An Animal That Can’t Feel the Burn

At one time or another we have all experienced some type of burning feeling.  Maybe it was when we touched a hot stove, sipped a scalding drink, stayed out in the sun too long, or played with fire.  Sometimes we even feel burning sensations when we eat spicy food.  Whatever the cause, the burning feeling is no fun at all.  For this reason, scientists were especially curious when they discovered an animal that doesn’t feel certain burning sensations.  This animal is the naked mole rat.

Several years ago, researchers accidentally discovered naked mole rats didn’t have something called “substance P.”  To put it simply, substance P is a compound that sends signals of burning pain in our nerves.  Since naked mole rats don’t have substance P, they don’t feel pain from burns but will from other injuries.  For example, they feel pain from pinching, prodding, and other physical injuries, but can’t feel pain from acid or the burning sensation from chili peppers (BioEdOnline.org).

What makes this ability especially interesting is the fact that naked mole rats live in underground boroughs with high levels of carbon dioxide.  Living in places with high levels of carbon dioxide (as high as 10%) causes acid to build up inside the body tissue and is painful for most animals.  If the air we breathed comprised of just 5% carbon dioxide, we would feel a “sharp, burning, stinging sensation in our eyes and nose” (LiveScience.com, “Immune”).  In other words, the naked mole rat is designed specifically to live in places with high carbon dioxide without feeling any pain.

Not only are there high levels of carbon dioxide inside the boroughs, but often very low levels of oxygen as well.  If we breathed the same oxygen levels as the naked mole rat we would quickly sustain brain damage (LiveScience.com, “Oxygen”).  The reason they are able to live in such terrible air conditions is because they breathe less frequently and use about a third less oxygen than other small animals like mice.  This gives the naked mole rat the ability to function more than six times longer with low levels of oxygen than mice and other animals (ibid).

Even though they aren’t much to look at, naked mole rats are some of the most incredible animals on earth.  It’s clear that these little rodents were perfectly made to survive in some of the worst air conditions.  With so many complex and unique characteristics, we have to ask how they could have evolved these abilities?  Evolution simply does not offer specific answers and clear facts.  Naked mole rats, like many other animals on the earth, prove that God planned, designed, molded, and created everything.

Not only do the words of Nehemiah 9:5-6 speak the truth about creation, but they also tell us what our response should be: “Arise, bless the Lord your God forever and ever!  O may Your glorious name be blessed
 and exalted above all blessing and praise!  You alone are the Lord.  You have made the heavens, the heaven of heavens with all their host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them.  You give life to all of them 
and the heavenly host bows down before You.”

May we always praise and glorify God, the Designer and Lord of all creation!

The Archerfish: A Living Squirt Gun

On the surface, the archerfish looks just like your average aquarium fish.  It doesn’t look flashy or even all that interesting.  However, this fish has some astounding abilities.  As its name indicates, this fish is able to hunt with the accuracy and precision of an archer.  It does this by shooting a jet of water toward a bug or small animal, knocking it off of a tree or plant into the water, and then gobbling it up.  This ability is only possible because of some unique qualities.  Let’s examine these qualities:

Mouth: Instead of being flat and smooth, the archerfish has a little channel that runs from the back of the throat to the front top lip.  When it presses its tongue to the top of its mouth, it forms a little waterway to shoot through.  Once this channel is formed, it will swim up to the surface of the water and snap its gills shut.  Quickly shutting their gills will propel water through the mouth and out.  The result is a water pistol.  This little 8-inch fish can shoot with pinpoint accuracy from 4 feet away.  However, they can squirt as far as 12 feet and up to 7 times in quick succession.  This incredible ability is only possible because of its special mouth.

Abilities of Adjustment: Sniping a bug from underwater is not easy by any means.  The reason is because of a problem called “refraction.”  Since water and air have different qualities, it causes what we see to look different when looking from air into water or vice versa.  Sometimes it makes an object look bent or makes it look like it is in one location when it is actually in another (See Picture Below).  So, when the archerfish tries to hit a target from underwater, it will miss it unless it accounts for refraction.  Incredibly, a baby archerfish quickly figures out the problem of refraction and adjusts its aim!  Soon, it becomes a master calculator of angels and refraction.  Even though refraction changes with the angle the archerfish shoots from, it is able hit a target with sniper like precision from angles between 45 and 110 degrees (Temple).  This is hard enough for intelligent humans to do, which is why it is even more amazing that a fish is able to pull these shots off.

 Looking at all of these astounding qualities makes one wonder how this fish could have evolved and why it would have done it in the first place?  See, there is no shortage of bugs in this world.  It’s not like it needed to develop this water pistol ability to survive.  In fact, it gathers most of its food by eating floating insects, jumping for bugs, or eating things in the water, not by sniping bugs from the trees (Encyclopedia).  If evolution were really a fact, then why would the archerfish evolve these amazing, yet unnecessary, abilities?  Why haven’t other fish evolved the same ability?  Beyond all of this, how did the archerfish develop the channel at the roof of its mouth and know to put its tongue at the top to make a water pistol?  How did an unintelligent animal figure out and master the problem of refraction?  Evolution does not give clear and believable answers to these questions.  Incredible features like these do not “just happen by time and chance.”

Seeing so many unanswered questions about evolution further points to the true reason the archerfish is so amazing.  The archerfish and all of its remarkable features were intricately designed to show there is a God!  Romans 1:20 says, “For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.”  The archerfish is one more proof of God’s creation that is “clearly seen.”

Sources:

• Temple, S. E. “Effect of salinity on the refractive index of water: considerations for archer fish aerial vision” ‘Journal of Fish Biology’ Vol. 70, 1626–1629 2007.
• http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/archerfish.aspx
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archerfish
• http://www.naturia.per.sg/buloh/verts/archer_fish.htm

Why Giraffes Don’t Have Brain Damage

If you have ever done a handstand or hung upside-down, you know the feeling of the blood rushing to your head.  This is not a big deal for people, but it should be a problem for giraffes.  Think about it.  The giraffe is the tallest animal in the world (up to 20 feet) and has a neck about 7 feet long.  Your heart pumps blood up about a foot.  A giraffe’s heart has to pump blood up 7 feet!  A normal person’s blood pressure is 120/80.  A giraffe’s normal blood pressure is around 240/180, which is the highest of all animals (Jakhariya).  If our blood pressure gets up to just 180, it is called a hypertensive emergency and must be lowered immediately or it can result in permanent organ damage and death.  The question is, why doesn’t a giraffe damage its brain or kill itself when it bends down?  The answer is found in a number of uniquely designed parts.

1. An Enlarged Heart.  To get the blood to its head in the first place, the giraffe needs a large and powerful heart.  Your heart is about the size of your fist.  A giraffe’s heart is about 2 feet long and can weigh over 25 pounds (Prothero).  Its heart is also very powerful.  “For blood to reach the head, the heart must beat strongly enough to overcome the significant downward pressure caused by gravity” (Bourton).  Its heart also pumps 16 gallons of blood per minute.  The giraffe certainly has the right heart for the job.

2. Valves.  When a giraffe bends down, there are two problems.  (1) The increased blood pressure from the heart, and (2) blood that has already passed through the brain being pulled back by gravity.  To correct the issues caused by gravity, the giraffe has special valves in the main veins of the neck (jugular veins) which automatically close when the giraffe bends down and open when it lifts back up.  This significantly reduces the pressure in its head when it bends down.

3. Blood Vessels.  The walls of these vessels are extra thick and grow thicker as the giraffe’s neck grows and the blood pressure increases (Bourton).  The thick walls keep the vessels from rupturing under all the pressure.  Besides this, the giraffe’s blood vessels have elastic qualities.  So, the giraffe’s vessels will expand and contract to change the volume of blood flowing to the brain when it bends down.  Doing so decreases the pressure in the brain.

4. The Sponge.  At the base of the giraffe’s brain is a complex maze of small blood vessels (called the rete mirabile).  When the giraffe bends down, the rete mirabile acts like a sponge by expanding the blood vessels and containing the extra blood coming to the head (Jakhariya).  Doing so lowers the blood pressure and controls the amount of blood entering the brain.  When the giraffe brings its head back up, the rete mirabile pushes out the blood it was holding into the giraffe’s brain so it doesn’t get light headed on the way up.

It takes all of these features just for a giraffe to bend down to get a drink of water and raise back up!  This puts evolution in a difficult position.  If the giraffe did not have a strong enough heart, it could not get blood to its brain and would not survive.  If the valves in the blood vessels did not contract and close off, too much blood would rush to the giraffe’s brain and it would not survive.  If the giraffe did not have the sponge like maze of blood vessels and did not have special vessels that could expand and contract and control blood pressure, the brain would be damaged and it would not survive.  So, which evolved first?  Every one of these parts has to works together flawlessly in order for the giraffe to survive.  Taking any one of these qualities out would drive giraffes to extinction.

Giraffes are proof of intelligent design and of a God who has the knowledge and power to make every single part work flawlessly.  David was right when he said that all of our creation declares God’s glory (Psalm 19:1-6).  Certainly the giraffe is one of the many parts of creation announcing God as Creator and Lord!

Sources: 

• Bourton, Jody. “Supercharged Heart Pumps Blood Up A Giraffe’s Neck.” < http://news.bbc.co.uk/earth/hi/earth_news/newsid_8368000/8368915.stm&gt;
• Jakhariya. “The Amazing Giraffe” <http://www.komindia.com/komkids/the-amazing-giraffe&gt;
• Prothero, D. R.; Schoch, R. M. (2003). Horns, Tusks, and Flippers: The Evolution of Hoofed Mammals. Johns Hopkins University Press. pp. 67–72
• Sharp, Douglas B. “The Revolution Against Evolution.” <http://www.rae.org/revev5.html&gt;
• http://terranaturals.com/giraffe-facts-a-23.html
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giraffe

The Mighty Payara

Meet the payara.  On the outside it looks just like any other fish, but as soon as it opens its mouth, it is obvious this is not a cute little aquarium fish.  You thought piranhas were scary?  This fish hunts piranhas!  The payara is found mostly at the mouth of the Amazon River.  It can grow as large as 4 feet and 40 pounds.  It has developed a reputation for being an unbelievably aggressive and powerful fish, especially since it hunts a fast and strong fish like the piranha.

God has equipped the payara to be a mighty predator.  Easily the most interesting fact about the payara is it’s massive fangs.  For a full-grown payara, these teeth can get as long as 4-6 inches!  The fangs are very sharp and easily pierce through another fish.  Doing so will typically immobilize the fish, making it unable to swim, and it becomes an easy meal.

These fangs are formidable weapons, but you would think they pose a danger to the fish.  Why doesn’t the payara pierce itself when it closes its mouth?  First of all, this fish has a specially designed upper lip.  This lip is thick and has holes for the huge teeth to slide into.  These compartments accommodate the length, width, and curvature of the teeth.  So, when it closes its mouth, the teeth will slide into these special compartments without harm.  Second, the lower jaw swings up and closes at an angle with the upper jaw.  Most animals, including people, have jaws that are horizontal when closed.  The payara’s top jaw is high and angled so that the teeth will slide perfectly into their compartments.

(Click Here For Video On The Payara)

God engineered the payara to be a formidable predator from its powerful, fast, and sleek body to its frightening fangs.  He even protected the fish from itself by providing custom compartments for the teeth.

In the discussion with his friends, Job explained that all the animals of this earth proclaim God as their creator (Job 12:7-10).  Animals do not do this with words, but with their unique abilities and designs from God.  We are wise when we look out and take notice of God’s creation.  Let’s join in with all of creation in Psalm 148 and praise God for His magnificent workmanship.

The Bird That Shouldn’t Be Able To Fly

Hummingbirds have been baffling scientists for years. Matt Ransford commented, “The hummingbird is an animal that by all rights shouldn’t be able to fly” (Popular Science). But not only can this bird fly, it is the only bird able to fly forwards, backward, up, down, sideways, upside down, and even hover. UAV once tried to make a robotic hummingbird. Head researcher Matt Keennon stated, “It was never our intention to copy what nature has done; it’s just too daunting” (Popular Science). Daunting is right. Let’s take a closer look at just what make the hummingbird one-of-a-kind.

General Facts:

As you probably know, the hummingbird is the smallest bird in nature. The smallest species of hummingbird weights about 2 grams. As a point of comparison, the penny in your pocket weights 2.5 grams. The hummingbird’s heart can beat up to 1,260 times per minute and down to 250 when at rest. A hummingbird’s body temperature often reaches temperatures of about 107 degrees Fahrenheit.

Wings:

The wings on a hummingbird are quite unique. All feathers have a quill. The quill is essentially the center part of a feather that holds it together and gives it strength. The hummingbird’s quill is, for its weight, considered stronger than any other man-made structure (Sharp). It needs this strength in its wings because of how vigorously it moves them. Hummingbirds’ wings will beat about 70 times per second and up to 200 times per second when diving at 60 mph. The way the hummingbird moves its wings is different as well. Most birds flap their wings but hummingbirds move them in a type of circular, figure-8 type motion. Subtle changes in this motion allow it to move in all directions.

Feeding and Metabolism:

Hummingbirds have the highest metabolism of all animals. Hummingbirds will fly around and visit around 1,000 flowers for nectar per day as well as feeding on tiny insects. They need to eat about 7 times every single hour to keep up with the energy demand. If our metabolisms were as high as a hummingbird, we would have to eat 155,000 calories per day (How-Come.net). With such a needy metabolism, how are hummingbirds able to live through the night? Hummingbirds can’t feed at night because they do not have the rods in their eyes that are necessary for night vision (Sharp). So, when it begins getting dark the hummingbird will fly to a safe location and enter into a state of hibernation called “torpor.” It will do this every night. During torpor, the hummingbird can lower its heart rate to 50 beats per minute and its body temperature below 40 degrees Fahrenheit (Sciencemag.org)! What a massive change from 1,260 beats per minute and 107 degrees Fahrenheit.   This lowers the caloric intake and allows it to survive the night.

Respiratory System:

For everything to function at such a high rate, it needs an advanced respiratory system. Most people and animals inhale and then exhale. Most birds do not. Instead, they are able to receive an almost continuous supply of oxygen. Hummingbirds will inhale air into an air sac. When it goes to exhale from one of two lungs, the oxygen in the air sac will move into one lung, providing fresh oxygen. Once it is done exhaling, it will inhale more fresh air into the air sac as the body is using the previous breath. This airflow continues in this circular process, and allows the bird to receive fresh air almost constantly. This process is incredibly complicated (Click Here For More Info On This). Breathing this way does more than just provide oxygen though. The air sacs that fill up with air make the bird lighter for flying. In addition, this continuous air supply cools the hummingbird off by bringing in cool air and venting out body heat. In other words, the hummingbird’s respiratory system provides oxygen, helps with flight, and is an air conditioner! And to top it all off, hummingbirds will breathe up to 250 times per minute.

Could all of these features have evolved? Douglas Sharp said it best, “It is unreasonable to suggest that the hummingbird “developed” all of these features as a product of evolution gradually over millions of years. Time and chance cannot produce such design and order. Only God can!”

Jeremiah 10:12 says, “It is He who made the earth by His power, who established the world by His wisdom; and by His understanding He has stretched out the heavens.” It is astonishing what it takes for the hummingbird to live, breath, and fly. In the end, the hummingbird is just one more awesome example of the powerful God who made this earth and everything on it!

 ADDITIONAL SOURCES:

• http://howtoenjoyhummingbirds.com/
• http://www.worldofhummingbirds.com/facts.php
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hummingbird
• http://www.learner.org/jnorth/tm/humm/Torpor.html
• Sharp, Douglas B. The Revolution Against Evolution.

The Earth

Take a good look at the picture above.  This photo is a scaled down version of the highest resolution image taken of the earth to date (8000 x 8000 pixels).  This image was captured from NASA’s most recently launched Earth-observing satellite, the Suomi NPP.  We have all seen pictures of this beautiful planet we live on, but this one seems so much more colorful and breathtaking.  Every detail is crisp and vibrant.  What a strikingly majestic place we live on.

God spent six days making the universe.  After He made everything, “God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good…” (Genesis 1:31).  It’s hard to imagine a person looking at this earth and still claiming, “There is no God!”  In fact, God Himself crafted everything in such a way to combat such claims.  Romans 1:20 says, “For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.”  He wants people to see what He made and know that He does exist and He wants something from us.  To put it simply, He wants us to follow and obey Him (Matthew 7:21-27; James 1:22-25).

Our God is awesome!  He chose to make the earth and everything on it “very good.” Since the beauty of the world we live in now is so illustrious, we should be ecstatic when thinking about the place Christ is preparing in heaven (John 14:1-3; Revelation 21-22).  Let’s make sure we always find ourselves walking on that narrow path that leads to that wonderful place (Matthew 7:13-14; John 14:6).

Strawberry Poison Dart Frogs

It’s hard not to love these little guys.  They come in 15-30 beautiful and vibrant color combinations, they are itty-bitty (less than 1 inch long), and they have an interesting history.  As many people know, these frogs were given their name by the natives who used the poison on the frog’s skin to coat their darts and arrows.  As a kid, I always wanted to have one of these little frogs as a pet, but until recently, I had no idea how amazing they really are

Unlike most species, with this frog both parents care for their young.  After the eggs have been fertilized, the mother will lay her eggs on a leaf on the forest floor.  The father will then transport water to keep the eggs moist and hydrated while they grow for about 10 days.  Then the eggs will hatch and a whole new problem presents itself.

The little tadpoles need more water and will soon die if not moved to a better location.  One by one, the mother (and occasionally the father) will get a tadpole on its back and will climb high into the trees until it finds a bromeliad plant (or something similar).  Bromeliads grow in such a way that they will pool rainwater at their centers.  These frogs produce a mucus like substance on their skin that helps the tadpole stick to their backs as they climb up trees and leaves.  So, the little frog will get the tadpole on its back, find a bromeliad, and then set the tadpole into the little pool of water.  Then the mother will climb back down the tree and transport 4-6 little tadpoles to their own little growing pools.

The tadpoles now have water, but they will die without food.  To solve this problem, the female comes back to each pool and lays an unfertilized egg for the tadpole to eat.  The father’s responsibility is mostly to watch over and protect the eggs, but he also checks the tadpoles occasionally to see if they are hungry and will go get the mother if this is the case.

What an amazing little creature the strawberry poison dart frog is!  When we take a close look at this process, it completely fails without each step in place.  The male must transport water to keep the eggs moist or they will die.  Once hatched, the tadpoles must be moved to where more water is or they will die.  If the tadpoles couldn’t stick on their parents’ backs, they couldn’t be transported and they would die.  If the female couldn’t continually lay unfertilized eggs for the tadpoles to eat, once again, they would die.

As always, every part of this process points to intelligent design and the Creator of our world.  Just as the Psalmist said, “The earth is the LORD’S, and all it contains, the world, and those who dwell in it” (Psalm 24:1).  The strawberry poison dart frog is a cute, colorful, and amazing creature all by itself, but the fact that shows God’s existence and glory just makes it that much more wonderful.

 

PLEASE SKIP TO 5:35 IF THE VIDEO DOESN’T SKIP AUTOMATICALLY