Young Earth advocates claim that dating methods using tree rings, annual sediment layers (varves), or carbon-14 cannot be trusted because they are all based on untestable assumptions. In fact, geologists have ways of testing ALL assumptions using the methods of empirical science. In this episode, I'll share my own contributions to the subject showing how tree rings, sediment varves, and carbon-14 can be combined in really, really cool ways to demonstrate that counts of tree rings and varves yield valid ages.

To read more, check out the paper I wrote with fellow geologist and Christian brother, Ken Wolgemuth: Testing and Verifying Old Age Evidence: Lake Suigetsu Varves, Tree Rings, and Carbon-14.

In the second of a two part conversation with embryologist Dr. Jeff Hardin, we get into the ethical/moral implications of experimentation with embryos, how a human embryo should be treated in terms of its human nature or capacity, fixing vs enhancing genes, creating trans-species chimeras, and attempts to make humanzes (human-chimp embryos. Wild times in which we live!

In this two part conversation, I am joined by Dr. Jeff Hardin, a zoologist at the University of Wisconsin and co-author of the textbook World of the Cell. In part 1, we spend most of the discussion on the amazing and sometimes mind-boggling science of the embryo, including splitting an embryo to create two or more fully developing individuals, two or more embryos merging to form one chimera, trans-species chimeras, glow-in-the-dark cells, gene editing, clones, and designer babies. With lots of mention of movies and sci fi!