Reasons to Believe Podcast

Join Jeff Zweerink and Josh Swamidass as they discuss new discoveries taking place at the frontiers of science that have theological and philosophical implications, including the reality of God’s existence.   AI Abilities Emerging or Not? One concern regarding the development of artificial intelligence (AI) relates to the emergence of unpredictable features that arise as the systems grow in scale. Researchers consider an “emergent ability” as something that the AI has routinely failed to accomplish but suddenly performs well as the system grows in size (either from hardware or software growth). A number of papers claiming emergent abilities populate scientific literature. However, a recent study shows that these “emergent” abilities often reflect poorly designed measurement metrics or insufficient statistics. Better metrics and statistics remove the indicators of emergence. In this episode, computational biologist and physician Josh Swamidass and astrophysicist Jeff Zweerink discuss the details surrounding this issue and offer some insights from a Christian perspective.     PODCAST LINK:   Are Emergent Abilities of Large Language Models a Mirage?   YOUTUBE LINK:   Rylan Schaeffer, Brando Miranda, and Sanmi Koyejo, “Are Emergent Abilities of Large Language Models a Mirage?,” https://arxiv.org/abs/2304.15004

Join Fazale “Fuz” Rana and Hugh Ross as they discuss new discoveries taking place at the frontiers of science that have theological and philosophical implications, including the reality of God’s existence.   Growing Human Organs in Pigs In the fall of 2023, a team of researchers from China published the results of a proof-of-principle study that demonstrated for the first time that it’s possible to grow humanized kidneys in a fetal pig. This work provides the means to study the process of organogenesis that may also alleviate the shortage of organs available for human transplant procedures. However, this research raises all sorts of questions that could be summarized with a single question: “Should we play God?”   In this episode, biochemist Fuz Rana describes the work of the Chinese researchers and offers a Christian perspective on the creation of human-animal chimeras. Mitigating Air Pollution Air pollution level in India’s capital territory of Delhi is more than 25 times greater than the maximum human tolerable level set by the World Health Organization (WHO). This pollution is called PM2.5 (inhalable particles with diameters of 2.5 micrometers or less) and is almost entirely composed of black carbon soot, mineral dust, sulfates, nitrates, ammonia, and sodium chloride. Scientists at WHO have determined that the average Indian living in Delhi would live 11.9 years longer if the PM2.5 level there were reduced to WHO’s maximum limit. Nearly all of India’s PM2.5 air pollution comes from the burning of coal, wood, biomass, diesel, gasoline, and oil, in that order. Replacing these fuel sources with natural gas would eliminate all of India’s PM2.5 except for the small contribution from road and construction dust. This replacement would also immediately reduce carbon greenhouse gas emissions by nearly half.         PODCAST LINKS:   Generation of a Humanized Mesonephros in Pigs from Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells via Embryo Complementation   Additional Resources:   A Theology for Synthetic Biology, Part 1   A Theology for Synthetic Biology, Part 2   YOUTUBE LINKS:   Jiaowei Wang et al., “Generation of a Humanized Mesonephros in Pigs from Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells via Embryo Complementation,” https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37683604/   Additional Resources:   Fazale Rana, “A Theology for Synthetic Biology, Part 1,” https://reasons.org/explore/publications/articles/a-theology-for-synthetic-biology-part-1-of-2   Fazale Rana, “A Theology for Synthetic Biology, Part 2,” https://reasons.org/explore/publications/articles/a-theology-for-synthetic-biology-part-2-of-2   PODCAST LINKS:   Air Quality Life Index 2023: Annual Update (August 2023) Air Quality Life Index, India Fact Sheet (2023) The Relationship between Fine Particle Matter (PM2.5) Exposure and Upper Respiratory Tract Diseases   YOUTUBE LINKS:   Michael Greenstone and Christa Hasenkopf, Air Quality Life Index 2023: Annual Update (August 2023),https://aqli.epic.uchicago.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/AQLI_2023_Report-Global.pdf Air Quality Life Index, India Fact Sheet (2023), https://aqli.epic.uchicago.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/India-FactSheet-2023_Final.pdf Łukasz Zaręba et al., “The Relationship between Fine Particle Matter (PM2.5) Exposure and Upper Respiratory Tract Diseases,” https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4426/14/1/98

Join Fazale “Fuz” Rana and Jeff Zweerink as they discuss new discoveries taking place at the frontiers of science that have theological and philosophical implications, including the reality of God’s existence.   CRISPR Update In December of 2023, the FDA approved two revolutionary new treatments for the blood disorders sickle cell anemia and ß-thalassemia, both based on gene-editing technology. This approval represents an important milestone for gene therapy and the treatment of thousands of genetic disorders. It also serves as a stepping stone for human enhancements and adds to the legitimacy of transhumanism.   In this episode, biochemist Fuz Rana describes these new gene therapies and discusses the ethical issues connected to them. He also offers a Christian response to the prospects of human enhancements and transhumanism.   Two Noteworthy AI Finds As the field of artificial intelligence (AI) advances, research continues to show both the promise and peril of using AI. For example, most AIs work well within a single domain (e.g., classifying signs, responding to language, playing a game). Recent work in game play resulted in an AI capable of mastering multiple games that in the past required different approaches. However, the AI (called Student of Games) mastered multiple different games using a single algorithm. This development represents a significant step (the promise) on the journey to make an artificial general intelligence. Yet, other research demonstrates that a wide variety of AIs are highly vulnerable to malicious attacks. Specifically, the algorithms AIs use to recognize images are easily exploited and manipulated (the peril).  In this episode, astrophysicist Jeff Zweerink explains the breakthrough and why a Christian perspective is needed when considering such advances.       PODCAST LINKS:   FDA Approves First CRISPR Editing Treatment for Sickle Cell Disease   Sickle Cell CRISPR ‘Cure’ Is the Start of a Revolution in Medicine   Additional Resources: Fazale Rana, Humans 2.0   PODCAST LINKS:   Student of Games: A Unified Learning Algorithm for Both Perfect and Imperfect Information Games   AI Networks Are More Vulnerable to Malicious Attacks Than Previously Thought   QuadAttack: A Quadratic Programming Approach to Ordered Top-K Attacks  

In this special episode, we replay a recorded conversation between prominent astronomer Dr. David Block (professor emeritus of mathematics and astronomy at the University of Witwatersrand and the director of RTB Africa) and world-renowned astronomer Giovanni Fazio (senior physicist at the Center for Astrophysics-Harvard & Smithsonian and a lecturer in the department of astronomy at Harvard University). This wide-ranging conversation between two friends includes their collaboration studying the Andromeda galaxy, their perspectives on God’s handiwork in creation, and Dr. Fazio’s groundbreaking contributions to infrared astronomy.                               References:   PODCAST LINK:   Professor David Block’s YouTube Channel   YOUTUBE LINKS:   Professor David Block’s YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/@professordavidblock5038

Join Jeff Zweerink and Steve Baertschi, president of Baertschi Consulting, as they discuss new discoveries taking place at the frontiers of science that have theological and philosophical implications, including the reality of God’s existence.   Perils of Space Travel Although science fiction makes space travel seem almost inevitable, current research demonstrates numerous challenges to humans residing in space for long periods of time. Along with the well-known detrimental effects on muscle mass and density, research shows that prolonged periods in space expose the human body to far more radiation than encountered here on Earth. That radiation dramatically decreases our bodies’ capacity to fight off cancer and to keep past viral exposure in check. Additionally, radiation impacts the function of our gastrointestinal system and its ability to absorb nutrients and oral medications. These results highlight Earth’s amazing capacity to host a diverse and abundant array of life. Drug Stability for Mars Mission Drug stability is a function of the storage environment. Shelf-lives of 2–3 years (from refrigerated to room temperature storage) are common. NASA is planning for a roundtrip mission to Mars, expected to last 2–3 years. Little is known about the stability of drugs in deep space (outside of Earth’s protective magnetosphere). Limited studies of drugs on the International Space Station raise significant questions that have identified critical parameters: microgravity, vibration, humidity, ionizing radiation, carbon dioxide levels, and repackaging. Can we ensure a safe, stable drug formulatory that will meet all of the health needs for a round-trip journey to Mars in the deep space environment?   References:   PODCAST LINKS:   Space Radiation Triggers Persistent Stress Response, Increases Senescent Signaling, and Decreases Cell Migration in Mouse Intestine   NK Cell Function Is Impaired during Long-Duration Spaceflight   Negative Effects of Long-Duration Spaceflight on Paraspinal Muscle Morphology YOUTUBE LINKS:   Santosh Kumar et al., “Space Radiation Triggers Persistent Stress Response, Increases Senescent Signaling, and Decreases Cell Migration in Mouse Intestine,” https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1807522115   Austin B. Bigley et al. “NK Cell Function Is Impaired during Long-Duration Spaceflight,” https://doi.org/10.1152/japplphysiol.00761.2018   Katelyn Burkhart et al., “Negative Effects of Long-Duration Spaceflight on Paraspinal Muscle Morphology,” https://doi.org/10.1097/brs.0000000000002959