linking the anthrax attacks with terrorism. Really, there is no connection whatsoever? I find a statement like that from an "Intelligence Agency" a contradiction of terms. Of course this is an act of Islamic terrorism related to the attacks on the WTC.

The fact that our own government would continue to lie to the public is almost as scary as the anthrax attacks. Can we trust anything our politicians are saying? How are we to know when they are telling the truth? After eight years of lies from the Clinton Administration I believe being honest with the American public should be a top priority.

The time to avoid panicking the public has come and gone. We already know that America is under attack by Islamic terrorists. And we know what little defense we had has been slowing dismantled over the past twelve years.

We watched the attacks on the WTC and Pentagon. Most understand now that our greatest fears, a biological weapons attack, is currently being carried out by more Islamic terrorists.

And what is perhaps the most frightening aspect of this whole thing is the fact that thousands of Muslims are in this country illegally, any one of which could be a terrorist. Over one thousand Muslim terrorists have been arrested already in this country. These evil doers use the freedom of our democracy to plan and commit horrific acts of terror against Christians and Jews in the name of their god.

Every possible step must be taken to protect American citizens from Islamic terrorism. Perhaps it is time to stop granting Visas to foreign nationals from countries that sponsor terrorism. Maybe foreign students from these same countries should take an extended spring break back to where they came from until the terrorism stops.

It is a shame that things have come to this. But Americans better wakeup and face the facts. We know who is carrying out these acts of terrorism. Islamic foreign nationals committed all the recent acts of terrorism in the United States. That is a "terrorist profile" that should not be ignored.

I understand the teachings of Islam. I have read the Koran, and I suggest you do the same. Then you will understand why the followers of Islam will never stop terrorizing Israel and the free world. Muslims do not want to live in peaceful coexistence with the rest of the world.

Islam's goal it the total destruction of Israel and democracy. Muslims hate Jews because they are jealous of God's promise and blessing to Isaac. Muslims hate Americans because they resent our prosperity. An Islamic world would offer us a simple choice. Convert to Islam or be killed. That is all you need to understand about the Islamic terrorists that murdered thousands of Americans in September.

Have you seen any tears in the eyes of Muslims around the world for the victims of the anthrax attacks? Now you know why. These attacks are not just about terrorism. They have everything to do with the Antichrist spirit of Islam.

By John Roberts, May 6, 2001

For at least the past four years scientists have been using a fertility treatment that genetically modifies newborns. This means that genetically modified humans have now been introduced into the human race.

The technique is called ooplasmic transfer. It involves taking the contents of a donor egg from a fertile female and injecting it into the infertile woman's egg along with the fertilizing sperm from her mate.

Scientist say that as many as 30 babies have born with genetically modified DNA, 15 of them at a U.S. medical institute. New Jersey's Institute for Reproductive Medicine and Science of St. Barnabas was the first to use the technique.

But scientists have slammed the process because the method can add genes -- mitochondrial DNA -- from the female donor's egg into the mix of genetic material from the mother and father.

Tests have confirmed that two of the 15 babies produced by the technique at the institute were carrying genes from the birth mother, the father and the donor female.

This is the "first case of human germline genetic modification resulting in normal healthy children." "Germline" refers to the genes a person will pass on to his or her children. Little is known about the impact altering inherited genes.

The bottom line here is that we now have children with the genetic makeup of two mothers and one father, genes from three parents. No one knows what is going to happen when their genes get passed down to the next generation.

Scientists say, "We haven't changed any genes," he said. "That's a huge step compared to the little thing that we did. But you could say there would have normally been mitochondria from only one source (the mother)."

"Now there's mitochondria from two sources, and therefore there's two different types of mitochondria DNA there." Mitochondria are minute structures that float inside the cell but away from the cell's nucleus, which is home to most genes.

Should we be concerned when Scientists modifying DNA say there is nothing to worry about? I think so. Some say these scientists have tampered with nature. I think it is more serious. First Science tried to blot out God, now they want to be God.

By John Roberts, January 31, 2001

SYDNEY: High quality DNA has been extracted from the 134-year-old preserved remains of a Tasmanian tiger pup which could lead to the extinct Australian animal's rebirth.

Labeling the breakthrough the biological equivalent of man's first step on the moon, Australian Museum director Professor Michael Archer said it may open the door for extinct animal populations to be reborn.

"No-one has ever done what we've just done," Professor Archer said.

"It is the threshold of a very exciting series of opportunities to maybe question whether extinction really is forever."

Project coordinator Dr Don Colgan said the next step toward cloning the female pup, preserved in a bottle of alcohol since 1866, involved creating a DNA library to preserve the tiger's genes forever.

"If we can't find the impact chromosomes we're going to have to resynthesise the chromosomes," Dr Colgan said.

"That's going to be very laborious, probably requiring putting 50,000 building blocks together in each chromosome."

Dr Colgan said the nucleus of the cell could then be implanted in the ovum of another animal. Most likely, he said, a Tasmanian devil or wombat.

With many other male and female Tasmanian tigers preserved in alcohol, Dr Archer said he wanted to see a complete population of Tasmanian tigers brought back into the wild.

The Tasmanian tiger, or thylacine, was Australia's largest carnivorous marsupial before it was hunted to extinction within 100 years of settlement.

The last-known Tasmanian tiger died at Hobart zoo in 1936.

If successful, Professor Archer said, many other extinct animals could be cloned, including the bilby.

However, in laboratory fees alone, Dr Colgan estimated that $80 million would be needed to see the project pass cloning stage.

The Australian Museum Rheuben Griffiths Trust is managing the project, but the scientists say new financial donors are needed to fund the work.

NSW Premier Bob Carr described the idea of bringing an extinct species back to life as "extraordinary science."

"The positive samples bring hope that one day Australian children may get to know the Tasmanian tiger from a living animal rather than a faded black and white photo," he said.

It is going to be very interesting to see who will be the first to clone an extinct animal. Will it be the people working on the Wooly Mammoth or the Tasmanian Tiger? Maybe Jurassic Park was not that far out after all.

As some of you may know scientists have been able to extract DNA from Neanderthal bones. Maybe Planet of the Apes was not that far out either.

By John Roberts, September 28, 2000

On June 25, 2000, J. Craig Venter, the CEO of Celera Genomics, and Francis Collins, the director of the National Human Genome Research Institute, made a joint announcement of unprecedented impact to science and mankind. Scientists have deciphered the genetic blueprint of the body - referred to as the Holy Grail of biology, the "Code of Codes," and the "Book of Life."

Cracking the human genetic code has been a 10-year project involving thousands of scientists worldwide. But now that this initial goal has been reached we can expect to see tremendous dividends resulting from this historic discovery. Armed with the human genome Medicine stands on the forefront of a new era of treatments for most human diseases.

Every cell in our body contains genetic material in its nucleus that consists of two coiled strands of DNA known as the double helix. DNA is comprised of four nucleotide bases, (G) Guanine, (T) Thymine, (C) Cytosine, and (A) Adenine. The nucleotides are always paired G with C and A with T within the double helix. The human genome contains about 3.5 billion such letters and would stretch about 6 feet long if uncoiled.

The roughly 80,000 genes within a double helix define a human being. Genes are hundreds to millions of pairs long. The order in which nucleotide pairs are arranged determines a gene's function.

This "Code of Codes" reveals the complete and correct sequence of letters in the human genome. This information will now serve as a baseline for identifying mutations that cause disease. Once this is done treatments and even gene reengineering can be developed.

The next big task for the Genome project will be to learn the function of every gene and how genes relate to each other.

There is no doubt that the deciphering of the DNA code will eventually bring about some wonderful treatments for the horrible diseases that plague us. But my fear is that someday, somewhere, someone is going to use this knowledge to play God.

Science is now coming extremely close to designing genes, creating a new life form, and then cloning it. But will this new creation have a soul? This is not the kind of knowledge that I would want to fall into the hands of a Hitler or the Antichrist.

By John Roberts, November 17, 1999

Dr. Richard Seed has publicly announced plans to clone humans. Dr. Seed has three Harvard degrees and has been quoted as saying, "I'm the world's smartest man."

Following his announcement President Clinton and the Congress banned human cloning in the US. Nineteen European countries have also signed an agreement to prohibit cloning, reflecting the concerns about the issue.

Despite this setback, Dr. Seed says he is only about 18 months and $2 million away to set up a clinic and create the first human clone.

John's Take

Will Dr Seed be the first to bring a human clone into this world? The technology is certainly there to make it possible. Most people do not realize that human cloning is probably already going on somewhere in the world behind closed doors. However, no one has allowed the fetus to progress to full term.

Mankind has always wanted to play god. Now God may step in before things get any more out of control.

DO YOU WANT TO KNOW MORE?

By John Roberts, May 1, 1999

Life span, fitness, and cancer incidence have all now been linked to an enzyme called Telomerase.

Telomerase synthesizes Telomeres, snippets of DNA on the ends of chromosomes that function in part like the plastic tips on the ends of shoelaces. Telomeres keep chromosomal tips, gene-bearing threadlike spindles, from unraveling or sticking to other chromosomes.

Telomeres get shorter every time a cell divides. And the average cell will only divide 40 to 90 times before the shortened Telomers trigger the cell to stop dividing. Additionally, as we age the Telomer producing Telomerase becomes inactive. Thus the aging process kicks in.

Too much or too little Telomers creates chromosome instability, and that is what cancer feeds on.

Researchers have discovered a way to activate or de-activate the Telomerase enzyme to prolong cell life and combat cancer. By inserting the gene for the Telomerase protein component known as TERT into cells, researchers have been able to activate Telomerase, effectively giving cells immortality.

John's Take

With my luck this will be perfected in a few decades, just in time for me to get locked into an 85 year-old body for the next 500 years.

By John Roberts, May 1, 1999

The hunt by researchers for a "gay gene" has lead nowhere. Canadian scientists failed to reproduce a study by geneticist Dean Hamer, formerly of the National Cancer Institute, which suggested one such gene resides in a region of the X chromosome.

The Gay Community has been trying for years to prove that sexual orientation is biological and not choice. U.S. researchers vow to keep hunting.

John's Take

What's next? Will researchers look for an adulterer gene, fornicator gene, murderer gene, liar gene, blasphemer gene, molester gene, or perhaps a Clinton gene?

They can stop looking. We all carry a complete set of sinner genes.

By John Roberts, May 1, 1999

NASA is spending billions of dollars a year searching for Alien life forms in outer space. Now on the table is a plan for manned missions to Mars. JPL and NASA say it would only cost a total of 20 billion US dollars.

Search for life on Mars, what a novel idea.

Unfortunately NASA has already been to Mars several times and found nothing but Martian rocks and dust.

NASA has received funding for dozens of projects, all with the mission of probing space for life.

John's Take

Isn't it about time someone looked for life in NASA's mission statement?

Can't we find something better for these scientists to do? So far they are batting zero trying to prove the theory of evolution. Perhaps replacing their expensive liberal education with a single book, the Holy Bible, would help them find something of value to give back to society.

By John Roberts, May 1, 1999

Scientists had long thought that once a person reaches adulthood, the brain no longer grows new cells.

Scientists at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in San Diego and the Sahlgrenska University Hospital in Sweden have discovered that new cells do grow deep within the center of the brain, the hippocampus.

This finding will someday lead to new treatments for many neurological diseases, such as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's.

John's Take

It is about time. These diseases are much more prevalent than people think.

By John Roberts, April 23, 1998

The universe seems to be younger than the stars in it, and a huge chunk of it is headed in the wrong direction, fast. Cosmologist scramble for answers, no theory is safe anymore.

Lead Astronomer Wendy Freedman and her expert colleagues used the newly repaired Hubble Space Telescope to make a credible measurement of the age of the universe. They found that the universe is somewhere between 8 and 12 billion years old. So what is the problem? The oldest stars in the Milky Way have been dated at least 14 billion years old! A universe younger than the stars it contains is, to say the least, a fundamental contradiction. Blueshift, redshift, maybe it is all just grasping at stars.

Two respected astronomers, Marc Postman and Tod Lauer, have discovered that over a billion light-years' worth of matter including our own Milky Way, is sliding sideways across the universe at 1.56 million miles per hour. Mr. Postman first presented these observations in Milan in 1992. Now, more than eight years later, nobody has been able to explain away the profound discovery. This type of motion can not be produced with a "Big Bang."

John's Take

Scientists are seldom held accountable for perpetuating a false theory. They are free to make the wildest claims without any real evidence or facts. Their opinions are hard to prove one way or the other. That is why they are called theories. Accountability is limited to their peers, who share the same views - mainly a creation without a creator. When facts prove them wrong, they just dream up another theory. Thankfully, scripture has maintained a higher standard. The Word of God has withstood all challengers for thousands of years. Not one word or prophecy has been proven false.

By John Roberts, April 23, 1998

German scientists extracted a small piece of DNA from a Neanderthal bone. The DNA was from the "control region" of mitochondria DNA. The control region codes nothing, is ignored by the cell, and is passed intact from mother to child. It is altered only by random mutations and makes a perfect marker. If we are related somewhere in the past, an imprint would be discernible. The scientist found no relationship between Neanderthals and modern humans. In fact, the DMA more closely resembles a chimpanzee than a human.

Neanderthals had no chin, bony eyebrow ridges, a pushed-out lower jaw, and an indention at the back of the skull to allow the head to stay upright while moving on all fours. These traits are shared by chimpanzees and apes. No formal burials, tools, jewelry, clothing, or other man made object can be attributed to Neanderthals. Their bones have been found next to human remains and artifacts, but they exhibit the distinguishing marks of something that was just had for dinner.

John's Take

People have been duped into thinking Neanderthal could walk down a street today and go unnoticed. We now know that Neanderthal was a chimp, a scientific mistake like Peking Man, Java Man, Piltdown Man, and Nebraska Man. When I went to school a test with five wrong and three unanswered was graded an "F". That gives the theory of evolution a failing grade. I think we call it "achieve a deficiency" today.

By John Roberts, April 23, 1998

This has been a big year for gene research. Scientists have made great progress in unraveling the code stored in the human genome. Old age is the newest target. A recent discovery has identified the process by which a cell grows old. Scientists predict that within five years they will have a pill that will restore cells to their youthful state.

When a cell divides, its DNA splits down the middle and is duplicated. A small bit at the end of one strand, called the Telomere, gets progressively shorter with each division. Eventually, the Telomere shrinks so much, after about 40 to 90 divisions, that the cell can no longer divide. An enzyme called Telomerase can rebuild the Telomere, allowing normal human cells grown in the laboratory to continue to divide beyond their normal limit. Scientist claim the lab specimens are well over 40 generations past the known limit of divisions, with no end in sight.

This has also been a big year for cloning. Dolly the sheep is just the first step towards routine gene engineering and cloned herds of perfect animals. What is next? Bringing animals back from extinction? Cloning a Woolly Mammoth or other mummified creatures from the past?

John's Take

Could it be that Scientists have just found Dick Clark's secret? Maybe we are close to a new age in medicine where engineering disease out of our genes will be a natural part of a visit to the doctor's office. Once we take that leap, cloning organs or spare body parts is just a small step away.

By John Roberts, April 23, 1998

NASA claimed in 1995 that it had found evidence of ancient life in a Martian meteorite. The discovery was not found by a scientist, but rather a scientist's wife. While examining the rock on their kitchen table she noticed what looked like traces of fossilized bacteria. Even the President of the United States gave a speech about how profound this discovery was - that "we may have to change our beliefs on how life began." Great story, too bad it's not true. It turns out that skeptics were right. The fossils were just traces of microscopic mud, and any organic chemicals in the rock come from contamination on Earth rather than bacteria on Mars. That has not stopped NASA from using the story to push their agenda. At the top of their priorities is looking for life in outer space.

John's Take

I wish someone would start a search for intelligent life at NASA or JPL. Somewhere they have lost their way. Society does owe a lot to the space programs. Much of our modern conveniences came from NASA research. However, all current programs seam to be focused on hopeless objectives. We spent millions on two missions to Mars, and found nothing but barren, dead rocks on both occasions. Maybe it is time to stop wasting NASA's limited funds on these nonproductive programs.

One frontier worth searching for life is the ocean depths here on Earth. Deeper than the highest mountains, the oceans still hold many mysterious forms of life. One recent discovery was of a new species of Giant Squid, from 60 to 160 meters long. Think of the attraction that would make at Sea World. Much more interesting than viewing a boring Martian rock at the Smithsonian.

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