John Templeton Foundation awards $2.8 million to examine origins of biological complexity

EurekAlert (AAAS) ^ | 02 January 2006 | Staff

[PatrickHenry]

The mechanisms driving the process of evolution have always been subject to rigorous scientific debate. Growing in intensity and scope, this debate currently spans a broad range of disciplines including archaeology, biochemistry, computer modeling, genetics & development and philosophy.

A recent $2.8 million grant from the John Templeton Foundation to the Cambridge Templeton Consortium [link] is providing the resources for further investigation into this complex and fascinating area. The funds will support 18 new grant awards to scientists, social scientists and philosophers examining how complexity has emerged in biological systems.

Attracting 150 applications, the grant process has generated much interest from a wide range of disciplines. Unique in the interdisciplinary nature of their applicants, the Cambridge Consortium grants will encourage and enable high quality research that approaches the issue from many angles, and will also sponsor collaborative work by people from different academic specialties. All of the work will study how biological systems (molecular, cellular, social etc) become more complex as they evolve.

"This is clearly an emerging area of science, and we are pleased that these grants are specifically aimed at encouraging work that would not easily fall under the parameters of any other grant-awarding body," says Consortium Chairman, Professor Derek Burke.

Questions to be addressed by the projects include:

* Why are biologists so afraid of asking 'why' questions, when physicists do it all the time?

* Can experiments using a digital evolutionary model answer why intelligence evolved, but artificial intelligence has been so hard to build?

* What lessons can rock art and material remains teach us about the development of human self-awareness?

* Can the geometric ordering of specific sheets of cells throw light on the questions currently being raised about design in nature?

* What principles allow individuals to develop social and colonial organizations?

Among the institutions receiving grants from the Cambridge Templeton Consortium are Duke University, Harvard University Medical School, University of California, San Francisco, University of Cambridge, UK, and Australian National University.

---

Formed by the John Templeton Foundation, The Cambridge Templeton Consortium was assembled for the purpose of selecting and evaluating proposals submitted under the "Emergence of Biological Complexity Initiative." Chairing the Consortium is Professor Derek Burke, Former Vice Chancellor of the University of East Anglia. Additional members include Dr. Jonathan Doye and Dr. Ard Louis, Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, Professor Simon Conway Morris, FRS, Department of Earth Sciences, University of Cambridge, Professor Graeme Barker, FBA and Dr. Chris Scarre, McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research, University of Cambridge.

The mission of the John Templeton Foundation is to pursue new insights at the boundary between theology and science through a rigorous, open-minded and empirically focused methodology, drawing together talented representatives from a wide spectrum of fields of expertise. Founded in 1987, the Foundation annually provides more than $60 million in funding on behalf of work in human sciences and character development, science and theology research, as well as free enterprise programs and awards worldwide. For more information about the Templeton Foundation, go to www.templeton.org [link.].

[Omitted some contact info, available at the original article.]

[shuckmaster]

why are humans so hairless compared to other apesAll humans alive today are directly descended from one very small tribe that lived on the beaches between South Africa and Ethiopia from 200,000 ya to about 80,000 ya after which a few of them crossed into Yemen and quickly covered the beaches all the way to Indonesia before being nearly extincted by the Toba explosion about 74,000 ya. It was only after glacier melt about 50-60,000 ya that they began to multiply and move inland up rivers. Nearly all the differences between these modern humans and other apes and other extinct hominids is directly related to a survival life style based on traversing an average of 40 or more miles a day constantly running up and down long narrow beaches and swimming the frequent channels between the beaches. Hair anywhere but the top of the head and a little patch covering the pubic area would be a restrictive nuisance that was selected out.

[longshadow]

The John Templeton Foundation gives out nearly $60 million per year "to pursue new insights at the boundary between theology and science" (according to their website), and none of it is going to the clowns who push ID.

Perhaps this quote from the Dover decision will help explain why Templeton isn't interested in funding ID:

On cross-examination, Professor Behe admitted that: "There are no peer reviewed articles by anyone advocating for intelligent design supported by pertinent experiments or calculations which provide detailed rigorous accounts of how intelligent design of any biological system occurred"(22:22-23 (Behe)). Additionally, Professor Behe conceded that there are no peer-reviewed papers supporting his claims that complex molecular systems, like the bacterial flagellum, the blood-clotting cascade, and the immune system, were intelligently designed. (21:61-62 (complex molecular systems), 23:4-5 (immune system), and 22:124-25 (blood-clotting cascade) (Behe)). In that regard, there are no peer-reviewed articles supporting Professor Behe's argument that certain complex molecular structures are "irreducibly complex."17 (21:62, 22:124-25 (Behe)). In addition to failing to produce papers in peer-reviewed journals, ID also features no scientific research or testing. (28:114-15 (Fuller); 18:22-23, 105-06 (Behe)). After this searching and careful review of ID as espoused by its proponents,

Case 4:04-cv-02688-JEJ Document 342 Filed 12/20/2005 Page 89 of 139

as elaborated upon in submissions to the Court, and as scrutinized over a six week trial, we find that ID is not science and cannot be adjudged a valid, accepted scientific theory as it has failed to publish in peer-reviewed journals, engage in research and testing, and gain acceptance in the scientific community.

[emphasis added]

No supporting peer-reviewed papers, and no research or testing. Sounds like a pretty good reason to be dubious about ID's claims to being scientific.

[longshadow]

courtesy ping to #48.

;-)

[PatrickHenry]

O horrible man. And your new tagline is horrible too.
</creation mode>

[longshadow]

And your new tagline is horrible too.

Thanks for noticing....

;-)

[RightWingAtheist]

Mike Oldfield?

[longshadow]

Mike Oldfield?

Nope.

Hint: Think "Dark Side of the Moon".....

[RightWingAtheist]

Dave Gilmour?

[RightWingAtheist]

Robwin Since Dec 26, 2005

No further comment is necessary.

[CarolinaGuitarman]

You got it. :)

[VadeRetro]

They haven't figured out a good angle yet.

Templeton has been influenced by what is probably burnable heresy. I wish that had been left out of his bio. ;)

[longshadow]

Dave Gilmour?

The Grand Master at DarwinCentral™ is suitably impressed, and an appropriate entry has been made in your personal record at DC to reflect your accomplishment.

[RightWingAtheist]

Thanks. Every time I get disillusioned when an FR thread gets run over by the creationuts, I just head over to that DUmpster to remind myself that stupidity crosses political lines.

[MRMEAN]

about 74,000 ya. It was only after glacier melt about 50-60,000 ya that they began to multiply and move inland up rivers. Nearly all the differences between these modern humans and other apes and other extinct hominids is directly related to a survival life style based on traversing an average of 40 or more miles a day constantly running up and down long narrow beaches and swimming the frequent channels between the beaches. Hair anywhere but the top of the head and a little patch covering the pubic area would be a restrictive nuisance that was selected out.

So if we want to follow our evolutionary heritage, we should run/swim 40 miles a day...in the nude?

[RightWingAtheist]

Appropriately enough, Gilmour also provided the guitar solo for this classic:

[RightWingAtheist]

No, just the women.

[Right Wing Professor]

Robwin Since Dec 26, 2005

Does Jim Robinson do post-Christmas returns? This one's defective.

[RightWingAtheist]

You'd think after the medved and G3K models petered out, we'd know enough not to purchase them anymore.

[Right Wing Professor]

Every time I get disillusioned when an FR thread gets run over by the creationuts, I just head over to that DUmpster to remind myself that stupidity crosses political lines.

You've got to be a true optimist, when the observation that stupidity is ubiquitous cheers you up! :-)

[paulat]

The Templeton Foundation is the real thing, and the DI isn't

Why do you say that?