Join biochemist Fazale “Fuz” Rana and astrophysicist Hugh Ross as they discuss discoveries with theological and philosophical implications that point to the reality of God’s existence.

A new study from a US–China research team argues that the volumes of Neanderthal brain regions fall within the range seen in modern human populations. If so, does that mean Neanderthals were just as cognitively capable as modern humans—and would that challenge RTB’s human origins model? In this episode, Fuz Rana explains what the researchers measured, what their conclusions do and do not show, and why RTB’s model remains scientifically robust.

New evidence suggests that Theia, the planet believed to have collided with Earth to form the Moon, may still exist deep inside our planet, near the boundary between Earth’s mantle and core. According to a new model, Theia’s metallic core may have sunk through Earth’s mantle and merged with Earth’s core, while denser mantle fragments settled deep inside Earth. These buried fragments may explain unusual structures detected there, as well as a thin, chemically distinct layer at the top of Earth’s core. The model also helps explain why Earth and the Moon have such similar compositions and how Earth maintained the long-lasting magnetic field essential for life. 

LINKS AND RESOURCES: 

• Neanderthal Brain and Cognition Reconsidered

   

• Reconstructing the Neanderthal Brain Using Computational Anatomy

   

• Secular Changes in Cranial Morphology and Pattern of Sexual Dimorphism in Modern Japanese: A Geometric Morphometric Analysis Using Post-Mortem Computed Tomography Data

   

• Survival of Asteroid-Sized Debris from the Moon-Forming Impactor in Earth’s Deep Mantle with Implications for Its Solar System Provenance

   

• Immediate Formation of Core-Mantle Boundary Heterogeneities Following a Giant Impact

   

• Designed to the Core