Transcript PowerPoint - Tim Lightfoot.Com

Pebble in the Pond:
Beginning A Dialogue on
Science & Religion
Thus far in the story (1)….
 God created nature AND the Bible, so there
is no conflict between the two systems that
are trying to understand them;
 Science actually arose and was fostered by
Christianity - the supposed conflict is
mythical;
 Science works to understand the natural
world and is always open to correction (plus,
a surprising number of hard scientists are
religious and attend Church regularly);
Thus far in the story (2)….
 There are several ways that science and
Christianity can interact; we prefer dialogue
and/or integration. Problems arise when
individuals use science and/or religion for
their own devices;
 Each of us have a framework/blanket of
beliefs; adding and subtracting beliefs is
difficult. When considering ‘beliefs’, we need
to use triangulation.
 Science moves forward using paradigms;
paradigms are resistance to change.
Paradigm shifts occur in many areas other
than science.
All previous classes available
at
www.timlightfoot.com/Focus
Today:
The Genetics of Christianity
The God Gene
Dr. Dean Hamer
 Proposes that
there is at least
one gene that
predisposes
humans to be
spiritual.
Linkage is the thing
 If you can measure a trait, you can tell if it is
inherited.
 CR Cloninger - Developed the selftranscendence scale (STS)
 Hamer & colleagues gave the STS to 328
males & 673 females (avg. age =32)
 They then correlated these results with
whether specific genes were ‘active’
The “God” gene?
 Found an association (linkage) between
variations in VMAT2 and STS.
 Just one base pair difference
 (either A or C)
 If the subjects had a “C” base in
this gene then they scored much
higher on STS (47% of total).
Limitations
 Does scale measure spirituality?
 Probable that there is more than one
gene
 Tells us nothing about how the protein
produced leads to spirituality.
Adam & Eve - genetic style
 Mitochondrial Eve - 150,000 years ago
 Cann, et al. Nature 325, 31 - 36, 1987
 Y-chromosome Adam - 60-90,000 y ago
 Yuehai, et al. Science 292, 1151-1153, 2001
 Most Recent Common Ancestor (MRCA)
 3000 - 1000 B.C.
 Rohde, et al. Nature 431: 562-566, 2004
Extensions to the real-world
 Genetic applications all
around us
 Food we eat, clothes we
wear
 As Christians, are we ready
to deal with the
implications?
The Sputnik of our time
 Satellite Cells
 (aka: STEM CELLS)
 NOT JUST EMBRYONIC STEM CELLS
 Precursor cells
 The promise?
 Learn what activates and
directs the cell to form
certain types of cells
Chips for all
 Microarrays
 Glass slides - 1 cm x 1 cm
 Put a sample on the microarray
 Find out which genes are active
 Current chips cover
25,000 - 38,000 genes
QuickTi me™ and a
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A pinch of this, a snip of that
 SNPs
 Single nucleotide polymorphism
 Predisposition to diseases
 The promise?
 Quick determination of
predisposition to certain
diseases
 Individualized drug prescriptions
Nature’s light switch
 siRNA
 Short-interfering RNA
DNA
RNA
Protein
siRNA
Transcription
Translation
The promise:
A way to control viruses, bacteria,
genetic diseases, etc., etc.
So, are you ready?
Joe Bob and Jim Bob
aka: The Follow-up to
Dr. Sally Jessie Springer
(the unseen commercial)
Joe Bob and Jim Bob
(the unseen commercial)
QuickTime™ and a
DV/DVCPRO - NTSC decompressor
are needed to see this picture.
The Elephant in the Room
The E-word: some thoughts
 Focus class experience
 Not going to justify, defend, or argue for a
specific side
 Remember, evolution is correctly used as a
scientific construct, not a philosophical
construct
 Just be informed
 use triangulation
 Tim’s Evolution Triangulation
The E-word: some thoughts
 One benefit of controversy: science goes
to answer questions
 e.g. evolution of the eye
 e.g. monkeys typing Shakespeare
 Experience counts
The Elephant in the Room
Terry Kettering (with apologies).
There's an elephant in the room.
It is large and squatting, so it is hard to get around it.
Yet we squeeze by with "How are you?" and "I'm fine…
And a thousand other forms of trivial chatter.
We talk about the weather.
We talk about work.
We talk about everything else…
Except the elephant in the room.
We all know it is there.
We are thinking about the elephant as we talk together.
It is constantly on our minds.
The Elephant in the Room
It has hurt us all.
But we do not talk about the elephant in the room.
Oh, please, say its name.
Oh, please, say ”evolution" again.
Oh, please, let's talk about the elephant in the room.
For if we talk about it,
Perhaps we can talk about its life.
Can I say ”evolution" to you and not have you look away:
For if I cannot,
then you are leaving me alone…
in a room…
with an elephant.
Terry Kettering (with apologies).
Next week:
Truth & the Dialogue