The Harmful Effects of Too Much Video Game Playing

Ever since Computer Space came out in 1971, video games have become more and more realistic and life-like. Graduating from primitive 2D graphics to life-like 3D environments, computer games have had an impact on kids, and adults, for more than forty years. While there is some controversy about whether computer games are beneficial or harmful, the impact they have on people is well documented and studies conducted over the years have brought up some interesting results.

The Effects of Violent Video Games

Many studies have been undertaken to see how violent video games effect children. One such study shows that there is a connection between violent video games and aggressive behavior.  Dr. Craig A. Anderson, Ph.D., of the Iowa State University in Ames has conducted a study on the gaming habits of over a thousand children from Japan and the United States (7). The study has revealed some startling facts about the effects of video games on children.

 During the course of the experiment, the children’s video game habits were studied, along with their behavior. At the start, the behavior of the children--whether they were more passive or aggressive--was taken into account. The participants rated their own behavior, but Anderson’s team also gathered information from their peers and teachers (7). Anderson and his colleagues concluded that children who played violent video games on a regular basis were more aggressive than their peers who rarely or never played such games (7).

 Anderson writes in an article for the American Psychological Association: "High levels of violent video game exposure have been linked to delinquency, fighting at school and during free play periods, and violent criminal behavior (e.g., self-reported assault, robbery)” (1).

 Others experts disagree with Anderson’s research, claiming that violence in general is not the problem with video games. Dr. Cheryl K. Olson, a director of the Center for Mental Health and the Media at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston is quoted by CNN as saying, “I think there may well be problems with some kinds of violent games for some kinds of kids. We may find things we should be worried about, but right now we don't know enough” (7).

While there is controversy over whether all genres of violent video games are harmful, research regarding the effects of violent video games on the brain has brought up some startling results. According to a fairly recent study by Dr. Vincent Matthews of Indiana University, computer games have an impact on the brain. A number of participants, ages 18 to 29,  were randomly chosen to play a Mature-rated, first-person shooter game (13). The other group played no computer games during the study. None of the participants had much experience playing computer games and all were men (9).

 In the first part of the experiment conducted by Matthews, the subjects were given counting and emotional tests to complete while their brains were scanned by a functional MRI machine. During the first week, the group assigned the video game played it for 10 hours on average (13).

 After one week had passed, both groups were given counting and emotional tests and scanned again by the functional MRI machine. The scans revealed that the game-playing group had less activity in the areas of their brains where attention, emotions, and the restraint of impulses are centered (9). The group that played the Mature-rated game did not respond to emotional content as they had during the first test (13). A test that involved counting revealed that the video game group had decreased activity in the areas of their brains where concentration and attention are controlled (9).

 During the second week, neither group played video games. The testing that took place that the end of the second week revealed that the video game group had improved (13) in their performance compared to the previous test, but had not quite reached the results of their first test, prior to their playing the game. The control group, which had played no video games, performed the same, as expected.

 Matthews is quoted in an article on Time.com as saying, “Behavioral studies have shown an increase in aggressive behavior after violent video games, and what we show is the physiological explanation for what the behavioral studies are showing. We’re showing that there are changes in brain function that are likely related to that behavior” (9).

 The activity of the brain is not the only thing to be affected in the brain. Dr. Paul Grasby of the Hammersmith Hospital in London obtained evidence that playing video games can become chemically addictive. He and his fellow researchers learned that the production of dopamine doubles in the brain of a person who consistently plays video games (15). The researchers found that the dopamine produced had the same effect as amphetamines or Ritalin injected into the blood stream (15). Dopamine is considered to be a hormone associated with pleasure (4) and Grasby’s team has compared video games to taking “a dose of speed” (15).

 Video Game Addiction

WOW in the Future

This dopamine craving makes sense in light of the obsession of many with massive multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs). Games such as World of Warcraft and EverQuest bring the player into a fantasy world where he or she can interact with thousands of other online players and complete missions in complex maps. Each player controls a character he or she can use to gain advancements and special abilities. Most players of such games become completely engrossed in his or her game. A website called gamerwidow.com has started that is for “gamer widows” to “come and share their frustrations with their fellow gamer widow(er)s, and discuss their feelings and develop a [camaraderie] that only those in their positions understand” (6).

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Amazing Future Computer Technology

Millions of people around the world use them every day. Nearly every company and many jobs depend on it. Cars, ipods, cell phones, cruise ships, satellites, and many other gadgets would not work without it. Practically anything electronic that is in use today uses it. Computers have changed the way we live, and, now, most of us wouldn’t know what to do without them. These electronic computing machines have advanced a lot since their beginning in the 1940s. At that time, one computer filled up a room and had a small fraction of the computing power of an iphone. Yes, computers have come quite far from their humble origins, but if computers in the future improve as researchers say they will, the improvements since the 1940s will be nothing in comparison. The developments and concepts for the future of computer technology are really quite amazing. Before we look at the future of computers, let’s take a quick glimpse at the past.

In 1938, Konrad Zuse invents the Z1 Computer. This primitive machine is an early binary digital computer. Unlike later computers, his invention was not capable of memory storage. The United States military created the ENIAC (Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer) in 1945 (4). This early computer, like modern computers, could store and save data. A few decades later, in 1970, the first RAM (random-access memory) chip and the first microprocessor, the Intel 4004, came into existence, replacing vacuum-tube technology (4). A year earlier, the military developed a network that would be the origin of the internet: ARPANET. ARPANET is an acronym for Advanced Research Projects Agency Network. It was a network of computers meant to share the burden of computing so that one computer, with the help of a few others in the network, could perform its computations faster (12). It is also thought to be a network for preserving information in case of a nuclear attack. 

Twenty-two years later, in 1991, the World Wide Web was available to the public (4). According to James Coates of the Chicago Tribune, during the “Great Holiday Blowout of 1995,…more people bought personal computers than ever in history” (3). During the ‘90s computers became more commonplace and websites multiplied in number.

Since the internet boom of the ‘90s, computers able to access the internet have shrunk so small that they can easily fit in a pocket. The iphone and other smartphones can access the internet, snap and save pictures, record video, and perform most of the functions of a desktop computer. The invention of touch-sensitive screens was also a big improvement and was necessary for smart phones. The smart-phone market has seen even the search engine company, Google, adding their own phone, the Nexus One.

Google’s CEO, Eric Schmidt, has some interesting opinions about the future of computing. He believes that a computer 50 years from now will have a “computational capability that is just so free and so amazing that people will assume that it is an assistant. It knows who you are, it knows what you do, it makes suggestions, it intuits things for you” (1). In a similar way that the Google search engine makes suggestions when you start to enter a search phrase, the computers of the future will be able to accurately guess what you want and will provide you with suggestions. Schmidt also believes that computers of the future will be much faster than today. 

Computer processing speed today is limited by the speed of electrons moving through metal and electronic components. Research into a new type of computer circuit is being made by Queen’s University Belfast and Imperial College London (13). Like modern circuits, the new circuit would also use metal, but on a much smaller scale than what is achieved today. The components being developed are more than 100 times smaller than the width of a human hair (13) and consist of arrangements of metal structures which interact with light in a unique way. The researchers call the tiny components “nanoplasmonic devices” (13). Instead of electrons passing through the tiny circuits, light particles (photons) would transmit data at lightning speeds. The team is developing nanoscale waveguides to direct light along a desired route and nanoscale light detectors to detect the light signals (13). The belief is that computers in the future may run at much higher speeds, allowing for greater processing power and a much smaller size. 

Having high-speed and smaller components are not the only goals for future computers. Some believe that components of the human body, such as neurons and DNA, can one day be used to advance computer technology to a new level. Researchers from I.B.M. and four universities are currently working on a project to create a computer that mimics the brain. The four universities--Cornell University; the University of California, Merced; Columbia University; and the University of Wisconsin--and I.B.M. started the project in 2008 (8). A large and complex project with a broad goal to use the brain as an inspiration for a computer, the project, over time, began to focus on developing a computer that somewhat resembled the brain in its structure. 

Unlike modern computers, the brain is made of billions of neurons, synapses, and complex pathways. The synapses act as data storage centers and link the neurons to each other. Electrical impulses rapidly pass through the axons--cores of the neurons--and get stored and transmitted by the synapses. In a computer, the data storage center is separate from the processor (8). A communications channel, a bus, links the two together (8).  

The team from the four universities and I.B.M. has developed a “neuromorphic” computer chip that attempts to copy the structure of the brain (8). It contains 256 neuron-like nodes connected to 262,000 data storage modules resembling synapses (8). When connected to a computer, the chip allows it to recognize numbers written by a person. The computer connected to the chip has also learned how to play Pong, a primitive computer game. The computer is still in the developmental stages, but its future applications are numerous. According to scientists on the team, neuromorphic computers could guide robots through battlefields and allow robots to be trained instead of just programmed; neuromorphic computers in health-care monitors could alert nursing-home staff when a resident is sick; and neuromorphic computers could provide sight to blind people through a high-tech prosthetic eye (8). Even if these concepts become realities, scientists admit that neuromorphic computers will not be able to exactly resemble the structure or functioning of the human brain. The brain is an organ we still do not fully understand. Copying it exactly would be impossible.

Another interesting idea for the future of computing that relies on components of the human body is being pursued by Jian-Jun Shu at the Nanyang Technical University in Singapore. Shu’s idea is that computers may one day be based on DNA. One problem with modern computer circuits is that as computer components get smaller, they tend to heat up faster. Another problem is that the binary system--zeros and ones--used by all computers today has limits when computers are trying to solve highly complex equations. Shu told PhysOrg.com that, “With DNA-based computing, you can do more than have ones and zeroes. DNA is made up of A, G, C, T, which gives it more range. DNA-based computing has the potential to deal with fuzzy data, going beyond digital data” (10).

Shu and his students are able to manipulate DNA strands by combining or splitting them. The DNA strands will, according to Shu’s model, store information which can then be retrieved and used for computation. Shu explained to PhysOrg.com that, “We can join strands together, creating an addition operation, or we can divide by making the DNA smaller by denaturization. We expect that more complex operations can be done as well” (10). At this point in time, DNA computers are just a concept, without any real prototype. One day, DNA, the very substance that controls how we look and how we grow, might be used to speed up computers. The range of applications of such DNA computers really is beyond what we can perceive right now. The processing power of such a computer would be tremendous. 

While the full range of the applications for DNA and neuromorphic computers is really beyond our full comprehension right now, the applications for our current technology are starting to be realized. The first long-distance test drive of autonomous, or self-driving, vehicles was done in 2010 during the VisLab Intercontinental Autonomous Challenge (5). A number of vans, equipped with a sophisticated array of equipment, drove from Italy to China with little human intervention, for the 2010 World Fair in Shanghai (5). That same year, Google rolled out its own fleet of autonomous vehicles. 

Now, imagine for a moment that you are driving through California, down Highway 1. You look to your left and see a grey Toyota Prius with a strange device mounted to the roof. Two people are inside, but the guy sitting in driver’s seat doesn’t appear to be driving. His hands are resting on his lap, but the car is staying perfectly in its own lane. You’ve seen one of Google’s seven autonomous test cars. As if to prove that it was not only limited to the search engine and software business, Google has launched its own fleet of self-driving cars. 

Google’s Toyota Priuses are each equipped with a high tech array of sensors, processors, and cameras (9). A device call a lidar, attached to the top of the experimental car, records a detailed map of the surroundings. Hanging from the car ceiling and aimed toward the front of the car, through the window, a video camera provides video of the road ahead. Through it, the onboard computer can recognize obstacles and people in its path and respond appropriately. Three radar sensors in the front and one in the rear provide input about the positions of cars and other objects nearby. And, if that’s not enough, a position estimator measures movement made by the car and helps the onboard computer to accurately locate its position on a map. 

A technician, seated in the front passenger’s seat, monitors a computer screen while a hired “driver” sits in the driver’s seat and watches the Prius drive itself (9). If something were to go wrong, the “driver” could tap on the break and regain control of the car. The system that Google developed for its self-driving cars has proven to be very reliable. The seven test cars drove a total of 140,000 miles with little human intervention (9). It is estimated that it will be more than eight years from now when self-driving cars will be on the market, but Google’s cars have proven that computer-controlled vehicles can be very safe. Because of Google and other tech companies experimenting with self-driving vehicles, Nevada has become the first state to legalized self-driving cars (6). Five other states, including California, are considering legalizing the novelty as well (6).

Google is not the only software company to use software in applications apart from the desktop computer. Microsoft has been attempting to visualize what the future may hold for the home. A project that started in the 1990s, the “Microsoft Home” contains gadgets that Microsoft believes may found in homes of the future. The house is located at Microsoft’s campus in Redmond, Washington. First built in 1994, the house has undergone a number of changes and updates over the years (11). The latest version is the 2011 Microsoft Home. That year, Jonathan Cluts, director of consumer prototyping and strategy at Microsoft, led a tour through the house, demonstrating its amazing features. Placing his hand on a hand scanner at the door, he waited briefly for it to unlock before stepping through. 

Inside, Cluts spoke to the central home computer system, “Grace, what’s up?” A female voice responded with information about appointments, messages, weather forecasts, and traffic (11). The home features a teenager room complete with walls that display moving images and changeable background themes; a countertop that displays recipes and appliance manuals, which can be accessed by voice or gesture; a thin, glass display screen which can play movies, TV, or music (11); a “smart” digital bulletin board (7); and much more. Cults told Fox news, “The home will sense humans and know our gestures and actions” (2).

Radio frequency identification chips in containers and other household objects help the central computer to identify, catalogue, and monitor objects within the house. For instance, when the refrigerator is low on milk, the central computer, Grace, will annouce it (2). Instead of having a personal robot to do everything for those in the house, the technology in the house itself will work with members of the household to make their lives more comfortable and convenient. Cluts believes that an “exciting” technology to be found in the home of the future would be the ability to tell the central home computer voice commands and have them performed immediately (2). In the Microsoft Home, dimming the lights, hearing your email read to you, or turning on the TV only requires a vocal command (2). Cluts believes that such homes are not that far in the future. He thinks they’ll be on the market by 2015 or 2020 (2). Whether people will be able to afford them or not remains to be seen.

In conclusion, we took a brief glimpse at the history of computers and the internet, starting with the Z1 computer. Then, we saw how scientists are working on improving computer speed and processing power by using nanotechnology, neuromorphic chips, and DNA. Finally, we learned how scientists, engineers, and technicians have used modern technology to create a self-driving car and a high-tech, “smart” house. There are other developments beside the ones we looked at, but they are beyond the scope of this article. Whether or not these ideas and goals for the future of computer technology ever happen, we certainly will be living in a different world twenty years from now.

Works Cited

(1) Ahmed, Kamal. "Google's Eric Schmidt predicts the future of computing - and he plans to be involved." telegraph.co.uk. Telegraph Media Group Limited, 5 Feb. 2011. Web. 1 March 2012.

(2) Brandon, John. "The Digital Home of the Future, Revealed Today." foxnews.com. FOX News Network, LLC, 14 March 2011. Web. 2 March 2012.

(3) Coates, James. "Foggy Minds--and Dazzling, Flawed Computers." chicagotribune.com. Tribune Company, 21 Jan. 1996. Web. 1 March 2012. 

(4) "Computer History Timeline." history-timelines.org.uk. History-Timelines.org.uk, n.d. Web. 1 March 2012. 

(5) Halley, Drew. "Robot Vans Drive, Driverless, from Italy to China (Video)." singularityhub.com. Singularity Hub, 4 Aug. 2010. Web. 5 March 2012.

(6) Hirsch, Jerry. "Self-driving cars: Bill would set rules for a new automotive era." latimes.com. A Tribune Newspaper website, 29 Feb. 2012.

(7) Lai, Eric. "Microsoft: Future homes to use smart appliances, interactive wallpaper." computerworld.com. Computerworld Inc, 29 Sept. 2006. Web. 1 March 2012.

(8) Lohr, Steve. "Creating Artificial Intelligence Based on the Real Thing." nytimes.com. The New York Times Company, 5 Dec. 2011. Web. 1 March 2012. 

(9) Markoff, John. "Google Cars Drive Themselves, in Traffic." nytimes.com. The New York Times Company, 9 Oct. 2010. Web. 1 March 2012. 

(10) Marquit, Miranda. "The next computer: your genes." PhysOrg.com. PhysOrg.com, 16 May 2011. Web. 2 March 2012.

(11) "Microsoft Facility Helps You Make Yourself at Home in the Future." microsoft.com. Microsoft, 8 Aug. 2011. Web. 2 March 2012. 

(12) Peter, Ian. "The beginnings of the Internet." nethistory.info. www.nethistory.info, 2004. Web. 2 March 2012.

(13) "Super-Fast Computers Of The Future." sciencedaily.com. ScienceDaily LLC, 1 Sep. 2009. Web. 1 March 2012.

How to Be a Good Listener in a Lecture and One on One: The Success of Active Listening

We have done it every day of our lives, ever since early childhood. It is something we rarely think about when we’re doing it, but it is just as important as sharing our thoughts to with others. It is a form of communication just as much as talking is. Listening is an art which we all, including the author, can improve on. Studies show that people remember only 25 percent of what they hear. That means that we are only truly listening to a quarter of the information, thoughts, or feelings being told us. Good listening skills are important for success in college, in business meetings, in careers, and in relationships.

Many marriages can be repaired when couples listen to each other. John Gottman, psychology professor of the University of Washington, learned after 25 years of studying marriages that “active listening” is highly important in solving conflicts². We will be looking at two types of listening: listening one on one and listening in an audience. Actively listening to a lecture or speech can be very rewarding as opposed to merely hearing a speech. The difference between listening and hearings is that hearing is just letting sound enter your ear, while listening is paying close attention to what is being said.

We will focus first on listening in an audience. Listening to a speaker, such as a professor, is highly important if you want to succeed at your class or job. Companies lose thousands of dollars each year due to poor communication. According to a study by SIS International Research, roughly 70 percent of the employees of a business waste an average of 17.5 hours each week dealing with problems caused by poor communication¹. That’s a huge chunk of time and money lost! So, how can we improve our listening skills? A study conducted by Larry Vandergrift, a University of Ottawa researcher, revealed some interesting facts about how to improve listening skills in the auditorium.

The following seven points will help you be a better listener of a lecture¹:

1. Have goals for what you want to learn from the lecture or speech. Before you go to the lecture, predict what you think the speaker is going to say and think about what you would like to learn from the speech.

2. Before going to the speech, mentally review what you know about the topic of the speech. Your knowledge is a foundation which you can then build on. When you review your knowledge on the subject before the speech, you’ll be more aware of how the new information from the speech fits in with what you already know. This makes it easier to learn. Learning based on past knowledge is important for progress.

3. When you listen to the speech, listen for what is important or relevant to you and take notes. The things that stand out to you are important, and writing them down is a must. Often, we can’t easily remember everything we’ve heard.

4. Don’t get distracted. The people around you text messaging, the speaker’s resemblance to someone you know, the people standing up and leaving the lecture, and your own thoughts can cause you to get easily sidetracked. Don’t let them. Keep your eyes on the speaker and your thoughts on what is being said and what it means.

5. Don’t get thrown off by confusing or unfamiliar ideas, words, or details. Many professors and some speakers use words that are unfamiliar. Or, they may talk about things that go over your head. The key is to not be distracted from the points the speaker is trying to make.

Amazing Biblical Artifacts Unearthed and the Discovery of a Lifetime

A truck carrying half a dozen German soldiers rumbles down a dusty, desert road. Hanging onto the underside of the truck and slowly moving toward the front, he grits his teeth, knowing that what he is about to do could cost him his life. Working his way toward the front of the truck, the adventurer reaches for the truck grill and pulls himself up onto the hood of the truck. Sometime later, having lost the escorting vehicles and soldiers, he reaches a dock where the truck is unloaded, and a box containing an ancient artifact is hoisted up onto a ship. The artifact is no ordinary artifact. It happens to be the one and only Ark of the Covenant.

Millions of people around the world have watched Indiana Jones: The Raiders of the Lost Ark and the sequels. The Ark of the Covenant, a mysterious, gold-covered box which contained the Ten Commandments, among other things, has been searched for by many for thousands of years, but never found. However, there are many other artifacts of biblical significance uncovered in recent years and in the past century. While they are not nearly as spectacular as a discovery of Ark of the Covenant would be, they are, nevertheless, eye-opening and deserving of attention.

Shishak (Shoshenq I) Relief

Artifacts depicting images of biblical events have been discovered all over the Middle East. One insightful depiction can be found in the south wall of the Great Temple of Amon at Karnak, in Egypt (5). A huge sunken-relief of Pharaoh Shishak (or Shoshenq I), with a number of small depictions of ancient Hebrews surrounding it, catches one’s attention while walking through the temple. Commissioned by Shoshenq I, the relief of the pharaoh also contains writing describing a campaign in Israel where he sacked a number of cities and took the plunder back to Egypt with him (5). The Bible records Shishak’s campaign in 2 Chronicles 12:1-9* and in 1 Kings 14:25. Rehoboam the king of Judah “forsook the law of the LORD, and all Israel with him” (2 Chron. 12:1). Then, “in the fifth year of king Rehoboam Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem, because they had transgressed against the LORD…and the people were without number that came with him out of Egypt…. And he took the fenced cities which pertained to Judah, and came to Jerusalem” (2 Chron. 12:2-4).

According to the Bible, the people in Jerusalem turned back to God and humbled themselves after hearing from a prophet called Shemaiah that because they had forsaken God, God would leave them in the hand of Shishak (2 Chron. 12:5). From reading 2 Chronicles 12, we learn that when the Israelites turned back to God, God did not allow Shishak to destroy them. But, God allowed Shishak to plunder King Rehoboam and the Temple of Solomon, in Jerusalem. The Jews would be Shishak’s servants for a time.

The Victory Relief of Shoshenq I records that he attacked various cities in the northern kingdom of Israel in addition to cities in the southern kingdom of Judah (11). Further confirmation that this event recorded in the Bible and in the Temple of Amon actually occurred is found in Israel, at the site of Megiddo. At Megiddo, a section of a stela (an upright stone slab) was discovered in 1926 during some excavations (11). On this stela, commemorating Shishak’s victory, his name can clearly be seen carved into the stone (11).



Sennacherib Palace Relief

Depictions of events described in the Bible are not limited to Egypt. Located in northern Iraq in the ruins of ancient Nineveh is the Palace of Sennacherib. All that is left of the magnificent home of the Assyrian king, King Sennacherib, is the palace foundation and some of its walls. One particular wall is still mostly intact. On it are numerous bas-reliefs depicting Sennacherib’s successful siege of Lachish, an ancient Israeli city. The main scene is of the Assyrian attack on the wall of Lachish (12). Battering rams built into four-wheeled vehicles are slamming into the wall, under battlements. The Israeli soldiers defending the city are fighting fiercely, as are the besiegers (12). An epigraph states: “Sennacherib, king of the world, king of Assyria, sat upon a nimedu- throne and passed in review the booty (taken) from Lachish (La-ki-su)” (Pritchard 201, parentheses in orig.).

Medicine of the Future: The Amazing Developments in Medical Technology

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"An engineer, a mathematician, and a computer programmer are driving down the road when the car they are in gets a flat tire. The engineer says that they should buy a new car. The mathematician says they should sell the old tire and buy a new one. The computer programmer says they should drive the car around the block and see if the tire fixes itself." ~Anvari.org

We have entered the second decade of the twenty-first century. Today, affordable smart phones are widespread, computer game graphics look almost life-like, computer animation is almost indistinguishable from actual footage, remote-controlled drones patrol the skies, and Google maps provide street views of practically any city on Earth. What’s more, every year, the storage capacity of the average computer hard drive increases along with the computing power. We are living on the threshold of what could be a highly advanced future.

Along with the computer technology, medical technology is also advancing rapidly. Micro-computers, bionic limbs, artificial organs, nanotechnology, and lab-grown organs can potentially improve the quality of human life and change modern medicine. Such changes may take some time to be fully realized, but they are in their infancy today.


Micro-Computers and Nanotechnology

Micro-computers are a fascinating concept, and, until fairly recent years, they were only just a concept. But, today, the concept has become a reality. The phrase “worth your weight in salt” does not apply to micro-computers. One such computer that has actually been manufactured is smaller than a grain of salt (4). Professors Dennis Sylvester and David Blaauw, from the University of Michigan, have created a tiny, millimeter-long computer that contains a battery, a central processing unit (CPU), sensors, a tiny radio emitter, and electronics for powering the chip (4). The tiny computer is powered by light, requiring 10 hours of indoor lighting or 1.5 hours of sunlight exposure (4). The device is designed for being inserted into the eyeballs of glaucoma victims. It collects data with sensors and transmits the data through a radio wave (4). If there is too much internal pressure, the chip will transmit the data to medical professionals who will know what to do with the patient. Regarding this incredible technology, Sylvester said, “This is the first true millimeter-scale complete computing system. Our work is unique in the sense that we're thinking about complete systems in which all the components are low-power and fit on the chip. We can collect data, store it and transmit it. The applications for systems of this size are endless” (5).

Another kind of micro-computer is in the process of being developed. Unlike Sylvester and Blaauw’s micro-computer, this one would use DNA for its electrical components. At the Hebrew University of Jerusalem a team of scientists has created the first DNA logic gates (3). Like their non-biological counterparts, the DNA logic gates represent one of two possible states, such as the zeros or ones of binary code (3). When one of two inputs was present at a DNA logic gate, the gate fluoresced, giving off light. And, when both of the two inputs or neither were present, the gate ceased fluorescing. This is similar to how a computer logic gate works. The DNA logic gates, when connected together and injected under the skin, may be able to form a biological-based computing system that can detect, diagnose, and treat common sicknesses or medical conditions (3).

Speaking of computers, a fairly new technology field has been gaining ground in recent years. Ever since Don Eigler of IBM spelled out “IBM” with 35 individual xenon atoms in 1989 (13), nanotechnology has been making many breakthroughs. Unlike most technology, which is easily visible to the unaided eye, nanotechnology deals with components much smaller than the head of a pin. Instead of being measured in meters, these components are measured in nanometers. To get a picture of how small this is, a billion nanometers can fit in one meter. Some examples of nanotechnology already in use would include carbon nanotubes (made out of billions of individual carbon atoms). These are currently being used to give extra strength to mountain bikes, golf club, and other high-end sporting equipment (7). Because they are composed entirely of carbon atoms, carbon nanotubes are used in water purification systems. Carbon, which is found in filters and diamonds, is good at attracting impurities and has a strong bonding arrangement.

Carbon Nanotube

Nanotechnology also has great promise for the future of medicine. One application of nanotechnology to the medical field is through the use of nanobots--microscopic machines made out of molecules--for fighting infection. Researchers at the Southwest UK Paediatric Burns Centre at Frenchay Hospital in Bristol have teamed up with scientists at the University of Bath to develop a “dressing” that kills pathogens (such as bacteria) by releasing antibiotics from “nanocapsules” (12). The harmful bacteria produce toxins which eat through the “nanocapsules”, releasing antibiotics (12). If this is perfected, the way doctors treat diseases may change. A patient may find that all he or she needs to do to recover from an illness is to simply swallow a pill: a pill filled with “nanocapsules”. Some other possibilities for nanotechnology in medicine might include nanobots for repairing damaged cells, nanobots for accelerating bone repair, and nanobots for killing cancer cells (14). Yes, you read it correctly, nanotechnology is thought to be a possible cure for cancer.

Bionics



The i-LIMB

Nanotechnology also has another application in the developing area of medical technology called bionics. Imagine that you lose both your hands. Now, you are unable to work or do a lot of the things you enjoy. But, there is no need to worry. All you have to do is purchase an i-LIMB and have it installed. It sounds like it could be something made by Apple along the same lines of an iphone or ipod, but the i-LIMB is not another phone or portable computer. It is a prosthetic, robotic hand, created by Touch Bionics, that allows users to pick up a variety of objects, including glasses, playing cards, and suitcases. It works by detecting tiny electrical signals from arm muscles to control the movements of its individual, robotic fingers, wrist, and thumb (11). Bionic legs that work in a similar way to the i-LIMB are also on the market.

The Amazing Eye

Nearly everyone is born with it. It is more sensitive than the best scientific equipment we possess today, being capable of detecting a particle smaller than an atom. Without it, we would have no idea what the difference would be between a blue mustang and a yellow mustang of the same model, or the difference between white and black. What are we talking about? You guessed it: the eye. Without it, we would not have vision.

Vision is important to most people. We would have difficulty navigating our surroundings and writing articles, like this one, if we did not have it. Millions of people around the world do all they can to improve their sight. Some get contact lenses and glasses, spending hundreds of dollars, while others receive laser-eye-surgery, spending thousands. This question should be of interest to those who want to have good vision: “How do we see images?”

To answer this question, we must first take a quick look at the basic components of the human eye. The human eye is a complex organ, more sensitive than any device created by scientists or engineers. The components of the eye that are visible from the outside include the sclera, the cornea, the iris, the pupil, the lens, and the anterior and posterior chambers. Just like a digital camera, the eye has a dark interior, a diaphragm for contro lling light levels, a sensor for capturing the images projected on it, and a lens that automatically focuses (8). The sclera is the white part of the eye. Like a camera’s interior, the sclera is brown, or dark, on the inside. This allows it to absorb light to keep the images received by the brain from being washed out. Connecting to the sclera and covering the iris is a transparent membrane called the cornea. The cornea is a crystal-clear membrane which consists of five layers, totaling half a millimeter thick (2). It alone accounts for two-thirds of the eye’s focusing power (2).

Lying directly underneath the cornea is the iris, which contains the pigment melanin. Melanin in the iris can produce varying shades of blue, green, and brown, depending on the amount and distribution of the melanin. The iris encircles a hole called the pupil. As the iris sphincter muscle contracts or expands, the iris changes size, causing the pupil diameter to expand to a maximum of 7 millimeters or contract to a minimum of 3 millimeters (6).

What Makes Blonde People Blonde? The Interesting Facts About Hair

　Special Note: This article departs from my normal style, but I have included it here because the subject of hair styles and hair types is popular. Blonde jokes have done their share to contribute to the general interest in hair types. This article focuses on some of the interesting scientific facts about hair.

"A blonde was cruising down the highway at breakneck speed when a cop pulled her over.
'May I see your license and registration, please?' asked the cop.
Miffed, the blonde said, 'I wish you guys would get your act together. Just yesterday you took away my license. Now today you want me to show it to you!'" ~blondejokes.com

 What makes blonde people blonde or curly-haired people curly-haired? Genetics would likely be your answer. So then, what makes blonde hair blonde or black hair black? And, what exactly is hair composed of and how does it grow? We will attempt to answer all these questions and more in this article on the subject of hair.

You might think it an odd subject to focus on, but the subject of hair has occupied the attention of many people, both male and female, for thousands of years. Early civilizations had dress styles and hair styles which might seem outlandish to us today, but were quite popular back then. Ancient Egyptians preferred to be bald, ancient Greek men commonly wore beards, and some of the Mohawk Indians shaved the sides of their heads. Today, people style and dye their hair in a way similar to how their ancestors did long ago. People with curly hair, during different periods, have straightened it and, at other times, people with straight hair have curled it.

So, what makes straight hair straight and curly hair curly? The type of hair one has depends on the shape of the cross-section of their hair shafts. Imagine that a hair shaft is the size of a telephone pole. Say that we have a straight hair shaft. When we chop it in half and look at the cross section, we see a circle. When we chop a wavy hair shaft in half, the cross section is oval-shaped. Looking again at our enlarged hair shaft, we notice that it appears black and shiny in the sunlight. When we bring it into the shade, it no longer has a sheen. Why is this and what gives hair its color?

Did Ancient People Have Advanced Technology?

　
　

　

For thousands of years, humans have been resourceful, making tools out of stone, wood, clay, and metal. In the land that is now occupied by Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, and Iran was once a highly fertile region dominated by ancient civilizations. It was from this land that the first civilization is thought to have originated. From there, civilization is said to have gradually progressed up to the present level of technology. It is commonly thought that prior to the Mesopotamian culture, humans were primitive cave dwellers. But, is this really the case?

The Bagdad Battery

In the central region of the Mesopotamia lies a country that has had much history. A country that has seen the rise and fall of great empires, a country that has been a subject throughout the Bible, Iraq (ancient Babylon) is not a location one would think advanced technology could be unearthed from. A short distance from Baghdad, the capital of Iraq, in the village of Khujut Rabbou'a, a German archeologist who was the director of the National Museum of Iraq, Wilhelm Konig made a unique discovery. In 1936, workers excavating the ruins of Kujut Rabbou'a, an ancient village near Baghdad, unearthed a pot made of yellow clay (6). World-Mysteries.com gives this description for the object:

A 6-inch-high pot of bright yellow clay dating back two millennia contained a cylinder of sheet-copper 5 inches by 1.5 inches. The edge of the copper cylinder was soldered with a 60-40 lead-tin alloy comparable to today's solder. The bottom of the cylinder was capped with a crimped-in copper disk and sealed with bitumen or asphalt. Another insulating layer of asphalt sealed the top and also held in place an iron rod suspended into the center of the copper cylinder. The rod showed evidence of having been corroded with an acidic agent [sic]. (6)

This mysterious object naturally drew the curiosity of the director of the National Museum of Iraq. Upon discovering the object in the museum’s collection, Konig published a paper in 1940 on his reasons for believing that the object was an ancient battery. He speculated that it, along with nearly a dozen other similar batteries, was used for electroplating gold onto silver objects (6). Other experts have concurred with Konig (6). Willard F.M. Gray, learned about Konig’s hypothesis and put it to the test. In 1940, he constructed a replica of the battery and filled it with a copper sulfate solution. The battery produced half a volt of electricity. Other replicas of the Baghdad battery, using grape juice as an electrolyte to transmit the electric current, have produced a current of just under one volt per battery (6). Arne Eggebrecht, the director of Roemer and Pelizaeus Museum in Hildesheim (16), constructed a replica of the Baghdad battery in the 1970s (6). Using fresh grape juice in his replica--what he considered to be a more authentic electrolyte than that used by Gray--Eggebrecht succeeded in producing 0.87 volts (6). Then, Eggebrecht connected several of these replicas together with wire. Using the series of connected batteries, he claimed to have deposited a thin layer of silver--one ten thousandth of a millimeter thick--on another surface (16). Some skeptics have said that the copper cylinder was used for storing scrolls, but have not been able to account for the corroded iron rod and the asphalt or bitumen cap and why all three components were found together.

The Antikythera Mechanism



computer rendering

Some decades before the discovery of the Bagdad batteries, an object that had rested on the bottom of the Mediterranean Sea for thousands of years, had been discovered by divers off the coast of Crete, causing many historians to change their views on ancient history. In 1901, a team of divers were in search of sea sponges between the coasts of Crete and mainland Greece. They got a real surprise when they discovered a sunken ship with treasure onboard: treasure unlike anything they had expected. Inside a wooden box was an object made of many corroded, bronze gears (5). When scientists x-rayed the artifact, they found that it was composed of approximately 30 gears (22). In 1959, after much research on the Antikythera Mechanism, Derek Price, a British historian, theorized that the mechanism was used for astronomy to make calculations. According to Antikytheramechanism.org, the “complexity of the gears found within the Antikythera Mechanism baffled scientists, since this type of ‘technology’ was not though to have been in existence until around 1575” (5). Scientists have determined that the ancient device was built around 87 B.C. (22). Many scientists have built on Price’s work, agreeing that the Antikythera Mechanism was a kind of early computing device. It proves that ancient people knew that the Earth orbited around the Sun (5). It also shows that while some philosophers, such as Aristotle, believed that the Sun orbited around the earth, others knew better.

Ancient Egyptian Model Plane?

Ancient technologies are not limited to instruments such as batteries or calculators. Rare and astounding artifacts have been found around the world that suggest that the ancients may have not only used wind and muscle power for transportation. In 1898, archeologists excavating a tomb near Saqqara, Egypt discovered a small wooden object that looked somewhat similar to a bird. The object was stored in the basement of the Cairo museum and forgotten. At the time, operational planes had yet to be invented and the Wright brothers had not made their famous flight at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. According to the standard view, the first lighter-than-air flight had been achieved by two Frenchmen in a hot-air balloon, in the 1780s (21). When the wooden object was rediscovered years later and put on display, it was labeled as a model airplane (4). In the 1970s, a team of Egyptologists was formed to investigate the object. Because it strongly resembled a plane, a group of aviation experts was assembled to study the object’s aerodynamics and structure (14). After much research, they concluded that it was a glider. When they threw it into the air to see if it would glide, the small craft did so gracefully and with ease (14). When Dr. Khalil Messiha, an expert on ancient models, studied the ancient glider, he concluded that it had very advanced aerodynamics and was similar to modern pusher-gliders that require very little power to stay airborne (21). One interesting question arises: Is it possible that this glider was actually a model of an aircraft that the Egyptians planned on building or had built?

Strange Embossed Images in the Temple of Abydos

Corroborating evidence for the idea that the ancient Egyptians might have constructed aircraft can be found in the ancient temple of Abydos, Egypt. One of the most controversial and interesting finds relating to the idea that the ancient Egyptians might have had or known about aircraft was made by Dr. Ruth Hover, during a trip to Egypt. Dr. Ruth Hover and her husband visited the temple of Abydos, snapping pictures as they wandered through the vast complex. She photographed a wall that had remained after an overlying section had crumbled and fallen off of it (14). This older section revealed strange, embossed images of what appeared to be aerial vehicles. Others, who had heard about Hover’s discovery, went to Egypt, to the temple of Abydos, and confirmed that the embossed images were real, snapping their own pictures, proving that Hover had not created a hoax (21). One of these embossed images resembles a helicopter, having a distinct helicopter-like tail, a tapering fuselage, rotor blades, and a cockpit. No insect or bird even remotely resembles the shape of the “helicopter” image. Skeptics claim that the images are actually palimpsests, the combination of two or more overlapping hieroglyphics (21). These same skeptics, however, have no way of scientifically explaining how the pyramids were built. (We will look into that a little later.) Were these images depicting ancient aircraft, or were they depicting something else, or were they just palimpsests? There is not enough evidence to prove or disprove any of the above possibilities, but the possible connection to the ancient glider model is interesting.

Unusual Golden Artifacts

Did Ancient People Believe that Dinosaurs Were Contemporaries of Humankind?

Did Ancient People Believe that Dinosaurs Were Contemporaries of Humankind?

Like cultures today, ancient people created artwork based on real-life subjects. Many cave paintings (pictographs) and petroglyphs (shallow rock carvings) depict scenes from battles (24), ancient people performing various rituals (36), (and fauna, such as buffalo, seen by the native peoples. Sculptures, mosaics, figurines, and carvings made by people hundreds or thousands of years ago also depict some strange creatures that seem to closely resemble what we might call dinosaurs. This leads to a fascinating question: Did ancient cultures believe that dinosaurs were contemporaries of humankind and did they claim to see such creatures?

The Acambaro Figurines

In the summer of 1944, a German merchant, Waldemar Julsrud, made a discovery that has caused a stir in the scientific community (35). It was July 1944 and Waldemar Julsrud was riding his horse along the lower slope of El Toro Mountain near the town of Acambaro, Mexico, when he noticed something unusual poking out of the dirt (35). Dismounting, he tore into the ground and unearthed a few ceramic objects unlike anything he had ever seen before (35). His discovery led to the excavation of over 33,500 ceramic, stone, and jade figurines and artifacts (35).

Charles Hapgood, a professor of anthropology and history at Keene State College, learned about the figurines and decided that he would see them for himself (35). After investigating and researching the figurines for 18 years, and after seeing more of the objects turn up when workers dug in certain locations he determined, Hapgood, a self-confessed skeptic (35), authored a book on the Acambaro figurines: Mystery in Acambaro: Did Dinosaurs Survive Until Recently? No longer a skeptic about the origin and authenticity of the ancient figurines, Charles Hapgood believes that they were made by an ancient culture. At the same place where the artifacts were discovered, the teeth of an extinct horse, the skeleton of a mammoth, and human skulls were also unearthed (35). The fact that many of these unique figurines resemble dinosaurs has been a reason the majority of the scientific community has ignored the discovery, passing it off as a hoax.

Shang Dynasty "Saurolophus"

Besides the major discovery in Acambaro, a number of other figurines from other ancient cultures have sparked debate or been ignored by the majority of the scientific community. An artifact from the Shang Dynasty is described by Genesis Park website as a creature that "displays relief lines in a scale-like pattern, a broad beak, a dermal frill, and a headcrest that is strikingly like the dinosaur Saurolophus ..." (1). According to Genesis Park, the dinosaur-like figure "was advertised on the Chinese antiquities market as a dinosaur depiction" (1). Concerning it's authenticity, Genesis Park declares that: "This jade statute, now in the Genesis Park collection, is made of white colored nephrite with differential weathering, cleaving veins and earth penetration, demonstrating authenticity …" (1).
Besides the Acambaro figurines and the Shang Dynasty saurolophus, there are more examples of possible dinosaur-like figurines from ancient cultures that could be mentioned such as the figurine of a Dogon tribesman, from Africa, riding a strange, "prehistoric" creature or the painted pots and vases from the Moche tribe of South America. According to Genesis Park, the Moche tribe ceramics display "with singular realism medical acts, combative events, musical instruments, plants and animals" (1). Some of these painted vases and pots have what appear to be realistic dinosaurs painted on their clay surfaces (1). The Moche tribe pottery collection is currently located in the Larco Herrera Museum in Peru (1).

The Ica Stones

Besides clay, ancient humans used stone and metal to artistically record objects, events, or animals they had witnessed. They also carved images into individual rocks. An example of this can be found in the controversial Ica Stones discovered by Dr. Javier Cabrera outside of the town of Ica. Over the years, Dr. Cabrera had amassed a huge collection of stones with strange carvings in their surfaces depicting people and dinosaur-like creatures living together. Referring to Dr. Cabrera's collection, Josef F. Blumrich, a NASA scientist, said, "I am deeply impressed by what I have seen here, and I am happy to have found so much direct evidence of what I began to feel and understand before. There is not doubt in my mind about the authenticity of these stones" (10). Unfortunately, there is no way of scientifically determining whether or not the stones are ancient. Because of their controversial nature, Dr. Cabrera has received a lot of condescension by the scientific community (4).

The Granby Idol

A discovery made in 1920 by a rancher outside the town of Granby, Colorado bears the unique appellation "the Granby Idol". Bud Chalmers was removing rocks from his ranch one day when he lifted one that weighed more than he expected. Curious, he decided to wash it off. After the coating of dust and dirt had been removed, a set of grooves appeared in the rock. A crude, smiling face surrounded by strange symbols appeared on one side of the rock (22). On the reverse side of the stone, to Bud Chalmers amazement, the distinct carvings of a long-necked dinosaur and a woolly mammoth appeared (22). As an interesting note, Dr. Cyclone Covey, who wrote a book about the possibility that the ancient Chinese had come to America, studied photographs of the stone and identified the symbols carved into the stone as belonging to the ancient Chinese (22).

Mesopotamian Cylinder Seal

Another ancient artifact, created by carving into a stone chunk, that provides a clue that the ancients believed dinosaurs existed with them is a Mesopotamian cylinder seal, estimated to come from the year 3,300 B.C. (13). The seal displays two long-necked animals--that strikingly resemble modern renderings of a sauropod dinosaur--entwining their necks and tails. The shape of the muscles and length of the necks and tails of the creatures are remarkably realistic. One can only logically conclude that the artists who created the seal would have had to have seen either a representation of a dinosaur or a living specimen to make such an accurate depiction. The imagination alone could not produce such accuracy.

The Anasazi Dinosaur Petroglyph

Depictions of dinosaurs are not limited to figurines, stones, or cylindrical seals. Ancient dinosaur artwork has been found on cliff sides, on walls, and in buildings. Petroglyphs and pictographs made by ancient tribes depict strange creatures that do not match up with any that are known to exist today. In Natural Bridges National Monument, Utah, a very interesting petroglyph that resembles a sauropod (long-neck dinosaur) has raised eyebrows and questions. The petroglyph is attributed to the Anasazi Indians who lived in that area during the 1300s A.D. (15). Like the creators of the other relics mentioned above, the Anasazi Indians' ability to create such rock art could only be explained if the Anasazi Indians had actually seen a living dinosaur. The first complete dinosaur skeleton was discovered by William Parker Foulke in 1858, in Haddonfield, New Jersey (17). That is more than five-hundred years after the Anasazi Indian tribe left the area in which the dinosaur petroglyph was discovered.

The Water Panther Pictograms

Found on different cliff faces near the Great Lakes, another interesting native representation of a dinosaur-like creature draws the attention of curious hikers. The creature is called the water panther. The Sioux Indians believe that this creature inhabits the Missouri River. Vine Deloria, author of Red Earth, White Lies: Native Americans and the Myth of Scientific Fact, reports in his book what members of the Sioux tribe have said about the legendary creature. The creature had a backbone "just like a crosscut saw" and "in the middle of its forehead was one horn" (7). The pictograms of this creature show an animal with a jagged back similar to a dinosaur's back, and two horns protruding from its head. It looks strikingly like a triceratops, a member of the family Ceratopsidae, or a horned dinosaur of some kind.

Angkor Wat "Secret"

Representations of dinosaurs on large, flat surfaces are not limited to pictographs and petroglyphs on cliff sides. Some ancient buildings have eye-opening features either cut into or affixed to their walls and floors. One of the most clear examples of this can be found in the mysterious, ancient ruins of Angkor Wat. Richard Sobol, author of The Mysteries of Angkor Wat: Exploring Cambodia's Ancient Temple, wrote about his experience exploring the ancient temple. A group of kids he met wanted to show him a "secret" (29). They led him over to a rock wall filled with carvings. Richard Sobol writes, "I moved closer, and saw there, on the wall, carved inside a circle, a creature that could only be described as a dinosaur--a stegosaurus, in fact" (29). The image he took of the dinosaur, which is carved into a circle within the wall, resembles a stegosaurus. Whether or not it is a stegosaurus, it does have some of the distinct features of the family Stegosauridae: triangular plates on its back and tale, four muscular legs, a head attached to a short neck, a large body, and a thick tail.

The Tomb of Richard Bell

Another oddity is found in the tomb of a fifteenth-century bishop at Carlisle, Richard Bell. A brass fillet, dating back to the 1400s, runs around the perimeter of his tomb. Engraved into its metal surface are various animals such as a dog, a fish, an eel, a bird, a pig, etc (8). What is really intriguing is the engraving of what appear to be two long-necked creatures with long tails apparently struggling with each other. All the creatures in the tomb are fairly accurately portrayed, so it is most likely that these creatures were accurately portrayed as well (8). Having long necks, four legs, and thick, long tails, the creatures appear to be sauropods (8). No animal that we know of today fits that description.

The Nile Mosaic of Palestrina Mosaic

An incredible and yet very real mosaic from ancient Italy, the Nile Mosaic of Palestrina is a huge image that was originally set into the floor of the Sanctuary of Fortuna Primigenia, which is located in Palestrina, Italy (9). Currently located in the Museo Nazionale Prenestino in Rome (20), the Nile Mosaic of Palestrina displays various scenes from the Nile River, showing life in Egypt during the Roman Empire. This mosaic is notable not only for its historical value but also for its depictions of strange creatures. One creature clearly looks like a large dinosaur resting on a rock, and the human figures standing beside it are small in comparison.

The "Hunt" Mosaic

A most intriguing mosaic from the same era was discovered in the ancient city of Pompeii, Italy. It was in the year 79 A.D., on the 24th of August, that Mount Vesuvius erupted, sending a hot cloud of vocanic ash through the city of Pompeii, preserving the ancient relics and artifacts within (9). It was from the house of a rich physician in this city that the "Hunt" mosaic was discovered. The mosaic shows people interacting with, or hunting, reptiles and large animals. The most unique aspect of this mosaic is the fact that the creatures are not normal animals one would expect to find. A man is riding atop a large reptile with vertical plates along the ridge of its back. The creature is not a poor fascimile of a crocodile because, elsewhere in the same mosaic, an accurately rendered crocodile is seen resting on a bank (9). Why more people are not aware of these amazing pieces of history appears to be due to an intentional suppression of the existence of these ancient Roman mosaics. If both these mosaics, all the abovementioned artifacts, engravings, and artwork were actually studied by unbiased scientists, historians, and other experts, and judged without any preconceived beliefs regarding the nature of the objects, then history books would likely have to be rewritten.

Considering the evidence above, a few questions emerge. Did ancient cultures believe that dinosaurs existed with humankind? Did ancient people actually see dinosaurs and encounter them? If so, did they tell their descendents what they witnessed?

Stories passed down by word of mouth--some of them originating apparently not that long ago--have come out of remote jungles and wilderness areas as western civilization has expanded to distant lands. Such information by word of mouth has come from the Australian Aboriginees, a people who have lived in the sub-continent for thousands of years. According to the Aboriginees, a number of large and powerful creatures once inhabited the vast expanse of Australia.

The Bunyip

In July 1845, and article appeared in the Geelong Advertiser of Victoria, Australia (12). It described the discovery of an un-fossilized bone of an unknown, giant animal. When the bone was shown to different, separate Aboriginal tribes, they all immediately identified it as a "bunyip" bone. The tribes were quite distant from each other and had no way of communicating with each other (12). According to their descriptions of the "bunyip", the animal was big, laid eggs, could walk on two feet, and was considered dangerous (Driver). According to the Aboriginees, the "bunyip" had "the characteristics of a bird and an alligator" (12). One native claimed that some deep scars in his skin were caused by a "bunyip" (12).

The Yarru

The Kuku Yalanji is a tribe located in rainforest of Far North Queensland, Australia (12). A missionary, Dennis Fields, learned from the elders of the Kuku Yalanji that a creature called the "Yarru" used to live in large waterholes in the rainforest (12). When Dennis Fields asked a tribal artist to paint the "Yarru" for him, the result was astonishing. The artist, who had no knowledge of what textbook dinosaurs or extinct creatures were supposed to look like, created a painting that was an accurate portrayal of what appeared to be a plesiosaurus (12). The painting was based entirely on the descriptions passed down to the tribal artist from ancient stories (12).

The Kultra

A creature that is described as a quadruped with a long neck and a long, pointed tail is said, by the Central Australian aboriginal tribes, to have lived in swamps which once covered the region. The Aborigines call this creature the "Kultra" (12). From the descriptions they give, it appears to be a type of sauropod.

The Mokele-mbembe

Thousands of miles away from the jungles of Australia, another rainforest spreads its leafy canopy over a vast area. The Congo Basin covers 1.5 million square miles with a swamp-filled jungle (3). Filling up a large portion of the Congo Basin, the Likouala Swamp is the largest swamp in the world (21). Covering roughly 55,000 square miles, an area larger than the state of Florida, the Likouala Swamp has been officially declared by the People's Republic of the Congo to be 80% unexplored (21). Over the years, starting in the year 1776 and up to the present time, people who have traveled to the Congo and talked to the native people have heard about a large creature that the natives call the "Mokele-mbembe" (21).

Various expeditions sent by different countries into the Congo have heard strange sounds coming from the jungle and have seen unusual footprints in the ground. A few have claimed to have actually seen the "Mokele-mbembe". In 1932, Gerald Russel, an animal trader, and Ivan T. Sanderson, a world famous zoologist at the time, were paddling up the Mainyu River in the Congo Basin. Suddenly, a large head, attached to a thick, "swan-like" neck, rose from the water (21). For a few seconds, the creature stared at the two men. Sanderson would later sum up his encounter with these startling words: "I don't know what we saw, but the animal, the monster, burned itself into my retinas. It looked like something that ought to have been dead millions of years ago. As a scientist, I should have been happy, of course, but this encounter was so frightening, so nasty that I never want to see it again" (21).

The natives describe the creature as being generally reddish-brown and about the size of an elephant, with a long neck and a long tail. It is known to devour plants and leave behind rounded tracts with three, prominent claws (21). Thus, it is a herbivore. These descriptions strongly suggest that the creature is a sauropod dinosaur (21).

The Thunderbird

Tribal people from Africa and Australia are not the only ones to have passed down stories about dinosaur-like creatures. Legends about large, scaly reptiles can be found in many ancient cultures. China, Europe, and the Middle East have tales about dragons. Though mythicized, the accounts of large reptiles capable of killing humans can hardly be the result of some highly imaginative people around the world who all happen to imagine very similar creatures. Though they do not have stories about dragons, Native American tribes, isolated from the rest of the world by giant oceans, have stories about dinosaur-like creatures. The Thunderbird is one such creature. The Thunderbird is claimed to have a huge wingspan and claws that it uses to pick up people. The belief is that the Thunderbird causes storms. Over the years many people have claimed to see a giant bird or pterodactyl flying through the air. As recently as the 2000s, people have claimed to have seen large, flying creatures. In the year 2001, several sightings of huge, "grayish-black", winged creatures were seen on June 13, July 6, and September 25, by various witnesses, in the state of Pennsylvania (32).

The Ogopogo

Besides the Thunderbird and the Water Panther (mentioned earlier), Native Americans also have another legend about a dinosaurian creature they called the "N'ha-A-Itk", which is commonly called the "Ogopogo". According to Native American legends about the N'ha-A-Itk, a "demon-possessed man" killed a tribal elder on the shores of a lake near his home (28). Completing his dastardly deed, he ran away, fearing retribution. Angered at the murderer, the gods captured the demon-possessed man, turned him into a "serpent", and cast him into the lake (which later was called Lake Okanagan) (28). He was to remain forever at the scene of the murder, as punishment. People who lived near the lake called the creature N'ha-A-Itk (28). It was later that the moniker Ogopogo was more commonly used, which was based on a line from an old song. To this day, sightings of a creature in Lake Okanagan have been reported (28). Besides Lake Okanagan, Lake Champlain, Lock Ness, and other lakes have had sightings of large creatures. Is it possible that some people actually have seen dinosaurian creatures in these lakes and have not been hallucinating or imagining what they have seen?

Ancient petroglyphs, pictographs, figurines, carvings, mosaics, stones, engravings, and legends on the subject of dinosaurian creatures are all interesting and intriguing pieces of possible evidence that dinosaurs may have (or possibly still do) lived as contemporaries of man. A question arises: If dinosaurs really had lived with humankind, explorers, scientists, or archeologists would most likely have found some remains or evidence to concretely prove it, correct?

Dakota

In 1999, Tyler Lyson, 16 at the time, was walking through the Hell Creek Formation badlands of North Dakota (25). His eyes locked onto a strange object protruding from a hill. As he looked at it longer, he realized it was a dinosaur bone. Five years later, excavation on the site began. On December 3, 2007, scientists announced to the world the discovery of a nearly intact, mummified hadrosaur, nicknamed "Dakota". According to an article from Wired.com, the dinosaur's "entire skin envelope appears to remain largely intact (25)." Phil Manning a paleontologist at University of Manchester (in England) who was leading the examination of "Dakota" said that the integrity of the skin envelope suggests that Dakota may have other "soft-tissue remnants" such as organs and muscles (25).

Leonardo

Discovered by a Judith River Dinosaur Institute expedition in the year 2000, and presented to the world in 2002, Leonardo is a duck-billed dinosaur (or a brachylophosaurus) that "will advance our science a quantum leap", according to Nate Murphy, curator of paleontology at the Phillips County Museum in Montana (18). The brachylophosaurus is estimated to have been either 3 or 4 years old when it died (37). Leonardo's muscles, skin, scales, foot pads, and a stomach are still intact. Skin scales and tissue have been found on less than a tenth of one percent of all the dinosaurs excavated over the years (18). Amazingly, 90 percent of Leonardo's skeleton is covered in soft tissue, such as a beak, nails, skin, and muscles (18). The actual tissue cells have been replaced by minerals, but the stomach contains a partially digested meal and scientists can actually see what exact plants the dinosaur had eaten (18). Ferns, magnolias, conifers, and the pollen of more than 40 different plants form the contents of the animal's stomach. It is likely that these all mineralized slowly over millions and millions of years without decaying?

B. rex

Discovered in the year 2000, the skeleton of a young, 18-year-old Tyranosaurus Rex (19) has drawn a lot of attention from scientists and laymen alike. The dinosaur skeleton was named "B. rex" after Bob Harmon, chief preparator of paleontology at the Museum of the Rockies, who discoverer it (2). Because the dinosaur was too large to take by helicopter, it had to be broken in pieces (19). As a result, a thighbone was cracked open and Mary Higby Schweitzer and her team were able to examine the interior of the bone (19). What they discovered has shaken the scientific community, causing scientists to reconsider their long-held beliefs about dinosaurs. Inside the bone were life-like tissues that should not have been inside a "65 million"-year-old Tyrannosaurus Rex (39). According to an article in Discover Magazine, Schweitzer found "supple bone cells, their three-dimensional shapes intact; and translucent blood vessels that looked as if they could have come straight from an ostrich at the zoo (39)." Hillary Mayell of National Geographic wrote about the discovery: "The vessels resemble blood vessels, cells, and the protein matrix that bodies generate when bones are being formed (19)." If the dinosaur was indeed 65 million years old, how could the actual cell tissues be preserved for so long? These tissues were not replaced by minerals and they were not mummified. Blood vessels, cells, and a protein matrix could hardly survive for a thousand years, much less a million. Is sixty-five million years with little decomposition possible?

The Age of B. rex

According to evolutionists, the earliest man (homo sapiens) existed in Africa nearly 200,000 years ago (23). The earliest form of civilization is considered, by evolutionists, to have come into existence 10,000 to 12,000 years ago (30). To get a picture of the length of time involved, imagine living to an old age of 100. Now, imagine, by some miracle, you keep going on and you make it to the age of 200. Say that scientists find a way to greatly extend human life spans and you get your life span extended so that you live a thousand of these 200-year-long life spans. You are now at an age equivalent to the time that has supposedly passed between the emergence of the earliest homo sapien and the present. You've live an incredibly long life. You've seen civilizations come and go, new buildings decompose into dust, animals become extinct, bodies die and rapidly decay into their constituent elements, and you've seen skeletons petrify. Now, imagine living 325 of these extremely long (200,000 year) life spans. You have finally reached the purported age of "B. rex". Think about all that time you spent and all the things you saw decay to dust. Does it make any sense at all that the cellular tissue within the bones of "B. rex" are millions and millions of years old? Is it possible that the methods evolutionists use to date dinosaur bones are erroneous?

When scientists at Oak Ridge National Laboratory used the Carbon dating method to find the age of some dinosaur bones, they came up with an age of only a few thousand years (31). Because this date did not fit their beliefs about the age of dinosaurs, they ignored their findings and decided to use other methods instead (31). Some of these results can differ from each other by as much as 150 million years (31).
Soft tissues normally decompose quickly after an organism dies (6).

Therefore, is it likely that blood vessels and soft tissues could continue to exist inside a dinosaur bone for millions of years? Scientists with evolutionary beliefs have scrambled to come up with a plausible and realistic explanation for how the soft tissue found within the thighbone of "B. rex" was preserved for what they assume to be 65 million years. So far, they have no explanation they all can agree on.

Conclusion

If one believes that dinosaurs died out millions of years ago, long before mankind came into existence, why does such an abundance of artifacts and legends on the subject of large, dinosaurian creatures, coming from ancient cultures around the world, exist? Is it possible that the figurines, stones, petroglyphs, pictographs, engravings, carvings, mosaics, and legends depicting and describing large reptile-like creatures are based on animals that ancient humans actually saw alive? Is it possible that our ancestors saw living dinosaurs and told stories about their encounters with the dinosaurs, passing down the tales by word of mouth? Could our methods for determining the age of dinosaurs be flawed? These are questions we need to ponder. The implications for the Theory of Evolution are numerous and profound. One such implication leads to an important question: Did humankind and dinosaurs live together instead of millions of years apart, as evolutionists claim? I leave my readers to come to their own conclusions based on the information presented in this article.

However, if one spends his (or her) life researching this information with an unwavering, adamant belief that God does not exist, he will not believe any new evidence that is stronger than what we presented. Nothing will change such a person's mind because he or she doesn't want to believe in God or be accountable to the Creator. God loves us and wants us to be with Him in Heaven, but He will not force us to believe in Him. We have the choice to accept God's free gift of eternal salvation and serve God or reject eternal salvation and serve ourselves, but the consequences of such a decision will be eternal.

The Bible says:

Revelation 20:10-15 (bold / underline added) 

10 And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever. 

11 And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.  

12 And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.  

13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.  

14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.  

15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.

If a person rejects Christ, he or she will be cast into the lake of fire. I don't write this to scare you. This is what the Bible teaches. I urge you to turn to Jesus and accept Him today as your personal Lord and Savior. Forsake sin and live.

Would you like to find out how to Know God's Name Personally?

IF YOU ARE SEEKING TO KNOW GOD, please read this message.

1 Timothy 2:5: “For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;”  

Acts 4:12: “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.” 

Ephesians 2:8-9:  

8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 

9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.

God loves us so much that He sent His Only Begotten Son, Jesus Christ, to die for our sins and shed His precious blood to pay for all of these sins. (See John 3:16; and 1 Corinthians 15:3-5; and Romans 5:8-11.)

If you repent (turn away) from your sins (Acts 3:19), and believe and confess aloud that Christ has done this for you (Romans 10:9-10), and have made Him your Lord and Savior (again Romans 10:9-10) you are saved.

Now seek God with all your heart. Seek to know Him and you will (Jeremiah 29:13).

John 17:3: "And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.”  

Jeremiah 29:13: “And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.”  

John 14:6: “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”  

Acts 4:12: “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.”