Chronobiologist Bora Zivkovic, who is the online community manager for the Public Library of Science (PLoS), had some interesting things to say about the teaching of evolution. Zivkovic recognizes that teaching evolutionary theory to those who have religious objections to it can be difficult. Zivkovic also recognizes that some of the “proofs” for evolution are not accurate. Is he advocating that those proofs be abandoned? Not at all. So long as they are useful in converting creationists to the cause of evolution, he is all for it:
You cannot bludgeon kids with truth (or insult their religion, i.e., their parents and friends) and hope they will smile and believe you. Yes, NOMA [Non-Overlapping Magasterium, which means science and religion are in two entirely different spheres of thought that have no bearing on one another] is wrong, but is a good first tool for gaining trust. You have to bring them over to your side, gain their trust, and then hold their hands and help them step by step. And on that slow journey, which will be painful for many of them, it is OK to use some inaccuracies temporarily if they help you reach the students. If a student…goes on to study biology, then he or she will unlearn the inaccuracies in time. If most of the students do not, but those cutesy examples help them accept evolution, then it is OK if they keep some of those little inaccuracies for the rest of their lives. It is perfectly fine if they keep thinking that Mickey Mouse evolved as long as they think evolution is fine and dandy overall. Without Mickey, they may have become Creationist activists instead. Without belief in NOMA they would have never accepted anything, and well, so be it. Better NOMA-believers than Creationists, don’t you think?
It’s scary to realize that some evolutionists are so intent on spreading their scientific dogma, that they are willing to deceive their students to accomplish their goal. ‘Tell them whatever you need to tell them so they’ll join us,’ appears to be the motto. Very sad.
HT: Evolution News & Views
In my former post, I liked to an article by Rob Stein of the Washington Post. While the article was well-written, and very informative, I was troubled by one line in particular. Richard Doerflinger, of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, has been a prominent feature in the stem cell debates. He is critical of embryonic stem cell research, but supportive of adult stem cell research. Here is how Stein prefaced Doerflinger’s response to the news of this breakthrough: “Even the harshest critics of embryonic stem cell research hailed the development as a major, welcome development.” He then goes on to quote Doerflinger.
It seems to me that Stein’s emphasis is entirely misplaced given the subject at hand. Embryonic stem cell research was not the topic at hand, so why bring up Doerflinger’s position on that research? How is it relevant?
Furthermore, by prefacing Doerflinger’s quote by saying “even the harshest critics…”, it conveys the idea that Doerflinger would normally be opposed to something like this, but even he thinks it’s great. The fact of the matter is that Doerflinger is a strong proponent of the very kind of research Stein was writing about. A more proper and fitting preface would have been, “The strongest proponents of adult stem cell research could not have been more pleased with this breakthrough. As Richard Doerflinger has said….”
The fact that his comments were prefaced with a negative tone, related to a different topic, makes me think Stein might have a bias against those who oppose embryonic stem cell research–a bias so strong, that he cannot help but to express it, even in an article that celebrates the success of the very kind of research his ideological opponents have championed.
Or maybe it was his way of trying to tie this breakthrough into the larger debate over embryonic vs. adult stem cells. I don’t know, but either way, he seemed to poison the well before letting Doerflinger have his say, and it wasn’t fair. After all, he never prefaced the comments of embryonic stem cell supporters with, “Even those most critical of the ultimate value of adult stem cell research hailed the breakthrough as a welcome development.” What else are we to conclude?
I emailed Mr. Stein these questions. We’ll see if he responds.
In a major breakthrough, Harvard scientists have been able to reprogram adult pancreatic stem cells into beta cells capable of producing insulin, simply by flipping three genetic switches. That is cool enough in itself, but the real kicker is that they did this in vivo.
Last year it was shown that an adult stem cell could be reverted back to an embryonic-like state (induced pluripontent stem cells). But this process is one that takes place in vitro. Not only do the stem cells need to be removed from the body, but then they need to be reverted to an embryonic state, then coaxed into differentiating into the desired cell type, and finally be placed back in the body for therapeutic purposes. The Harvard team skipped all but the third step. They have shown that adult stem cells can be transformed into other types of cells without being removed from the body, and without having to be retovertered into embryonic form. Not only does this make for a less invasive procedure, but it would also avoid the current problem facing embryonic and embryonic-like stem cells: tumor formation.
While this is definitely a big breakthrough, only time will tell whether it can be safely used in humans, and how many conditions can be treated with this procedure. One thing seems certain, however: this is just one more nail in the coffin for embryonic stem cell research. It is becoming both impractical, and irrelevant.
Thinking to Believe 