News & Articles

Proteomics and DNA reveal what happened in real history
I still remember the phrase “Science Marches On” used by General Electric when it advertised its products when sponsoring radio and TV shows. The latest National Geographic magazine has a fascinating article titled “Why Scientists Are Rethinking Ancient Gender Roles.” Scientists can now write almost a complete biography from just a portion of a very old tooth. 

The new process is called proteomics. In 2008 archeologists discovered a tomb about 5,000 years old near Seville, Spain. It was filled with lavish and expensive goods, including ivory figures and an African elephant tusk, decorative weapons with crystal blades and dozens of mother-of-pearl beads. The skeletal remains of a person between the ages of 17 and 25 and the items in the grave site convinced experts that this was a man who must have held an elite position in a society.

However, a research paper published in 2023 by an expert team from the University of Seville and the University of Vienna of Austria concluded that the one person left in the burial chamber was actually a biological woman. They had determined that fact by using a new method of examining protein from a tooth found near the skeleton. They hadn’t used any direct genetic material or DNA to reveal the woman’s XX chromosomal pattern. They had examined the protein molecules in one tooth. The molecules can reveal a whole range of physical characteristics such as sex and eye color.  

A section from the article explains the process: “Proteins are providing a new way for scientists to create a partial genetic profile in the absence of DNA. These protein molecules – which give the body structure and execute its biochemical functions –are often more stable and better preserved in ancient bones and teeth than DNA is. By examining proteins, scientists can learn details of the DNA that created them. The tooth enamel from the individual’s tooth contained protein made by the genes on X chromosome – but no equivalent proteins made by genes on a Y chromosome. That most likely proves that the person in the tomb was biologically female (XX), and not male (XY).” 

Got that scientific fact? This is the new science of proteomics, and the work is just beginning! 
As an example, biomolecular archeologist Michael Buckly has already developed a way through the science of proteomics to identify an animal species from an ancient bone by analyzing collagen, the main protein in bone. 

In examining and testing ivory from a tusk in a 5th century English grave, he determined the ivory came from an African elephant. Was the elephant alive when it was in England? Was the burial site on an unknown trade route? How did that elephant – or tusk – get there? 
So far, this new science can be used to examine micro-organisms that caused historical diseases such as leprosy and the Black Plague, to identify food residues on ancient pottery and to determine sources of fibers in old textiles, which can lead to tracing very old trade routes on the world map.

A court case involving the science of sex that should be studied by all
A jury decision in a Minnesota lawsuit involving the subjects of contraception, pregnancy, vasectomies, abortion, size of families, pain and suffering, parental leaves, loss of paychecks, emotional distress, hospital costs, prescription costs and the cost of raising children to the age of 18 reveals a lot about the process of having children in the Divided States of America. 

Megan and Steven Szlachtowski of Excelsior, Minnesota, already had three children, had a combined income of $560,000 because both had good-paying jobs, enjoyed their present lifestyle, so they decided to have no more children. 

Steven had a vasectomy at Minnesota Urology and was told it was successful. But after four years of normal sex, Megan was pregnant and added a bouncing baby boy to their family. Because of the financial considerations of adding another child to the family at that time, they decided to sue for “wrongful conception.” 

It was later proven in court that an employee of the provider told the couple the post-vasectomy tests were negative for semen when they were actually positive. Minnesota Urology admitted medical malpractice.

Both sides employed lawyers and financial experts making around $400 an hour to present evidence to an eight-person jury. After haggling for many hours, the jury decided to award the family more than $1.1 million. 

There is a long list, so I’m going to include just the more interesting individual awards: 
• cost of raising boy to 18 – $386,156.76 (US average is slightly above $300,000)
• past child rearing expenses – $35,320.24
• Megan’s loss of bonus from work because she was on maternity leave – $23,815.31
• for past health care costs – $62,773.59, (5) for past pain, discomfort and embarrassment for Megan – $450,000
• for emotional distress of Steven – $150,000
• for their loss of spousal services to each other – $15,000 each
• and (8) for emotional and physical pain from pregnancy and delivery of baby – a combined $600,000 for both. 

Being on that jury must have been the learning experience of a lifetime on the major issues of religion and science. We know why millions have deserted the pews of “Christian” churches around the world. The results of sexual abuse, religious scandals and the “prosperity” gospelers on TV just to make a buck while cheating and stealing from “souls” have turned the prayers off. 

Because of the new sciences of proteins, DNA, gender and genetics, churches are losing millions of members. Politicians for thousands of years have been throwing about 10% of humanity, the LBGTQUIA+ community, into the cesspools of ignorance and bigotry. 

There is no doubt people are becoming less religious around the world because there is zero evidence to support any of the central claims religious institutions make about God and the supernatural.  
Historically, religions have slowly evolved over time, but we have run out of “slow.” In a recent poll the Pew Research Center found that 68% of the religiously unaffiliated still believe in God and 38% pray at least monthly.

Other polls have determined that church membership in U.S.  between 1937 and 2000 was around 70 to 75%, but in the next 20 years membership dropped well below 50%. A recent study involving sibling pairs, one which graduated from a university, the other a high school, found that the college grad was much more liberal in individual choice, tolerance and gender equality than his high school grad brother. Americans are now disgusted by some politicians who feign faith to score political points. Education makes a big difference.

About 10 percent of the population are members of LBGTQUIA+
So far 26 states have passed restrictions on transgender health care because Trumplicans have made it a major political issue, although many have to know better. 

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention operates a Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System which surveys more than 20,000 public and private high school students every two years on problems they face. The 2023 survey was the first one that asked whether they identified as transgender. 

For several decades gender experts who have examined the world’s population, while serving members of the LBGTQUIA+ community medically and emotionally, have estimated that up to 10 percent of the more than eight billion Homo sapiens on earth belong to this group which now numbers 74 identifiable genders – and one percent are transgender people. 

The CDC survey found that 3.3 percent of US high school students identify as transgender, and another 2.2 percent are questioning their gender identity. These students also revealed they had alarmingly high rates of bullying in school

The survey revealed a number of very sad and troubling facts. One in four transgender students said they had attempted suicide in the past year while 11 percent of cisgender girls and 5 percent of cisgender boys had attempted the final act. Roughly 70 percent reported feeling worse than even “straight” girls, who have drawn national attention for mental health problems promoted by many different forms of social media concerning weight and other “attractive” problems.

The laws passed limited bathroom use to their biological birth records, banned participation in many high school and college sports, and banned many medical treatments that may have improved their emotional outlooks on life.
I

wonder if any Trumplican politicians from the 26 states had talked to the parents of a young transgender about any kind of gender-affirming health care that would make life better for them and their offspring. For many trans and non-binary people, the medical process of removing breast tissue to get a flatter or masculinized chest can be an essential procedure. It is essential for most trans to remove breast tissue so they can always feel at home in their own bodies. Such surgeries increased dramatically in the U.S. between 2016 and 2019 because the word passed quickly among the community about how the surgery had improved their lives. 

This type of surgery has been documented by in magazine articles and social media even while anti-trans legislation was dominating legislatures in the red states. The scars of surgery often become symbols of pride and resilience. The scars can be used to treat gender dysphoria, a mental condition that gives a trans a sense of deep unease one feels when their identity or appearance doesn’t match up with the gender they were assigned at birth. Arranging for the surgery can be complicated and invasive, and getting insurance companies to cover the expenses can be frustrating. 

Let’s do a few numbers for a moment.
The Divided States of America currently has a certified population of 337,000,000, and Trumplicans say we have at least 20,000,000 undocumented murderers, rapists, terrorists and assorted criminals from “shithole countries.” That means we have 35,700,000 members of the LBGTQUIA+ community blessing our red, blue, and purple states. Because gender experts say 1 percent of a population is trans, that means we have 3,570,000 trans people of all ages. We have 20 states with fewer people! 

Ten percent of transgender students reported receiving medical treatment from a doctor or nurse for a suicide attempt in the past year, compared with 2.6 percent of cisgender girls and 1 percent of cisgender boys.

More than a dozen trans candidates were elected to state legislatures in 2024 and trans Sarah McBride from Delaware was elected to Congress. November 20 was Transgender Day of Remembrance so “Christian” Speaker of the House Mike Johnson welcomed her by making capitol restrooms available to those corresponding to the original gender identity. He said something like “women are women and men are men.” 

He must be “intrinsically disordered” like his friends in the Vatican. Mike should read the Bible. It claims Mike was formed in his mother’s womb by God. It claims God knew all persons before they were born, including Mike. Isaiah also declared that God formed everybody in the womb. Doesn’t that mean God created the 35,700,000 persons of 74 genders (so far!) living in our country today, including Sarah McBride?