He Who Cannot Control His Water Will Not Survive: (Neither Will He Be Allowed into the Pool, i.e. the gene pool)
Can the concept of irreducible complexity be applied to the human body as well as molecular systems? In this column Dr. G (with a little help from Clint Eastwood) takes a detailed look at the fluid balance system in the human body and identifies ten critical factors that point to irreducible complexity and design.
Life on Earth is Definitely not for the Faint-Hearted (So how is it that we can stand up to gravity?)
Clint Eastwood and his character, The Man With No Name from the movie The Good, The Bad and the Ugly, teach us.
Hamlet Meets Modern Medical Science (“Odds bodkins man, there really is something rotten in Denmark: Yorick's skull”)
See how the noble prince ascertains what may have ailed Yorick throughout his lifetime and what that may mean to the theory of macroevolution.
Hamlet Meets Modern Medical Science Part II (“Alas, poor Yorick, me thinks he dost protest too much!”)
Remember in the last column we learned that bone is much more complicated than what you may think. It consists of four different bone cells, one of which is able to deposit calcium crystals into a protein mesh network. In addition, we learned that Vitamin-D is very important in the process of calcium absorption from the gastrointestinal tract. And since bone requires calcium, then the actions of Vitamin-D have a direct effect on bone formation. But remember that Hamlet had encountered Yorick's skull and by observation had realized why his servant may have suffered throughout his lifetime. But what exactly had he seen in Yorick's skull and other bones to make such a claim? The answer may be revealed by considering the basic structure of bone. Yes, let's take a look at calcium metabolism and its other functions within the body.
Which Came First, the Chicken or the Egg? (Egg white that is, better known as albumin or protein)
This month we approach the question of “the chicken or the egg” from a slightly different angle.
Wouldn't it be Great if we Never had to Experience Hunger or Thirst? (Be careful what you wish for!!)
This month we look at some of the automatic urges that we experience as humans living on Earth and wonder how macroevolution can explain their development.
Why Blood is Red and other Bedtime Stories (Count Dracula would have been so disappointed!)
This month we explore how the body is able to provide the tissues with enough oxygen for survival despite the fact that oxygen does not dissolve well in plasma.
You're Hurt and Bleeding; How do you spell relief? H-E-M-O-S-T-A-S-I-S
This month we look at how the body prevents itself from bleeding to death.
Sports are Simply a Reflection of Life (Without a good defense, you're dead; literally!)
This month we look at how the body defends itself.
Wired for Much More than Sound—Neurons and How They Work: Part I—The Impulse
This month we begin the first of many columns on the neuromuscular system, the only system in the body in which we have some measure of control.
Wired for Much More than Sound—Neurons and How They Work: Part II—The Transfer
This month we continue our discussion about how neurons work. Last month we explained how, once stimulated, a neuron is able to transmit an impulse down its axon toward another nerve or muscle cell. This month we look at how the neuron is able to pass on the message.
Wired for Much More than Sound: Part III—Muscles and How They Contract
For the last two months we've been exploring how the neuromuscular system works and what questions this knowledge should engender for Macroevolution. Part I dealt with the nerve's ability to propagate an impulse down its axon toward another nerve or muscle cell waiting at the synapse. Part II explained how a neurotransmitter was released from the pre-synaptic neuron and its impact on the post-synaptic cell. This month we go on to explore our current understanding of how, once a muscle cell receives its message from a motor neuron, it is able to contract.
Wired for Much More than Sound: Part IV—Vision Part I: Parts of the Eye
This month we begin an exploration into how we are able to experience the sensation of vision.
Wired for Much More than Sound: Part V—Vision Part II: The Retina
Last month's column dealt with the parts of the eye and how they are able to allow light to enter it and focus on the retina. This month we look at how the retina is capable of converting the energy contained in a photon of light into an neuroexcitatory message that is then transmitted to the brain for interpretation resulting in what we know as “vision”.
Wired for Much More than Sound: Part VI—Vision Part III: What Does the Brain See?
This month completes the vision trilogy in which we have already seen how complex and interdependent are the parts of the eye and the biomacromolecular structures that serve the retina in order to generate nerve impulses. This final installment completes the analysis by reviewing which optic impulse goes where.
Wired for Much More than Sound: Part VII—The Ear and Hearing
This month Wired for Much More than Sound finally looks at sound itself.
Wired for Much More than Sound: Part VIII—Run fr your Life Part 1
Ever wonder how it is that we are able to move around as we do? Running, jumping, throwing; all actions necessary for survival.
Wired for Much More than Sound: Part IX—Run for your Life Part 2
This month we continue the diagnostic analysis of my friend's neuromuscular problem. Have you ever wondered what it takes to make your bones move? What about the question of why doctors always run around with those reflex hammers, what's up with that Doc? This month's column will try to answer these questions and more while trying to impress upon you the incredible complexity of the neuromuscular system. A system that is purported to have come into existence by only the blind forces of macroevolution without any intelligent direction. See if you still believe that assertion after you finish reading.
Wired for Much More than Sound: Part X—Run for your Life Part 3
This is the last installment in which we finally diagnose my friend's medical condition. We look at the muscle spindles again and then the higher centers of the nervous system.
Sex and the Single Gene: Becoming a Man is not as Easy as X+Y
This month we look at the complexity inherent in the sex determination and development of the human male. It's not as simple as X and Y.
Male Erectile Dysfunction: How Exactly Does Viagra Work?
Have you ever wondered what's in Viagra and how it does its job? Read this column and you'll find out. But in the telling of the tale will be more questions for macroevolution.
Female Reproductive Function: The Way of Life
This month we look at female reproductive function.
Death by Insulin: How Sweet it Isn't!!
The Heart of the Matter: Electrical Disorganization spells D-E-A-T-H
The Breath of Life
SWALLOWING: It's Not As Easy As it Looks
You Literally Are What You Eat: The Gastrointestinal System
You Literally Are What You Eat Part II: The GI System: Bile and Liver Functions
He Who Cannot Control His Water (and Sodium) Will Not Survive: The Kidney
Temperature Control & Thyroid Function: How the Body Does It and Why
Blood Pressure: How The Body Controls It So It Can Stand Up To Gravity
Blood Flow: How The Body Controls It So It Can Survive
