Making Sense of Scents

Making Sense of Scents

Can you make sense of scents? What if I told you your brain can make sense of about 10,000 scents? Seem like a lot?

How does your nose tell the difference between a rose and a skunk? Until only recently, scientists really weren't sure. Of course, research marches on!

Now we know that humans and mammals detect smells by using at least 1,000 different genes. These genes are located in every cell in your body, but they are active only in your nose.

This discovery, say scientists, gives them their first insight into how smell works. Before this, said one scientist, "We had almost no knowledge of the olfactory system and this really opens up the molecular study of smell in a very fascinating way."

They say that each of the different genes seems designed to respond to a small group of odors. As each group of genes does its part, the entire system is able to recognize everything we can smell.

These genes pass signals from the nerve cells in the nose to a small region of the brain called the olfactory bulb.

Now that smell genes are identified, researchers say they can begin to understand how odors are detected and how the brain interprets those signals.

Our sense of smell relies on a very elegant and sophisticated system. Imagine, 1,000 genes lie at the heart of that system. Each one of those genes is information – a programmed code that is designed to make sense of what we smell.

Information, programming and decoding are all terms that assume that we have a highly intelligent Creator who designed our sense of smell! Any other assumption would be arrogance on the part of man!

2011 Christian Nature

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Eat Chocolate, Get Omega 3

Good news! Chocolate lovers can get their Omega 3 supplements by eating chocolate! Wouldn't you rather have chocolate than those stinky capsules that make you burp from the cold-water fish oil? I would!

Omega 3 supplements provide one of the "good" fatty acids nutritionists say can help prevent heart disease and arthritis, while playing an essential role in healthy brain development and growth.

While there are alternative Omega 3 oils on health-food store shelves, a new tasteless and odorless vegetarian variety from Israeli food supplement company LycoRed is designed to be used in baked goods and candies because it is able to survive heating. The company has completed successful trials of its supplement in chocolates, crackers and bread.

LycoRed, whose main business is natural nutritional supplements and colorants, launched the new algae-derived Lyc-O-Mega 10 AL late last year and it is now available worldwide.

According to Dr. Dorit Rozner, R&D manager at LycoRed, "The advantages of Omega 3 to our health are well known, but most of us are challenged to get enough in our diets, especially for children, for whom taking capsules is difficult."

Many organs in our bodies need the cholesterol-busting fat derived from Omega 3, also known as docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), to maintain functioning. Since the body is not able to manufacture it, this oil must be obtained from food.

Found in walnuts and in lesser amounts in fruit and seeds like flax, Omega 3 is most plentiful in fish and algae. Unfortunately, it's the oily, pungent ones like herring, mackerel, sturgeon and anchovies that contain the most good oils.

"As adding Omega 3 directly to foods normally within our diets results in ‘fishy' tasting products, we saw an opportunity to utilize our unique microencapsulation technology," says Rozner. "The resulting product, Lyc-O-Mega 10 AL, allows the confectionery and bakery industry to create great-tasting products -- and deliver on DHA."

LycoRed's parent company is Israel-based Makhteshim Agan, the world's largest maker of generic agricultural chemicals, which in turn is now 60 percent owned by the Chinese company ChemChina.

LycoRed has production facilities in Israel, Europe and the United States, and it supplies the food, beverage and cosmetics industries worldwide.

Bring on the chocolate!

2011 Christian Nature

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Nature of the Miracle Metal

There are a few things you may not know about the nature of this miracle metal. For one, it has been used for thousands of years as an antibiotic! God was kind enough to make it available to every generation of man since Creation! In fact, this miracle metal was man's FIRST antibiotic!

Miracle Metal

Modern researchers are just beginning to appreciate the wonder of this natural antibiotic that kills some 650 different strains of disease organisms. It is virtually nontoxic. And best of all, disease organisms don't become resistant to it. It's silver!

Ancient Greeks and Romans used silver containers to keep liquids fresh.

American settlers would often place a silver dollar in milk to delay its souring.

Most of the world's airlines use silver filters on aircraft to prevent dysentery.

After testing 23 different methods for purifying water, NASA selected silver water filters for use on board the space shuttle.

Japanese researchers have found that silver is even able to detoxify some poisons.

God's knowledge is far above ours. He has hidden in the creation around us knowledge that can help us in this earthly life. He invites us to learn from Him.

Now that you know the medicinal benefits of silver, does it make you feel better when you want to pay the ever-increasing price for this miracle metal?

2011 Christian Nature

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Christian Nature Christmas Videos

First, a video from the Nature Conservancy, then one from our troops this year.

Christmas time is a time for joy, and the light show by the troops is spectacular as they sing "I'm Proud to be an American!" Enjoy!

Father Christmas Meets Mother Nature

Since 1775, over 1.3 million American troops have made the ultimate sacrifice. Thank you and please visit SemperFiFund.org to help give back to those who protect our freedom.

2011 Christmas Lights! Thank you, troops!

2011 Merry Christmas from Christian Nature!

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Do Only Christians Believe in Creation?

This will shock some, but a person does not have to be a Christian in order to believe in Creationism. One of the geniuses in our history believed God created the universe and he was not a Christian. Know who I'm talking about? Thomas Jefferson!

Respect for the name Thomas Jefferson reaches far beyond the United States and far beyond the English language. By the time Jefferson was 14, he could read four languages. He later learned three more. Jefferson's legacy goes far beyond his accomplishments in law and government.

He also made his mark in the fields of mathematics, architecture, medicine, agriculture, literature, education, music and science.

He earned three doctorates. And he served as president of the American Philosophical Society, America's leading scientific organization of the time, for nearly 20 years.

One might think that Jefferson would have accepted the evolutionary ideas that were being circulated then by such people as Charles Darwin's grandfather. However, while Jefferson was a deist rather than a Christian, he spoke and wrote against evolutionary ideas and in favor of a Creator.

He based his argument that belief in a Creator is more scientific than evolution on the precise and interrelated design that is visible everywhere in the creation.

If you would like more information, I recommend the book The Real Thomas Jefferson (American Classic Series), published by the National Center for Constitutional Studies in 1981.

I thank God that His handiwork is so clear in the creation that one does not even have to be a Christian to know that He is Creator!

2011 Christian Nature

For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities--his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God.
Romans 1:20

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Why Evergreen Trees at Christmas?

Why do we decorate evergreen trees at Christmas?

The tradition began in Germany and the evergreen represents eternal life as it stays green all year. We place candles or lights now, to represent that Christ is the light of the world. We place a star on top to remember the star in the east, or an angel to represent the angel that appeared to the shepherds with 'Good News to all men'.

People also hang greenery around the house, such as holly and ivy.

The needle-like points of holly leaves are thought to resemble the crown of thorns that Jesus wore when He was crucified.

The red berries symbolize the drops of blood Jesus shed.

During the Victorian times, Christmas trees were decorated with candles to remind children of the stars in the sky at the time of the birth of Jesus. Using candles was, of course, a great fire hazard.[I wrote about this before, in my post The History of the Christmas Tree.]

Today, candles have been replaced by little colored electric lights, more a reminder of the circus than the sacred symbolization of the 'Light of the World'.

Christmas trees were also decorated with sweets and cakes hung with ribbon. In 1880, Woolworths first sold manufactured Christmas tree ornaments which proved to be very popular.

Seems a shame so many have decided to forgo shopping for 'the perfect' live tree, and have decided, instead, to opt for the fake tree.

2011 Christian Nature

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Seeds, Flowers, Plants and Parables

Jesus taught through parables for a reason: He reached people on 'common ground'. Maybe that's why someone who works with seeds, flowers, and plants understands His parables better. (A parable is a short story designed to teach a lesson or a truth.)

I owned a horticulture corporation for 25 years, plus I live in beautiful Southern California where almost anything blossoms. As a result, God has had opportunity to teach me numerous spiritual truths through plants and flowers.

For example, He taught me the value of patience through Impatiens. I am just like other people - I have a real problem with wanting it now!

He taught me there was eternal value in what I had to endure as a child and teen, and I wrote my autobiography in a poem I wrote about the Broken Rose. What woman doesn't appreciate potpourri? It made me understand He had a different plan and purpose for my life than He did for my sister and others.

He taught me about the futility of fear through my hothouse Azaleas, and gave me courage to get out into reality knowing He was with me as He had promised He would be. I was coaxed out of the hothouse of my own making.

God taught me to look for weeds in my own heart before trying to find them in the lives of others. Now that was a valuable lesson!

He helped me grieve change as I dealt with the loss of flower fields in the city of Lompoc. I never have liked change.

He showed me how fleeting and self-seeking outer beauty was, as opposed to inner beauty that never fades and embraces others with His love.

I learned the value of nature, knowing God put the first man and woman in The Garden of Eden. Bougainvilleas, or my love for them, taught me how to de-stress and allow myself to feel His Presence and pleasure in me, His daughter. He was always feeding my soul through His imprints of Himself in nature.

He communicated His love for me through the dew-covered Sunflower, early one morning, and reminded me of the importance of keeping my eyes upon Him at all times. Without Him there is no hope in this world. Have you ever noticed how the Sunflower keeps turning so that it faces the sun? What an example of how every Christian should live!

And He solidified my knowledge of a spiritual conversion as I learned about the beautiful rare orchids. Even orchids need a conversion!

I was reminded of all the unsung heroes out there through my customer's choice of a large Ficus Benjamina. They receive no accolades, and yet they are society's most valuable asset.

There is nothing like getting your hands dirty in healthy soil, planting a seed and not digging it up before He has time to root and spout into a precious baby plant - He is the Perfecter of all seeds.

Many of the parables Jesus told were about soil, seeds, plants and other basic elements known to the people around Him. It has been the same with me, and I am eternally grateful to Him for the profound Truths He has taught me through seeds, flowers, and plants.

2009-2011 Christian Nature

And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so. Genesis 1:11

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Are Poinsettias Toxic? - Video

Ice Punch Poinsettia

Many think the poinsettia, like the oleander, is toxic and if their pets eat them, they will die. This, and much more misinformation keeps people from having these beautiful plants in their homes. There's so much to learn about poinsettias!

Even as a horticulturist, I'm amazed by the variety of colors poinsettias come in! Poinsettias come in a large variety of colors, including blue. I'm not kidding! My personal favorite is the red and white 'ice punch'. And I'm shocked that people don't know they can be either indoor, outdoor, or both types of plants! In fact, there's a lot to learn about these beautiful flowers!

There's a lot people don't know about Poinsettias. Let's start with pronunciation. It's a four-syllable word: Poin-sett-i-a, not three-syllable word: Poin-sett-a. But it wasn't always called by that name.

Way back in 1829, Dr Joel Roberts Poinsett, who was America's first Ambassador to Mexico (1825-1829), noticed these plants along the road in Mexico. Since he was a curious scientist, he brought some of these plants back to Charleston, South Carolina and began to grow them in his greenhouse. The plant was named in his honor in 1836.

 The Latin name is Euphorbia pulcherrima (the most beautiful Euphorbia), but it has been called by several other common names in America: 'painted leaf', 'Mexican fire plant', 'Oak Leaf' and 'Crown of Thorns' until it was named Poinsettias PULCHERRIMA, or 'Poinsettia' in honor of its discoverer, Dr. Poinsett.

He was the founder of the National Institute for the Promotion of Science and the Useful Arts, predecessor of the Smithsonian Institution.

By the early 1900’s, they were sold as potted plants in California. Many poinsettias are still raised in the state, especially for use as Christmas gifts and decorations. The city of Ventura, California is even known as the 'Poinsettia City'. (My neighborhood!)

You can drive down almost any street in Ventura and see Poinsettias as major landscape plants (as tall as 12 feet), outside most houses. Most homeowners plant the poinsettias after Christmas, and because Ventura is truly a 70-degree-year-round city, the Poinsettias love the mild climate and grow beautifully and rapidly!

Another thing you may not know is that the 'flowers' are not the red leaves, but are the yellow bracts in the middle of the floret. The Poinsettia blooms at Christmas in Mexico, where the flower is called the Flower of the Good Night (Christmas Eve.) 

According to a Mexican legend, the flower acquired this title because of a miracle.

A little Mexican boy, eager to visit the Christ Child in the manger in his village Church, was unhappy because he had no gift to offer. Nevertheless, he gathered branches of green leaves from a bush that grew along the dusty road and took them to the Church. The other children made fun of the boy's crude gift, but when he presented the weeds, all were astonished to see a brilliant, red, star-shaped flower blooming on each branch. (Daniel Foley, Christmas the World over: How the Season of Joy and Good Will Is Observed and Enjoyed by Peoples Here and Everywhere 1963)


The video below breaks the myth that poinsettias are toxic. They are not!







If you are thinking of planting your Poinsettia after Christmas, be sure it's on the shady side of your house. It will give you pleasure for many years to come!

Have a blessed Christmas!

2011 Christian Nature

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Six-Legged Soldiers

Well, our troops are on their way home from Iraq for Christmas. But in the world of insects, the troops guard to the death! Let's look at six-legged soldiers!

We have long known that the community within a honeybee hive divides the labor among specialized workers.

* There are scouts who search for food.
* Nurses tend the young.
* Some bees specialized in cleaning.
* Undertaker bees who remove and dispose of dead members of the hive.

Scientists have now discovered that honeybee colonies also have brigades of specialized "soldiers." These bees often seem to be sitting around, not doing much. In fact, they have only one duty – attack large intruders.

It appears that these bees are fed and cared for by the hive members while they wait for the alarm. Should a raccoon, bear or human threaten the hive, thousands of soldier bees swarm around the enemy and sting.

Soldiers have been well-known members of ant and termite colonies. However, up to now, they have never been confirmed in honeybee hives.

The universal need for soldiers for protection among social insects reminds us that some things are universal in this world. These soldiers are not responsible for a bear's attack on the hive. Nor are human soldiers who follow just war principles responsible for human war.

Notes: The Argus

2011 Christian Nature

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Mother Nurtures, Father Protects

If I asked you what the roles are of the mother and father, you would probably say 'the mother nurtures and the father protects'. Right! So how about preborn babies? Do the same roles apply to the preborn? Yes, according to research!

Most of us are familiar with the body's response to foreign tissue. Transplant patients must be carefully matched and then patients still must be given powerful drugs to prevent destruction of the transplanted tissue. Our bodies' immune system identifies tissue that's not its own and then tries to destroy that tissue.

As we have learned more about the immune system, doctors began asking themselves why a pregnant mother's body doesn't reject the foreign tissue of the baby growing inside her. The answer to this mystery is not fully understood, but research has suggested some answers.

From conception, the unborn child is a genetically unique individual. Researchers think that the most important protection the unborn child has is the trophoblast. This tissue, known as the caul, seals the growing infant from its mother. However, the trophoblast itself develops from the same cells as the infant.

So why doesn't the mother's immune system attack? It appears that under normal conditions the trophoblast is a special set of cells that the body cannot identify as foreign.

In addition, the trophoblast makes cells that encourage the mother's immune system to protect it. Scientists now believe that this amazing feature may actually be provided by the father's genetic information.

In effect, the baby, with the help of the father, immunizes the mother's system so that it doesn't reject the baby! So, even before birth, the mother nurtures and the father protects the child.

Notes: Discover/Creation Moments

2011 Christian Nature

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The History of The Christmas Tree

Christmas Trees have been around since the seventh century. The fir tree was hung upside down to illustrate the Holy Trinity.

Five centuries later the fir had replaced the oak as "God's tree" and was hung upside down in houses during the festive season.

When St. Boniface (an English monk) took the Christmas tree to Germany, Martin Luther showed how candles in trees shined like stars in the night sky; a concept that (along with tinsel) was introduced to Britain by the German-born Georgian Kings.

In 1848 Prince Albert and Queen Victoria were pictured in front of their sumptuously decorated tree (now right side up) in London Illustrated News, setting a fashion throughout Britain and the United States. The fire risk from the lighted candles was considerable and not eased by the introduction of electric lights.

Albert Sadacca was fifteen in 1917, when he first got the idea to make safety Christmas lights for Christmas trees. A tragic fire in New York City involving Christmas tree candles inspired Albert to see if he could make them safe.

The Sadacca family sold ornamental novelty items including novelty lights which Albert adapted into safe electric lights for Christmas trees. The first year only one hundred strings of white lights sold. The second year Sadacca used brightly colored bulbs and a multi-million dollar business took-off.

Later, a company started by Albert Sadacca (and his two brothers Henri and Leon) called NOMA Electric Company became the largest Christmas lighting company in the world.

But in the beginning, the Christmas Tree was about the Holy Trinity.

O Christmas Tree

2011 Christian Nature

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No eCards in 1840!

In these times, many of us have abandoned paper Christmas Cards for eCards. It's less expensive, and it's just easier. Odd, but the 'easier' motivation was around in 1840, too, and needless to say, eCards were not around in 1840!

The commercial Christmas card as we know it originated in London in 1843. That winter, Sir Henry Cole, a civil servant, felt he was too busy to write individual Christmas greetings to his acquaintances. He asked his friend, the painter John Callcott Horsley, to design a card with an image and brief greeting that he could mail instead.

Horsley designed a triptych (a three-fold paper), with the two side panels depicting good deeds (clothing the naked and feeding the hungry) and the center panel showing a family Christmas party. The inclusion of booze at this party got Cole and Horsley an earful from the British Temperance Movement.

At the bottom of the center panel was the inscription “A Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to You.”

The card was lithographed on 5 1/8” X 3 1/4” stiff cardboard in dark sepia and then colored by hand. An edition of 1,000 cards was printed and sold at Felix Summerly’s Treasure House in London for a shilling each. (Today 72 shillings equals $1. But in 1843, a shilling could buy a cow!)

Of those cards, twelve exist today in private collections, including the one Cole sent to his grandmother.

Obviously, when cards are sent these days, their nature is distinctively Christian in their celebration of our Savior's birth.

A creative inventor and a brilliant designer started this whole sending of Christmas Cards! I wonder what they would think of eCards?

Notes: Christian Broadcasting Network

2011 Christian Nature

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Courtship Requires Poison?

The more poisonous, the more attractive for courtship? Yes! In a clever scheme of self-protection, the more poisonous the male Rattlebox moth is, the more prized he is by the female Rattlebox moth.

In the caterpillar stage, the male moth favors the pods of certain legumes. These pods contain a powerful poison that seems to have no effect on the caterpillar. After the caterpillar has become a moth and it's time for mating, the male releases a scent produced by the poison.

Those who have more poison in their bodies release a stronger scent, while those with little poison release only a weak scent. Female rattlebox moths prefer males with a strong scent. During mating, the male coats the eggs with some of the poison, making them unpalatable to predators, like ladybugs, who might eat the eggs.

So the more poison a male has, the better protected the female's eggs will be. Studies have shown that female Rattlebox moths will ignore males that have collected no poison.

Likewise, the male of the queen butterfly species collects another plant poison in his system. This poison is produced by plants for protection against insects. The butterfly doesn't attack the plant; rather, he drinks the poison from already injured plants. Here, too, the female queen butterfly favors those males with the most poison.

It appears that human beings are not the only creatures who go to the drug store to get needed medicines. The Creator has provided the animal world with their own drug store and the knowledge of how to use the chemicals He has provided.

Notes: "Different strokes for six-legged folks." Discover, June/Creation Moments

2011 Christian Nature

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Ever Met a Funny Bacteria?

Bacteria have personalities? How can that be? Are there funny bacteria? Have you ever met a funny bacteria?

Scientists are learning that even the lowly bacteria have mind and memory. New research is showing that mind, memory, brain, and personality did not evolve. These can be found in the lowliest of creatures, including the bacteria.

Another sign of intelligence in a life form is the ability to learn. Using attracting and repelling substances, scientists have found that bacteria can learn about their surroundings and draw conclusions.

Follow-up tests showed that they later remember what they learned.

Scientists have even found that younger bacteria learn better than older ones. If some things are not learned when young, they never can be learned! It seems that it's hard to teach an old bacterium new tricks!

The biggest surprise of all came when scientists discovered that bacteria have what the researchers called individual personality. They are mystified about how bacteria, each with the same genetic structure and from the same environment, can develop unique quirks in behavior.

Because we find individual personality even in the lowly bacteria, we know that did not evolve.

That God would give even a bacterium the gift of personality shows us something about His mind toward us. Nothing is so small or unimportant that it escapes His attention.

Father God is a God of details as well as a God of love, Who is concerned about every individual among us - even lowly bacteria.

Notes: Pietsch, Paul "The mind of a microbe." Science Digest

2011 Christian Nature

Though the LORD is on high, He regards the lowly; but the proud He knows from afar. Psalm 138:6

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This Bird Solved the Problem!

Japan operates some of the world’s fastest electric trains, which travel in excess of 200 miles per hour (322 km/h). The trains have an excellent safety record, but one problem has nagged engineers for years. Japan’s rail system has many tunnels. When a train passes through such a tunnel at high speed, it compresses the air in front of the engine. Upon leaving the tunnel, this air rushes outward, creating a loud thunderclap, or sonic boom. Nearby windows rattle, and people are awakened by the noise. Japan has strict laws on sound pollution, and design engineers sought a solution to the “tunnel boom” problem. They found the surprising answer in nature.

The kingfisher is a comical bird with a large head, extra-long beak, and stubby tail. Despite its ungainly appearance, this bird is an excellent fisherman. From its perch on a branch, it will dive straight down into water at high speed, with very little splash. It’s the envy of Olympic divers.

What interested engineers? Wind tunnel experiments verify that the kingfisher’s bill is ideally shaped for a smooth, streamlined transition from air into water. This drastic change in pressure is similar to the change a bullet train experiences when emerging from a tunnel into the open air.

As a result of such studies, the front ends of many Japanese bullet trains have been redesigned to mimic the shape of the kingfisher’s bill.

New train engines have long, tapered, futuristic noses. As a result, sound is greatly diminished when they exit tunnels, and overall train vibration is lessened.

As an added bonus, the streamlined design reduces total energy consumption by 15 percent. Even the recessed headlights of the train engines are modeled after the nostrils of the kingfisher.

The aerodynamic kingfisher has led the way in achieving smooth, quiet train operation. As biomimicry expert Janine Benyus concludes, “We are surrounded by genius.”

Nature appears to be programmed with endless useful ideas that await our discovery and application. The standard evolutionary explanation is that the designs we see around us are only apparent and ultimately the product of chance accidents. In this view, the shape of the kingfisher has been fine-tuned by countless generations of trial and error, and luck.

As Job 12:7–9 advises us, “Ask the beasts, and they will teach you; and the birds of the air, and they will tell you . . . that the hand of the Lord has done this.”

Thank you, Answers in Genesis

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Smelly Frogs a Blessing!

When it comes to frogs, the smellier, the better -- at least as far as scientists are concerned. Smelly frogs are a blessing from God!

Some of the nastiest smelling creatures on Earth have skin that produces the greatest known variety of anti-bacterial substances that hold promise for becoming new weapons in the battle against antibiotic-resistant infections, scientists are reporting.

Their research on amphibians so smelly (like rotten fish, for instance) that scientists term them "odorous frogs" appears in ACS' Journal of Proteome Research.

Yun Zhang, Wen-Hui Lee and Xinwang Yang explain that scientists long have recognized frogs' skin as a rich potential source of new antibiotics.

Frogs live in warm, wet places where bacteria thrive and have adapted skin that secretes chemicals, known as peptides, to protect themselves from infections.

Zhang's group wanted to identify the specific antimicrobial peptides (AMPs), and the most potent to give scientists clues for developing new antibiotics.

They identified more than 700 of these substances from nine species of odorous frogs and concluded that the AMPs account for almost one-third of all AMPs found in the world, the greatest known diversity of these germ-killing chemicals.

Interestingly, some of the AMPs have a dual action, killing bacteria directly and also activating the immune system to assist in the battle.

So don't look down your nose at those frogs who smell bad. They are valuable!

Notes: American Chemical Society

2011 Christian Nature

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Crying Plants

Few had heard plants crying. But recent research discovered plants make noises (crying) when they are dying from thirst.

Now scientists have learned that plants do indeed cry out when they need attention. We just haven't heard them because the sounds made by a thirsty plant are about five times higher-pitched than we can hear.

But scientists with tiny specialized microphones have heard corn plants calling for water. During their study, researchers learned that plants make a great deal of noise.

Corn leaves and stalks make noises as they slide against each other during growth. We have all heard the sound of plant leaves rattling in the wind. Corn stalks also make noise as they bend in the wind.

However, another sound was heard when the corn didn't have enough water. It was a high-pitched popping noise. Plants have water tubes in them that carry water and nutrients up from the roots to the leaves. Water flows up these tubes under tension. When there is not enough water, the tension becomes too great and the tubes fracture. The popping is the sound of those tubes fracturing.

The result of fractured tubes is a wilted plant. When water is restored, the tubes refill, the popping noises stop, and the plant again looks healthy.

The purpose of this research was to learn when to water crops and how much water they need. Now that we have learned how and why plants communicate - even cry - , crops can tell farmers when to water!

2011 Christian Nature

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Whee! Here Come the Flying Insects!

Did you know some insects (spiders) can fly? Think of a magi on a flying carpet made of silk!

Spider silk begins as a liquid protein made by silk glands on the spider's abdomen. Spiders make many kinds of silk for different uses. As the liquid silk is forced through the spider's spinnerets, it begins to dry. The spinnerets pull and stretch the silk, creating just the right kind of silk for the spider's use. Though the result seems thin and weak to us, ounce for ounce, spider silk is stronger than steel.

Web-building spiders make two types of silk for their traps. The basic structure of the web is made of strong, non-sticky silk. Then the spider adds a sticky, elastic silk to trap its prey. Some webs are irregular, others are flat and sheet-like, while still others are shaped like funnels. All of us have admired the beautiful orb web.

However, spiders also have many other ways in which they use their silk. The ogre-faced spider makes a net that it throws around its intended victim. The European water spider builds its web underwater. It stores its air supply in the web. The lasso spider twirls a single strand of silk over its head. A tiny drop of sticky silk at the end of the lasso captures its prey when the lasso is thrown.

Probably the most creative use of silk is by the young of some species. When they hatch, they produce long loops of silk that catch the wind and send them floating off to new places.

The spider's skill in producing and using silk had to come from Someone wiser and more clever than the spider. Clearly, the spider has been well-equipped and instructed by its Creator.

Notes: Creation Moments/Bob Jones University Press

2011 Christian Nature

"O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable [are] His judgments, and His ways past finding out!" Romans 11:33

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Who Was The Designer Who Inspired Engineers?

According to researchers at the American Institute of Physics, the ingenious engineering of the brilliant blue wings of the Mountain Swallowtail (Papilio Ulysses) Butterfly have inspired the design of a new kind of water-repellent surface.

The press release notes that the Swallowtail's wings' shed water so easily because they contain "ultra-tiny structures" enabling them to capture air, creating a cushion between water and the wing itself.

Past attempts at creating water repellent surfaces similarly effective have failed over time as the artificial air traps would lose their contents over time.

However, with the God-designed butterfly wing as a model, an international team of researchers have found a way "to create a multi-layered silicon structure that traps the air and holds it for longer than one year," making the surface water repellent like the wing.

The release states, "the researchers used an etching process to carve out micro-scale pores and sculpt tiny cones from the silicon.

The team found that features of the resulting structure that might usually be considered defects, such as undercuts beneath the etching mask and scalloped surfaces, actually improved the water repellent properties of the silicon by creating a multi-layered hierarchy of air traps.

The intricate structure of pores, cones, bumps, and grooves also succeeded in trapping light, almost perfectly absorbing wavelengths just above the visible range.

The biologically inspired surface, described in the AIP's journal Applied Physics Letters, could find uses in electro-optical devices, infrared imaging detectors, or chemical sensors."

Source: Catherine Meyers - American Institute of Physics

2011 Christian Nature

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How Did Frogs Get So Smart?

I spent my childhood catching pollywogs (or tadpoles). Those smart little critters just fascinated me! I always wondered how their mothers got so smart? Even as a child, I knew 'smartness' could not evolve! So, as a Christian who believed God created everything in the Universe, I concluded God must have made Mama Frogs smart!

Let's focus on those smart frogs for a moment. Frogs need to keep their eggs moist. Water must be available for their tadpoles. Frogs have many different ways of doing this.

The Venezuelan marsupial frog has a skin pouch, just like a kangaroo, except hers is on her back. The female marsupial frog stores her eggs in the pouch. There is plenty of moisture and protection in her pouch for the young frogs. When they are mature, the skin pouch sort of unzips, and out come up to 20 young frogs!

The Brazilian tree frog uses a completely different approach. This frog actually builds a pool of mud, near a pond, in which it lays its eggs. This pool is usually built so that by the time the eggs have developed into strong tadpoles, the regular tropical rains wash the pool, along with the swimming tadpoles, into the pond!

In Job 38:36, the Lord asks Job, "Who has put wisdom in the mind?" It is obvious to us that only the Lord, the Creator of heaven and earth, could have given frogs these abilities and this knowledge. And it is just as clear that it is nonsense to say that chance and time made these frogs smart!

Only God can give intelligence!

Notes: Science Digest

2011 Christian Nature

When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers,
the moon and the stars, which You have set in place,
what is mankind that You are mindful of them, human beings that You care for them?
LORD, our Lord, how majestic is Your name in all the earth!
(Verses from Psalm 8)

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The Mystery of Flight

I was 'Nancy Drewish' even as a child. Life was a mystery, and I wanted to figure it out! Looking at nature as a Christian, I am pleasantly surprised by the mystery around me, as well as a sense of wonder over the sophisticated engineering designs in nature. Take, for example, the mystery of flight.

Some evolutionists suggest that perhaps birds are descended from lizards that fell out of trees a lot. Other evolutionists say that birds came from lizards who grew wings, not for flight, but to chase down and catch insects. Yet, they have little to say about the fact that we humans have come by most of our sophisticated knowledge about flight from studying the birds.

Then there is the problem, for the evolutionist, of how flight accidentally evolved so many times for so many creatures.

Scientists studying the dragonfly are learning even more secrets of flight.

Our best high-performance aircraft can barely lift themselves off the ground. However, the dragonfly can lift 15 times his own weight into the air. Is this not awesome?

Scientists have learned that this is because the dragonfly's wings are designed to create little whirlwinds over their top surfaces. These whirlwinds are the secret to creating incredible lifting power.

Ways are now being planned to apply this secret to new aircraft designs.
The engineering excellence found in nature and from which we have learned so much even in this day of interplanetary probes is not witness to a mindless process of evolution, but to a wise and mindful Creator.

How could anyone not be filled with a sense of wonder over the mysteries of nature?

Notes: Science Digest/Creation Moments

2011 Christian Nature

God understands its way, and He knows its place. For He looks to the ends of the earth, and sees under the whole heavens, to establish a weight for the wind, and mete out the waters by measure. When He made a law for the rain, and a path for the thunderbolt, then He saw wisdom and declared it; He prepared it, indeed, He searched it out. And to man He said, 'Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, and to depart from evil is understanding."'
—Job 28:23-28 NKJV

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Nature's Janitor - Turkey Vulture

Who is nature's janitor? The vulture, of course! But did you know there's a turkey vulture (Cathartes aura), too?

The turkey vulture is one of America's largest birds of prey. It reaches a length of 32 inches with a wing span of 6 feet. The turkey vulture most commonly feeds on dead animal carcasses, and is protected from disease by a very sophisticated immune system.

This video, by the Turkey Vulture Society, will tell you everything you did not know about turkey vultures. Be prepared for some corny, bad singing while you're learning important information about Nature's Janitor, the Turkey Vulture.



Visit the Turkey Vulture Society website for more information:
Jeff "Dr. Chordate" Moran
Videography by Ken Kramm

2011 Christian Nature

“Some people, in order to discover God, read books. But there is a great book: the very appearance of created things. Look above you! Look below you! Read it. God, whom you want to discover, never wrote that book with ink. Instead He set before your eyes the things that He had made. Can you ask for a louder voice than that?”

— St. Augustine (354-430

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Beavers Are Such Engineers!

Most everyone knows beavers build dams. But few know they build channels and bridges, too! The Creator designed beavers to be such engineers!

When building a dam, a beaver first rams poles into the bed of his waterway. The poles are placed on an angle to increase holding power and are then rammed into the waterway bed, thick end first. This basic skeleton is then reinforced with twigs, leaves, mud and stone. It's not unusual for the beaver to use forked branches to further anchor his construction to trees and boulders.

One beaver dam was over 1,800 feet long, 9 feet high and 18 feet wide. It was strong enough for a horse and rider to use as a natural bridge.

Large trees brought down for use in construction are not dragged by the beavers to their project. Instead, beavers dig overland channels and float the trees to the main body of water where they are working. These channels can be 1,000 feet long.

Our wise Creator gave so much intelligence and wisdom to the animal kingdom that often we can learn some things from the animals. Rather than supporting the idea of evolution, with its claim that there is progressively greater intelligence in higher creatures, the beaver supports the idea that the Creator is the source of all intelligence.

2011 Christian Nature

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Myrrh May Have Cholesterol Lowering Properties

"Myrrh is known to have medicinal properties and was used in a wide range of traditional remedies over the centuries as a mouthwash, for treating sore threats, bronchial congestion, as well as an antiseptic astringent, for soothing cuts and burns, and for various other less well-convincing purposes, such as calming emotions."

REPORTER'S NOTE: Hmm, calming emotions. That would have come in handy when Mary and Joseph had to flee to Egypt with their new baby Jesus, Herod's hounds hot on their heels. As always, God is the perfect gift-giver! -Teresa Neumann

New lab experiments are suggesting that certain trees of the Middle East, known as the "myrrh" of the Christmas story, may have cholesterol-lowering properties.

As reported in Science Daily, "myrrh is a rust-colored resin obtained from several species of Commiphora and Balsamodendron tree, native to the Middle East and Ethiopia. It is perhaps best known as one of the gifts of the Magi offered to the infant Jesus, along with gold and frankincense. At the time, myrrh was revered as an embalming ointment and is also an ingredient in incense."

Nadia Saleh Al-Amoudi of the Department of Nutrition and Food Science, at the King Abd Al-Aziz University, in Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, explains that myrrh is known to have medicinal properties and was used in a wide range of traditional remedies over the centuries as a mouthwash, for treating sore throats, bronchial congestion, as well as an antiseptic astringent, for soothing cuts and burns, and for various other less well-convincing purposes, such as calming emotions.

"Of all nutrients, fat is implicated most often as a contributing factor to disease," explains Al-Amoudi. Excess fat in the diet contributes to obesity, diabetes, cancer, hypertension and atherosclerosis. So the change that most people should make in their diets is to limit their intake of total fat and so cholesterol, especially as hypercholesterolemia leads to deposits on the inside of arteries, she says. However, certain herbal remedies are thought to help reduce cholesterol levels.

How many of us run for 'comfort foods' - usually high in fats - when stressed out? Something to think about!

2009-2011 Christian Nature

(Please note: This is a nature blog, not a science blog. The name of this blog is Christian Nature. Notice "Christian" is the first word and "Nature" is the second.)

I am not a pantheist. In pantheism the Universe (Nature) and God are equivalent. I am a Bible-believing Christian who believes God is the Creator of nature. When He created humans He placed them into nature. It was called "The Garden of Eden."

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