Re: It's no joke!

----- Original Message -----
From: <Dawsonzhu@aol.com>
To: ""Vernon Jenkins"" <vernon.jenkins@virgin.net>; <asa@calvin.edu>
Sent: Monday, March 28, 2005 1:38 AM
Subject: Re: It's no joke!

>
>>Regardless of whether or not there are still traces of blood vessels and
>>cells in these T.Rex bones, it is certainly remarkable that they are not
>>completely fossilised after spending ' 70 million years' entombed in
>>sandstone. All things considered, an impartial skeptic might reasonably
>>inquire whether this generous estimate of burial time makes any sense.
>>However, it is now evident that the situation offers a rare opportunity
>>for 'old earth' proponents to justify this much-quoted feature of the
>>geologic column. Thus, a simple C14 test on a sample of the material
>>and/or associated bone - openly conducted and properly monitored - would
>>certainly shed some much needed light on the matter, and in the interests
>>of truth would surely be hard to deny.
>>
> Vernon,
>
> It is true that most things "turn to stone", but it is not
> the case that things just magically turn to stone because
> they are old. Think about it, if you ensconce a protein an
> isolated anaerobic environment, nothing will change (note:
> anaerobic = an environment where oxidation cannot occur,
> isolated: = no exchange with the surroundings can occur).
> Some residual oxygen is left over in the cells, but it is
> not enough to oxidize the entire cell. It is mentioned in
> the article that this may not be so unusual for bone marrow:
> a region of the bone that should be relatively isolated and
> anaerobic if the bone is not fractured.
>
> Actually, if you want to make a real argument against
> evolution, then you would need to show that there _is_
> suffient C14 in the sample. A 70 Myr sample probably
> would not have enough C14 left over to measure even in
> accelerator mass spectroscopy. If we found proportions
> equivalent to a decay period of 6000 years, then you
> would have a real case (assuming no contamination).
> That test could be done by taking part of a sample
> not exposed to air. 5000 years is usually the limit
> for C14 measurements, but if all we need is to detect
> trace amounts proportional to 6000 yr decay, accelerator
> mass spectroscopy would be sufficient to do the test.
>
> If there is no C14, you have no case. Evidence of "soft
> material" is no evidence at all against evolution.
>
> by Grace alone we proceed,
> Wayne
>
Received on Mon Mar 28 15:32:37 2005