Nature

Nature – The Amazingly Made Caribou

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It is hard to understand how the caribou can live in regions that average well below freezing temperatures for six to eight months out of the year. This extreme cold, often with high winds, makes the frigid temperatures even harder to handle. Let’s see how it is possible for caribou to survive in the extreme cold and wind.

First, caribou have two coats that cover their skin to help keep them warm. The undercoat, is dense and wooly, while the other is an overcoat consisting of long, quill-like, air-filled hairs. This is the primary insulation for the caribou, helping to regulate their core body temperature, and enabling them to stay warm.

During the many months of below-freezing winter, made more dangerous by the wind, caribou often walk in snow deep enough to reach their bellies. Their body organs and brain have to be kept at a temperature of about 101 degrees or they will die. But despite their warm core temperature, their legs are only about one degree above freezing; however, they never freeze. Why? An amazing process known as rete mirabile, the same process that keeps birds’ legs and feet from freezing and keeps the blood from rushing to a giraffe’s head when they bend down to get a drink. It works this way: the 101-degree blood coming down the artery from the heart is in close proximity to the vein with cold blood going up from the legs back to the heart. In a process called countercurrent exchange, the heat is transferred from the artery to the vein, which warms the blood going back to the organs and brain. Hence the legs, which don’t have a great need for warm blood, are kept just above freezing and the blood returning to the body is warmed, which helps maintain their core temperature. Only a “heating and cooling engineer” like God could design this in a living being.

The nose structure of the caribou contributes to its heat and water balance. The nose has turbinates that resemble a rolled-up newspaper. When the caribou breathe air in, which, in an 80-mile-an-hour wind could be minus 60 degrees, the massive surface area of these turbinates does two things: it pulls out the moisture, helping to maintain their water balance and warms the air before it gets to the delicate structures of the bronchial tubes and lungs. When they exhale, most animals breathe out producing steam, but not the caribou. On exhalation, the turbinates again pull out the moisture keeping the water in the system. The moisture conservation is very important because caribou do not drink water. There are minerals in the water of lakes and streams, and drinking water would require an increased filtering workload on the kidneys increasing their water loss. The turbinates also absorb the heat from the air further heated by the lungs, thus helping to maintain their 101-degree core body temperature. All of these heat and moisture conservation mechanisms are critical to help keep them alive in their extreme environments.

None of the mechanisms worked into the bodily systems of the caribou can be the result of gradual evolutionary changes and mutations. Every minute detail was created to allow them to live in their cold and harsh surroundings. It is absolutely amazing that our Lord has thought of everything for the survival of the caribou. “O give thanks to the Lord for He is good.” Psalm 136:1

Adapted from God’s Living Treasures, Volume 2, Amazing Animals of Alaska, Hosted by Dr. Jobe Martin

Nature – Caribou

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Caribou is a species of deer found in the forests, mountains, and arctic tundra of Greenland, Scandinavia, Russia, Alaska, and Canada. The life span of caribou in the wild ranges from about eight to 15 years, with the doe living the longest.

DID YOU KNOW? Reindeer and Caribou are the same creature.

The caribou have the widest and roundest hooves of any of the deer family. They are used as paddles when swimming and as snow shoes when the snow is deep.

During the short summer months, caribou eat the leaves of willows, grass-like plants, flowering tundra plants and mushrooms. Over the long winter months, they eat dried grass-like plants, small shrubs, and their favorite and largest part of their diet, lichens. Those wide hooves are very helpful in digging through the snow and ice to obtain the lichen. Lichen lives under the snow, sometimes under feet of snow in the winter, and you have to wonder how the caribou find it.

Simple. Caribou have a great sense of smell and the ability to see both visible light and ultraviolet light. The lichen absorbs ultraviolet light and is seen in the snow as having wild colors or the color black.

Both the buck and doe grow antlers, though they are much larger and heavier on the buck. Bucks lose their antlers after the fall mating season, but the does retain their antlers through the winter. Having antlers during those long winter months, provides a way to keep the larger bucks from stealing lichens from the smaller, weaker, pregnant does, making it possible for the doe and her unborn calf to survive when food is scarce.

The ability to see ultraviolet light also makes it possible for caribou to see polar bears and other harmful predators. How? Hair absorbs ultraviolet light and makes these predators easy to see, if you’re a caribou.

Caribou feed and travel in large groups, providing extra protection for the feeble and young of their herds. They are very fast runners and can reach speeds between 37-50 mph. A one-day-old caribou can outrun an Olympic sprinter. During their migration south, the pads of their hooves shrink, exposing more of the rim of the hoof providing a better grip on snow and ice.

Another protective measure is a clicking sound made by tendons found in their feet. The sound can be heard from as far away as 150 feet, nearly half the length of a football field. Some scientists believe that this clicking sound helps the caribou find each other in fog and blizzard conditions making it possible for them to stay together in a herd.

God has certainly equipped the caribou to help it survive in its harsh habitat.

Adapted from God’s Living Treasures, Volume 2, “Amazing Animals of Alaska”

Nature – Why Birds’ Feet Don’t Freeze

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A quick glance at a winter weather forecast is enough to make most of us grateful for our warm homes and thankful for those who work outdoors in these brutal conditions.

For the wildlife in our communities, there is no escaping the harsh realities of winter. In fact, many of these animals must spend time each day out in the snow and ice to find the food necessary for survival. Take the Canada goose, for instance. They are a familiar sight at our local lakes and ponds, whether they are frozen solid or not. How do they do it?

Like people and all mammals, birds are warm-blooded. Their body temperature remains constant—about 106 degrees. To maintain their body heat in freezing temperatures, their bodies have been designed with several specialized mechanisms.

Birds’ feet are little more than bone, sinew and scale, with very few nerves, and for birds such as geese, ducks, and other waterfowl that spend time on ice or in cold water, keeping their legs and feet warm is essential for survival. Birds rely on a vascular system called rete mirabile designed to keep their feet warm. In this system, the arteries and veins in the legs and feet are close together, allowing the blood to be warmed and cooled quickly.

Here is how it works. As warm, oxygenated blood leaves the heart in arteries moving toward the bird’s feet, it passes in close proximity to veins returning oxygenated blood back to the heart. This allows for a concurrent heat exchange. The exchange allows the warmth from the arterial blood to increase the temperature of the blood returning in the veins, which is colder after circulating to the bird’s extremities. The warmer arteries heat the cooler veins and the veins cool the arteries. And since the temperature of the bird’s feet is closer to the environmental temperature, they don’t lose as much heat as they would if they were at body temperature. Also, birds’ feet lack sweat glands, so they stay dry with no danger of freezing to a perch.

The heat exchange is just one way birds stay warm in winter. Many birds have a winter plumage with more feathers to better insulate their bodies. Some species, such as finches, add fat in winter to both better insulate themselves and provide an energy source.

Many small birds, though, cannot bulk up too much because it would affect how they fly. For these birds, such as chickadees, shivering helps them stay warm. Shivering in birds isn’t quite like it is for humans. When birds shiver, they are able to activate particular muscle groups that work in opposition to one another. This causes muscle contractions that allow the birds to better retain their body heat.

All of the interaction between the several parts of the different systems in a bird’s anatomy only reinforces the certainty that birds did not evolve, but were instead created by a loving God who cares deeply for all of His creation, great and small.

“But now ask the beasts, and they will teach you; and the birds of the air, and they will tell you; or speak to the earth, and it will teach you. Who among all these does not know that the hand of the Lord has done this, in whose hand is the life of every living thing, and the breath of all mankind?” Job 12:7–10

Sources: reconnectwithnature.org (including Audubon Society, Smithsonian, Popular Science); Michael Stein for Bird Note

Nature – Frost Flowers

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Take a walk in the early morning, in the late fall or early winter, at or after the first hard freeze and you just might see a frost flower.

Frost flowers are a group of delicate clusters of ice crystals that form directly from water vapor. They are produced when freezing weather conditions are present, but the ground is not yet frozen. The water in certain plant stems begins to freeze and expand, resulting in long, thin cracks along the length of the stem. Through a process called “capillary action” (the ability of water to flow in narrow spaces without assistance), water is drawn through these cracks and freezes upon contact with the frigid air. The form the flower takes depends on where the slits are in the stem and the amount of pressure exerted, so each flower is unique.

Interesting side note: Leonardo di Vinci was the first to record the observation of capillary action.

As more water is drawn through the cracks, the thin ice layers are pushed farther from the stem resulting in the formation of a thin “petal.”

Another form of frost flower is called needle ice. These are needle-shaped columns of ice formed by groundwater when the soil temperature is above freezing, but the surface air temperature is below freezing. In the same capillary action, water is forced up out of the ground, growing into these needle-like columns.

Frost flowers are very delicate and will break when touched.  They melt when exposed to sunlight and are found in shaded areas in the early morning hours.

Frost flowers aren’t found everywhere, but can be found where annual plants with thin stems such as frostweed are found.

A frost flower is created by the internal pressures and forces exerted upon its host plant. It is fragile, short-lived. Neither it nor the host plant survive the winter’s “death” and will not live again in the spring. But we are placed under divine pressure so that those things that must be removed from our lives, enabling us to “die” and be born again into a beautiful new creation, can be accomplished.

“Blessed is a man who perseveres under trial; for once he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.” James 1:12 NASB

Sources: Wikipedia and Phys.org

Nature – The Chicken Egg

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A fertilized chicken egg is a very special creation. Before even thinking about a chick developing in an egg, it is interesting to ponder a few questions about the shell:

How does a chicken manage to get a shell around that slippery, raw, fertilized egg?

How does a chicken know it needs to make a shell with porosity so that the chick will be able to breathe?

How would mindless evolution know how to manufacture such a shell?

It turns out that the chicken has little to do with the formation of an eggshell—the egg actually grows the shell around itself! It does this using processes that are also seen in bones and seashells. Around the egg is a membrane, and evenly spaced on the membrane are points where columns of calcite (a form of calcium carbonate) form. These columns stack together side by side to form the shell. The shell itself is highly specialized. Each eggshell has about 10,000 tiny pores. The developing chick needs these pores to breathe.

Within the first few days after the egg is laid, blood vessels begin to grow out of the developing chick. Two of these attach to the membrane under the eggshell and two attach to the yolk. By the fifth day, the tiny heart is pumping blood through the vessels. The chick feeds from the yolk with the yolk vessels and breathes through the membrane vessels. The chick gives off carbon dioxide and water vapor as it digests the yolk. These waste products are picked up by the blood vessels and leave through the pores in the eggshell. … So here’s another question:

What makes those blood vessels grow out of the chick, and how do they know where to go and what to attach to?

By the nineteenth day, the chick has gotten very big and the oxygen it has been getting through the pores in the shell is no longer sufficient to sustain its life. How does it know what to do next? A small tooth called the “egg-tooth” has grown on the end of its beak and the chick uses this to peck a hole into an air sack at the flat end of the egg. The air sack provides only six hours of air for the chick to breathe, so instead of relaxing and breathing deeply, the chick pecks a small hole through the shell to gain access to the outside air. Two days later, on the twenty-first day, the chick “hatches” out of the shell.

Each step in the development of the chick defies evolutionary logic because if even one step in the process is missing or out of order, the chick will die. Timing is absolutely crucial!

The process must be orchestrated by God our Creator. The impersonal plus time/plus chance is not an adequate explanation for the wondrous complexities of life as we observe it. There had to be a Designer and His name is the Lord Jesus Christ (John 1; Colossians 1; Hebrews 1).

Sources: Dr. Jobe Martin, The Evolution of a Creationist (Rockwell, Texas: Biblical Discipleship Publishers, 2013), pages 209-211 and howstuffworks.com

Nature – It Takes Nerves for Flies to Keep a Level Head

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Researchers at Imperial College London have analyzed the nerve connections in the brains of flies that help them maintain a stable gaze during their rapid, complex aerial maneuvering, which in turn prevents them from colliding with obstacles in midflight.

According to an Imperial College press release, scientists have marked the connections between two key sets of nerve cells in a fly’s brain that help it process what it sees and fast-track that information to its muscles. This helps it stay agile and respond quickly to its environment while on the move.

The new research shows that the way in which two populations of nerve cells, or neurons, communicate with each other is the key. The lobula plate tangential cells receive input from a fly’s eyes, generating small electrical signals that inform the fly about how it is turning and moving during its aerial stunts. The signals pass on to the second group of neurons, which connect to the fly’s neck muscles and stabilize its head and thus its line of sight. By keeping a constant gaze even while its body changes direction, a fly is able to more efficiently process visual information and modify its movements accordingly.

Lead researcher, Dr. Holger Krapp, from Imperial’s Department of Bioengineering, says, “The pathway from visual signal to head movement is ingeniously designed: it uses information from both eyes, is direct, and does not require heavy computing power.” [Emphasis supplied.]

Krapp added, “Anyone who has watched one fly chasing another at incredibly high speed, without crashing or bumping into anything, can appreciate the high-end flight performance of these animals.

“They manage even though they see the world in poor definition: their version of the world is like a heavily pixelated photo compared with human vision. However, they do have one major advantage. They can update and process visual information more than ten times faster than humans, which is vital for an insect that relies on fast sensory feedback to maintain its agility.”

Dr. Krapp adds: “Keeping the head level and gaze steady is a fundamental task for all animals that rely on vision to help control their movements. Understanding the underlying principles in simple model systems like flies could give us useful leads on how more complex creatures achieve similar tasks.” https://answersingenesis.org/evidence-for-creation/design-in-nature/fly-nervous-system-aids-flight/

Just as a fly keeps a steady gaze during its rapid maneuvering, so must we maintain a stable gaze while moving quickly, with the eye directed ever upward, fixed upon the mark of our high calling in Christ Jesus, the Author and Perfector of our faith.

“Yield not to the power of the tempter. He will come as a strong man armed, but give him no advantage. Nerve yourselves for duty, and dispute every inch of ground. Instead of retreating, advance; instead of becoming weak and nerveless, brace yourselves for the conflict. … Put on the whole armor of God, and keep your eye steadily fixed on the Captain of your salvation; for there is danger ahead. …

“Soon the warfare will be over and the victory won.” Testimonies, vol. 5, 309.

Nature – Creatures of the Air

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“Oh that I had wings like a dove! then I would fly away, and be at rest.” Psalm 55:6

In the domain of hawk, gull, and sparrow, physiology and aerial prowess are synonymous. A bird is simply a masterpiece of engineering – the perfect flying machine – supremely crafted by God and endowed with the attributes for a life in the skies. Its breast muscles, which operate its wings, are enormous, in some birds, comprising 33% of their total body weight. At the same time a bird’s skeletal system is incredibly light. The bones of a pelican, with a wingspan of nearly six feet, weigh only about five ounces, yet they are strong and flexible enough to withstand the constant stress of maneuverable flight.

Add to this package highly efficient digestive and respiratory systems, a large and powerful heart, and feathers that streamline, insulate, and provide the necessary lift for wings and tail, and it is easy to understand how Solomon could describe a bird in the air as a sight “too wonderful for me” (Proverbs 30:18, 19).

The methods and techniques of flight generally fall into a few basic categories. Flapping or power flight involves a strong downward stroke that results in rapid lift and forward thrust. Generally, the larger the bird the slower it flaps its wings. In contrast, the hummingbird will beat its wings up to 80 times a second while performing what has been called the most versatile display of aerial skill in all of God’s creation. The tiny bird can hover or fly in all directions – forward, backward, or to the side, depending upon its needs. Its rigid wings move in a unique figure 8 motion, powered by exceptionally strong muscles and a flexible swivel joint at its shoulder. The tail works as a rudder controlling the direction of movement. Not surprisingly, the hummingbird expends tremendous amounts of energy and to survive, must consume twice its body weight in food every day.

Gliding and soaring are far less demanding forms of flight, yet once again, the elements of aeronautical design are clearly seen. Fulmars slope soar, riding on air deflected upward from cliffs as its wings work in harmony with the surrounding wind currents, while a heron spreads its enormous wings in a slow approach to its nest. Large primary feathers at the end of each wing offer precise control of both speed and direction. A similar design enables a condor to ride for hours on spirals of warm air. Again, a huge wing surface allows for effortless gliding as the bird of prey searches the valley floor for food.

But for all the soaring wonder and power that so abundantly fills the skies, perhaps the supreme testimony to the Creator’s gifts of flight and life itself is written on the tissue-thin wings of the Monarch butterfly. Its wings are driven by powerful muscles designed into the insect’s upper body, the thorax, essential for migration. Advancing steadily, they ride on rising columns of warm air that can elevate them thousands of feet. These expert gliders can travel more than 50 miles a day flying upwards of 3,000 miles to reach their winter home.

God reveals Himself to man through the things He has made. Each day in the wonders of land, sky, and sea, He presents us with a vivid picture of His existence and character. It is a continuing revelation, as exciting and diverse as the creatures He has brought into being. In the majestic grace of a bird or butterfly in flight, an eternal truth shines clear – the God of all creation is real and alive, His power and wisdom are without limit and He cares and provides abundantly for the life that He has made.

Wonders of God’s Creation, Animal Kingdom: Great Are Thy Works, ©2004.

Nature – The Woodpecker

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The woodpecker is a creature that breaks the rules of evolution in such a way that it could not possibly have evolved. Consider these nine unique features that together declare the Creator of woodpeckers.

The first is its industrial-strength beak which was designed to hammer into the hardest of trees. Secondly, its feet have two toes at the front and two in the back. This feature allows it to crawl on a tree all directions and positions. Thirdly, its unique tail feathers are spongy, yet strong and tough and able to spread out and bend so that they can be used, along with its feet, to tripod on a tree and stabilize itself for drilling into wood.

Now you have to ask, why don’t woodpeckers have terrible headaches from all the drilling? The answer is the fourth and fifth unique feature. Between the beak and skull is a special cartilage that absorbs the pressure of drilling. The skull is the thickest bone per body weight of any creature and its brain is tightly encased within the skull. In fact, brain surgeons study this anatomy to see how best to prevent brain trauma in humans.

Even with all of these unique features, the woodpecker would still have another problem if it were not for its amazing design. Once the hole is drilled, how does it get the larva out of the tree? Unlike most birds, the woodpecker’s tongue does not end at his beak, which brings us to the sixth feature. Its tongue can extend up to ten inches past its beak allowing it to reach the larva, but how does he get it out? On the end of its tongue, the woodpecker has a spear like tip and little barbs that point rearward on the body of the tongue allowing it to literally stab the larva, sinking the barb into it. It also has a little factory, feature seven, that coats its tongue with a glue-like substance so the larva is held in place until it reaches the beak. To prevent it from swallowing its tongue with the bug, which is glued on, and strangling itself, amazingly feature eight kicks in. Another chemical that is manufactured in its mouth dissolves the glue allowing the bug to be swallowed alone and the woodpecker survives to get another bug.

The ninth feature is its eyes and eyelids. Woodpeckers open their eyes with each peck to the tree, focus on the drilling spot, aim, then close their eyes and drill 15 to 16 times a second! Closing its eyes each time allows its especially strong eyelids to protect its eyes from any wood chips and the force of drilling. The drilling impact has been measured and is so powerful that without these special features, the eyes would literally pop out of its head. The woodpecker never forgets to close its eyes.

Lastly, let’s look at the tongue of the European green woodpecker. Dr. Martin thinks this may be unique from any other creature in our world. Its tongue starts in the back of the throat, goes down the neck and into the back of the neck, up over the top of the head, comes out a little hole between the eyes, down into one nostril and then out the beak. Dr. Martin has asked evolutionists how and where this came from. They say it came from another creature, but no other creature has a tongue like this. In reality, they actually have no idea. Dr. Martin believes that God made this woodpecker to challenge the evolutionary community who know that this tongue could not have just evolved.

Praise God for this wonderful creation He has given us the privilege to explore and by which we learn more about Him.

Adapted from materials by Dr. Jobe Martin, D.M.D., TH.M.

Nature – The Giraffe

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The giraffe is the world’s tallest mammal. A bull giraffe usually stands about 18 feet tall. Giraffes live over 35 years. Their spots are specific to each individual giraffe, just like a zebra’s stripes or a human’s fingerprints. They are herbivores eating hundreds of pounds of leaves a week and traveling many miles to find enough food.

Giraffes have four stomachs, 230 feet of intestines, an 18-inch tongue and weigh on average 1,800 to 2,500 pounds (female and male respectively), and their lungs can hold 12 gallons of air (for perspective, human lungs hold 1.59 gallons). They can swim, but not very well and they can jump, but with those long legs, why? And speaking of those long legs, the front legs are about 10% longer than the back legs. They can run short, quick distances at 35 mph and sustained distances at 10 mph. Both walking and running, they use a pacing gait, with the legs on each side moving in unison. Giraffes travel in groups of 10–20 giraffes known as towers. They do not sleep for extended periods of time, rather only about 20 minutes, plus several two to three-minute “power naps” a day.

Giraffes have excellent eyesight and, because of their height, they can see a moving object from a mile away. They have no vocal cords, but do communicate using other sounds and gestures. They hum at night although we don’t know why.

Giraffes are known for their long necks and long legs. A giraffe’s heart can be 2 ½ feet long, a powerful pump needed to lift the blood vertically up its long neck against gravity to reach the brain. The heart itself weighs about 25 pounds and beats 150 times per minute. The heart pump is so powerful that when the giraffe bends over to drink, the pressure created because of gravity would be enough to burst the vessels in its brain, resulting in death. However, contained in the neck is a pressure-regulating system known as the rete mirabile (Italian meaning admirable network), made up of valves in the arteries and capillaries in the neck, which restricts the amount of blood that rushes towards the brain when the giraffe lowers its head. While preventing blood from rushing into the giraffe’s brain, it holds a small supply of blood underneath the brain in a “sponge” that gently expands, giving the giraffe more than enough blood to oxygenate its brain without damage while bending over to drink. These valves then reverse process when the giraffe raises its head. Working in this synchronized fashion, these valves keep the blood pressure stable regardless of the position of the neck and head.

The amazing design of this beautiful animal defies the belief that it is a result of evolution. Every part of this creation needs to work collectively at once or it could not survive. The giraffe is another example of creation by a Designer for it has exactly what it needs for its size and its environment.

“I will praise Thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvelous are Thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well” (Psalms 139:14). Praise God, this beautiful creature is also “fearfully and wonderfully made” just as we were.

Adapted from material by Dr. Jobe Martin, D.M.D., TH.M.

Other sources: Wikipedia, livescience.com and africafreak.com

Nature – The Bombardier Beetle

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Evolution versus Creation:

Bombardier beetles are some of the smaller beetles ranging in size from .25 inches to 1.5 inches. Most are under an inch. There are many different species of bombardier beetles and they come in various colors, predominately black, brown or green with yellow or orange heads. They can live up to two to three years and are found on all continents except for Antarctica.

The beetle has many predators, and this beetle protects itself by ejecting a hot noxious, acidic spray from tubes, approaching 212°F, that come from its underneath side. This acidic spray is very irritating to the membranes of the eyes, nose and lungs and can even kill some insects. This chemical spray is made and then stored in two reservoirs in its lower abdomen and upon ejection with force, it creates an explosive sound, which also helps to ward off predators. The explosive sound is actually a series of sequential explosions, about 1000 that occur so rapidly that they can be heard individually only when the sound is greatly slowed down. This spray can be aimed toward the predator with some bombardier beetles having a 270˚ angle of spraying rotation. Because this is actually a series of explosions that can be aimed, the beetle is then protected from being blown away from the force and injured or destroyed. They can also bite their predator multiple times leaving blistering of the skin.

Some argue that these defense mechanisms could have formed over long periods of time, but common sense would tell you that in order for the beetle to protect itself and not be injured by its own protective mechanisms, all of this had to be present at one time.

It seems to take a lot more faith to believe that this could have all evolved, than to believe an intelligent and loving Creator designed our world and everything in it. Knowing more about the bombardier beetle has strengthened my belief in creation by the design of an all-knowing and loving God. How about you?

This is a series of short, intermittent articles on creatures that defy evolution. These articles are based on a series of videos created by Dr. Jobe Martin. Dr. Martin was a college professor and dentist. In the fall of 1971, he gave a lecture at Baylor College in Houston, Texas, on the evolution of the tooth. After class, two students asked him if he had ever looked at the assumptions that evolution was based on and if he had looked into the claims of creationism. This began a five-year journey into the study of evolution and some of the incredible creatures in our world. During these five years, his belief was questioned, challenged and changed. Now he teaches and believes in creation by God. He also has a video series entitled, Incredible Creatures that Defy Evolution.