During the last two years, “Faith over Fear†has become a guiding philosophy, and for some people a battle cry, for dealing with the ongoing SARS-CoV-2 pandemic and everything else going on in the world. All in all, faith over fear is a good mantra. Multiple verses in the Bible give this advice, and there are women and men throughout the Old and New Testaments who amazing examples of people who practiced faith over fear. Abraham following God’s command to pack up his family and leave everything he knew for the promise of a new, completely unknown place is just one example. On some level preaching “faith of fear†seems natural and easy, but how it works on practical, personal level is a bigger challenge. As someone who is Christian and a scientist, I find that having faith over fear involves considering the situation, understanding the possible dangers, asking (praying) for wisdom from others who have more experience and knowledge about the options for dealing with the possible outcomes, and acting with faith that God will be with me regardless of what happens. In other words, during scary times it has served me well to pray and post a guard. This strategy has served me well so far, especially when I had preeclampsia and HELLP syndrome.
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Science Corner: Let There Be Light (But Not Too Much)
According to Genesis 1, on the first day of creation God called the light into being, he separated light from darkness, he called the light “day†and the darkness “nightâ€, and he called it good. Most of us would agree that light is, indeed, good. Both literally and metaphorically light drives out the darkness and allows us to see so that we can find our way. And it is not only humans that value light—all of the natural world benefits from it.
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Science Corner: Christian Women in Science
Every year since 1987, March has been considered Women’s History Month. What started as International Women’s Day in 1911 became National Women’s History Week in 1980 and then a month designated to learning about and celebrating what women have contributed to history. Since we are approaching the end of Women’s History Month, I thought was appropriate to write a few women in science who were, or are, Christians. Officially they are a small group — according to an article published in Christianity Today, only ~7% of biologists and physicists in the US identify as Christian women. Nevertheless, there are a many remarkable women who belong to this group.
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Science Corner: Bug-Eat-Bug World
It has been said that it’s a bug-eat-bug world. Although in the circle of life, it’s probably more accurate to say that it’s a bird-eat-bug world. No matter how you phrase it, nature is full of heterotrophic organisms that need to consume other organisms in order to survive. Being eaten can have a significant negative impact on your fitness (your reproductive success, not your ability to climb Mt Everest or run a marathon). At the end of the day, the organisms/species that have the largest number of healthy offspring win, so it is not surprising that over evolutionary time, many adaptations have evolved that provide a way for organisms to avoid being eaten. Some types of defensive mechanisms include body modification (a.k.a. spines or thorns), chemical warfare (a.k.a. venom or poison), and defensive behaviors (a.k.a. running, hiding, or forming social groups).
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Science Corner: A Planet of Viruses Book Review & Virus Appreciation
I don’t know about you, but viruses have been on my mind a lot lately. One virus in particular, SARS-CoV-2 (a.k.a. COVID-19), continues to hold my attention way more than I would like it to. However, viruses are pretty amazing, and I learned to appreciate them when I read Carl Zimmer’s book, A Planet of Viruses. Like everything I have read by Carl Zimmer, who writes a weekly science column for The New York Times, this short book is a fun read, and it doesn’t require a background in biology, or any other science, to understand and enjoy. It explores the weird and wonderful diversity of viruses on Earth and how they influence the lives of humans — even when we don’t want them too.
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