If you’ve been reading this blog for a while, you’ll know that I often feel frustrated by press releases that are overhyped, misleading, and/or laden with buzzwords and cliches. Today I received by email the most over the top press release I have ever seen. It’s the sort of thing one might expect to see on a crank website, not in a press release from a major US university. Here it is, verbatim. Enjoy.
Radical Theory Explains the Origin, Evolution, and Nature of Life, Challenges Conventional Wisdom Case Western Reserve Theorist Develops Incomparable Model that Unifies Physics, Chemistry, and Biology
CLEVELAND – Jan. 26, 2012 – The earth is alive, asserts a revolutionary scientific theory of life emerging from Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine. The trans-disciplinary theory demonstrates that purportedly inanimate, non-living objects—for example, planets, water, proteins, and DNA—are animate, that is, alive. With its broad explanatory power, applicable to all areas of science and medicine, this novel paradigm aims to catalyze a veritable renaissance.
Erik Andrulis, PhD, assistant professor of molecular biology and microbiology, advanced his controversial framework in his manuscript “Theory of the Origin, Evolution, and Nature of Life,” published in the peer-reviewed journal, Life. His theory explains not only the evolutionary emergence of life on earth and in the universe but also the structure and function of existing cells and biospheres.
In addition to resolving long-standing paradoxes and puzzles in chemistry and biology, Dr. Andrulis’ theory unifies quantum and celestial mechanics. His unorthodox solution to this quintessential problem in physics differs from mainstream approaches, like string theory, as it is simple, non-mathematical, and experimentally and experientially verifiable. As such, the new portrait of quantum gravity is radical.
The basic idea of Dr. Andrulis’ framework is that all physical reality can be modeled by a single geometric entity with life-like characteristics: the gyre. The so-called “gyromodel” depicts objects—particles, atoms, chemicals, molecules, and cells—as quantized packets of energy and matter that cycle between excited and ground states around a singularity, the gyromodel’s center. A singularity is itself modeled as a gyre, wholly compatible with the thermodynamic and fractal nature of life. An example of this nested, self-similar organization is the Russian Matryoshka doll.
By fitting the gyromodel to facts accumulated over scientific history, Dr. Andrulis confirms the proposed existence of eight laws of nature. One of these, the natural law of unity, decrees that the living cell and any part of the visible universe are irreducible. This law formally establishes that there is one physical reality.
Another natural law dictates that the atomic and cosmic realms abide by identical organizational constraints. Simply put, atoms in the human body and solar systems in the universe move and behave in the exact same manner.
“Modern science lacks a unifying, interdisciplinary theory of life. In other words, current theories are unable to explain why life is the way it is and not any other way,” Dr. Andrulis says. “This general paradigm furnishes a fresh perspective on the character and meaning of life, offers solutions to protracted problems, and strives to end divisive debates.”
One debate swirls around the scientific merit of James Lovelock’s popular Gaia hypothesis. By showing that the earth is theoretically synonymous with life, Dr. Andrulis’ paradigm substantiates the Gaian premise that all organisms and their surroundings on earth are closely integrated to form a single self-regulating complex system.
Another legendary quarrel is that between biblical creationists and neo-Darwinian evolutionists. In demonstrating that the origin and evolution of life is a consequence of natural laws and physical forces, this theory synthesizes arguments and dispels assumptions from both sides of the creation-evolution debate.
To test his paradigm, Dr. Andrulis designed bidirectional flow diagrams that both depict and predict the dynamics of energy and matter. While such diagrams may be foreign to some scientists, they are standard reaction notation to chemists, biochemists, and biologists.
Dr. Andrulis has used his theory to successfully predict and identify a hidden signature of RNA biogenesis in his laboratory at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine. He is now applying the gyromodel to unify and explain the evolution and development of human beings.
For more information, see “Theory of the Origin, Evolution, and Nature of Life,” Life, Vol. 2:1-105 (2012).
PZ Myers, who apparently has a blog or something, gave a talk about junk DNA.
Favourite part: the Onion test followed by a Simpsons reference (at 37:00). Can’t ask for more than that! (Incidentally, PZ gets the onion test right — it’s about onions vs. humans AND onions vs. other onions; see also Larry Moran’s summary).
It has been a common tactic among creationists to attempt to discredit scientific ideas by linking them to the horrific actions of the likes of Hitler and the Nazis. The scientific merits of a theory do not rest on its societal implications, of course, but there is also the issue that the Nazis did not take any of their ideas from Darwin or evolutionary concepts. Rather, as this very thorough debunking by UK astrophysicist Coel Hellier shows, it was quite the opposite in that the Nazis had an explicitly creationist ideology.
In high school, I gave a presentation on the poetry of Wilfred Owen (1893-1918) about the First World War. His most famous poem, and one that I still think of often, especially at this time of year, is Dulce et Decorum Est. The poem was published posthumously, as Owen died in combat in France at the age of 25.
Dulce et Decorum Est
by Wilfren Owen
Bent double, like old beggars under sacks,
Knock-kneed, coughing like hags, we cursed through sludge,
Till on the haunting flares we turned our backs
And towards our distant rest began to trudge.
Men marched asleep. Many had lost their boots
But limped on, blood-shod. All went lame; all blind;
Drunk with fatigue; deaf even to the hoots
Of tired, outstripped Five-Nines that dropped behind.
Gas! Gas! Quick, boys!—An ecstasy of fumbling,
Fitting the clumsy helmets just in time;
But someone still was yelling out and stumbling,
And flound’ring like a man in fire or lime…
Dim, through the misty panes and thick green light,
As under a green sea, I saw him drowning.
In all my dreams, before my helpless sight,
He plunges at me, guttering, choking, drowning.
If in some smothering dreams you too could pace
Behind the wagon that we flung him in,
And watch the white eyes writhing in his face,
His hanging face, like a devil’s sick of sin;
If you could hear, at every jolt, the blood
Come gargling from the froth-corrupted lungs,
Obscene as cancer, bitter as the cud
Of vile, incurable sores on innocent tongues,—
My friend, you would not tell with such high zest
To children ardent for some desperate glory,
The old Lie: Dulce et decorum est
Pro patria mori.
(This post was first written in 2007, but I don’t think I can do better and thought it appropriate to re-post it today on Remembrance Day 2011).
In Canada, as in many countries around the world, November 11 is a day of remembrance for the sacrifices made during wartime. In Canada, this refers in particular to World War I (1914-1918) and World War II (1939-1945), but also to smaller engagements in which Canadians were (or are) involved, such as Korea and Afghanistan.
The poppy has become a symbol of remembrance, and can be found pinned to people’s lapels more or less from the beginning of November each year. This tradition, which is also observed in various other nations, is derived from the poem In Flanders Fields by Lt. Col. John McCrae (1872-1918), a Canadian physician and soldier originally from Guelph, Ontario who died of pneumonia while serving in the First World War. The poem was composed shortly after the death of McCrae’s friend Lt. Alexis Helmer in the Second Battle of Ypres, and makes reference to Flanders, Belgium, where poppies grew extensively and where many military dead were buried.
In Flanders fields the poppies blow Between the crosses, row on row, That mark our place; and in the sky The larks, still bravely singing, fly Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the Dead. Short days ago We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow, Loved, and were loved, and now we lie In Flanders fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe: To you from failing hands we throw The torch; be yours to hold it high. If ye break faith with us who die We shall not sleep, though poppies grow In Flanders fields.
— John McCrae
The poem has particular relevance in Canada, having appeared on both a stamp (1968) and currency — a portion of it is found on the current $10 bill, which honours Canadian efforts in international peacekeeping (the Nobel Peace Prize-winning idea of Lester B. Pearson, who also went on to become Prime Minister of Canada). A poppy also appeared on a quarter recently, which some may recall created a buzz as it was mistaken for spy technology by our friends south of the border.
There are several parts of Europe that I am eager to visit on the basis of pride and gratitude for what my fellow Canadians did during the two world wars. Those that I have not been to yet include Vimy Ridge and Juno Beach (Normandy), but I did manage to check one off the list two years ago during a visit to the Netherlands: Groesbeek Canadian War Cemetery.
I was in Leiden to participate in a symposium entitled “Extending the synthesis” that featured a handful of speakers including Rich Lenski, Dave Jablonski, Sergei Gavrilets, Paul Brakefield, John Thompson, Niles Eldredge, and me. On one of the days there were no formal plans, so some of the speakers took a bicycle tour of the beautiful region around Leiden, others headed off the The Hague, and I crossed much of the country by train, by bus, and on foot to visit Groesbeek. It was one of the most meaningful experiences I have ever had.
There is a scene in the movie Saving Private Ryan that never fails to break me up. Actually, there are several such scenes, but the one I have in mind at the moment involves the arrival of a military vehicle at the Ryans’ home in which their mother, realizing what this visit must mean when she sees a clergyman exit the car, collapses in grief on her front porch. This grips me with particular force as it happened to my great-grandmother — twice.
My paternal grandmother grew up in the small town of St. Marys, Ontario, which, like most towns across the country, experienced its share of sacrifice during the Second World War as approximately 10% of the country served (1.1 million out of a population of roughly 11 million). With the labour force severely diminished, my young grandmother worked in a converted hand grenade factory. Two of her older brothers, Bill and Roy, served and died in combat.
Click for larger image.
My great-uncle Bill landed in Normandy on D-Day, survived a major assault in which half his battalion was killed or wounded, received a minor wound while fighting in Belgium, and eventually was killed along with many of his friends when his battalion was shelled by German artillery. He is buried at Groesbeek Cemetery.
To reach the cemetery, one must travel by bus from the nearby town and ask the driver to stop at the road leading to the memorial.
From there, it is a fairly long walk down a forested roadway to another main road, and then another short walk up to the cemetery.
The tombstones are arranged, row on row, in order of burial. My great-uncle Bill’s is part of a long line of young men who were lost on the same day. Many of them were probably friends. All were mourned by someone.
My father had previously been the only member of our family to make the trip to see Bill’s grave, which he did many years ago. I am sure his experience was as emotional as mine was to be surrounded by so much sacrifice, and to reflect on what this must have meant for my grandmother and her family, and indeed the families of all of the individuals buried here.
Next to the large memorial at the far end of the cemetery there is a tall maple tree. A leaf from this tree hangs in a frame on the wall of my home office. It has often served as an object of reflection for me as a young man who is fortunate that his life has not been affected directly by war.
There is a guest book at the cemetery that invites visitors to leave a message. I spent quite some time leafing through it, and was deeply moved by the messages I read. “Thank you for our freedom” was among the most common. Some 60 years later, the people of the region, and the many who make a pilgrimage like mine to this site, have not forgotten the sacrifices that were made.
Haven’t been blogging much recently due to being busy and other excuses. But here’s a quick post that highlights something I did learn early on as a faculty member: students will often read a fair bit into your emails. For example, I discovered that “Please come to my office.” is a terrifying email.
The first clip is a series of responses to the question “Should evolution be taught in school?” by the 2011 Miss USA contestants. If you can’t get through the whole thing (I couldn’t), don’t worry — you’ll get the gist of it quickly enough.
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