Transporting water up a tree ten stories high from the roots to the leaves is no easy feat. How is this accomplished? The answer lies in tiny, specially designed vessels called xylem—plus a combination of other factors. Scientists are getting closer to mimicking this amazing vertical passage of water for the purpose of future large-scale desalination and sewage treatment.1,2
Evolutionists give credit to the trees themselves for their amazing process of water transport, saying that the trees have mastered this for “hundreds of millions of years.” But studies have shown just how sophisticated this unbroken vertical column of water is, continuously moving as much as 100 meters in a California redwood tree. Water and minerals enter the root system and into the vascular tissue (i.e., xylem) subject mainly to a “pulling” force called transpiration. Transpiration is the loss of water vapor through specialized openings called stomata on the underside of the leaves. Over 20% of the water taken up by the roots is released to the air as water vapor. This physical pulling action is also due to a unique chemical attachment between water molecules called hydrogen bonding. The water molecules stick together forming a transpiration stream, also called the cohesion-tension theory. This produces an unusually stable column of constantly moving water.
Copying the design in trees’ water-conduction system hasn’t been easy. The antigravity water transport system led by Aiping Liu at Zhejiang Sci-Tech University and Hao Bai at Zhejiang University has been seen as “good,” but “the researchers plan to further improve the performance of the system to prepare for applications” such as improving the length and speed of water conveyance for human serving industrial applications.
Is it any wonder the article stated, “Efficiently moving water upward against gravity is a major feat of human engineering” and “Recreating an efficient tree-like water transport system has been challenging.”
Water transport in plants is amazing in its complexity. Copying the Creator’s design takes funding, planning, and brilliant researchers—not time and chance.
References
1. Zyga, L. Antigravity water transport system inspired by trees. PhysOrg. Posted on phys.org July 8, 2019, accessed July 10, 2019.
2. Xu, W. et el. 2019. Efficient Water Transport and Solar Steam Generation via Radially, Hierarchically Structured Aerogels. ACS Nano. DOI.org/10.1021/acsnano.9b02331
*Mr. Sherwin is Research Associate at the Institute for Creation Research. He earned his master’s degree in zoology from the University of Northern Colorado.
This portion of Acts & Facts is dedicated to challenging all of us to be faithful as "stewards" (I Corinthians 4:2) of what God has allowed us to use. Let us review the foundational principles upon which the Bible builds the responsibility of stewardship.
Foundational Principle #1: God is the Creator and Owner of all things.
The teaching of God's creative ownership is absolutely clear in Scripture. Psalm 24:1 claims the Lord's ownership of the earth "and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein." Psalm 50:10 is the famous verse about God owning "the cattle upon a thousand hills." "All things," Paul says, "were created by Him, and for Him" (Colossians 1:16).Foundational Principle #2: God is the Source and Foundation of all wealth and power. "Both riches and honor come of thee . . ." (I Chronicles 29:12), and "The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, saith the Lord of hosts" (Haggai 2:8). Indeed, ". . . He giveth to all life, and breath, and all things" (Acts 17:25), as well as "Every good gift and every perfect gift" (James 1:17).
Foundational Principle #3: God is the Ruler and Sovereign over all authority. Christ's commission to His disciples was based on Him having "all power" (Matthew 28:18). I Chronicles 29:11 and 12 say in part: "Thine, O Lord, is the greatness . . . for all that is in the heaven and in the earth is thine; . . . and thou reignest over all; and in thine hand is power and might; and in thine hand it is to make great, and to give strength unto all." He is the "King of Kings and Lord of Lords" (Revelation 19:16).
Foundational Principle #4: God delegates authority and we are to manage His resources. The initial authorization was given to Adam and Eve (Genesis 1:18) and later to Noah (Genesis 9:1-7). The parables of the Talents (Matthew 25:14-30) and the Pounds (Luke 19:11-27) reinforce our responsibility to "steward" God's resources for His glory.
It is easy to forget our "stewardship" responsibilities in a world that lauds monetary success and accumulation. Our goal should be to build "treasures in heaven" (Matthew 6:20) through our good stewardship on this earth. There are only two things now present in this earth that are eternal: the souls of men and the word of God. How have we used our resources to invest in these eternal things?
Happy New Year!
If you are led to make a year-end gift to ICR of something other than cash (stocks/bonds/real estate/a vehicle, etc.), please know that I will be in the office to assist you. Keep in mind that, to qualify for a 2001 receipt, we must take delivery of your gift by December 31.
[body_edit] =>This portion of Acts & Facts is dedicated to challenging all of us to be faithful as "stewards" (I Corinthians 4:2) of what God has allowed us to use. Let us review the foundational principles upon which the Bible builds the responsibility of stewardship.
Foundational Principle #1: God is the Creator and Owner of all things.
The teaching of God's creative ownership is absolutely clear in Scripture. Psalm 24:1 claims the Lord's ownership of the earth "and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein." Psalm 50:10 is the famous verse about God owning "the cattle upon a thousand hills." "All things," Paul says, "were created by Him, and for Him" (Colossians 1:16).Foundational Principle #2: God is the Source and Foundation of all wealth and power. "Both riches and honor come of thee . . ." (I Chronicles 29:12), and "The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, saith the Lord of hosts" (Haggai 2:8). Indeed, ". . . He giveth to all life, and breath, and all things" (Acts 17:25), as well as "Every good gift and every perfect gift" (James 1:17).
Foundational Principle #3: God is the Ruler and Sovereign over all authority. Christ's commission to His disciples was based on Him having "all power" (Matthew 28:18). I Chronicles 29:11 and 12 say in part: "Thine, O Lord, is the greatness . . . for all that is in the heaven and in the earth is thine; . . . and thou reignest over all; and in thine hand is power and might; and in thine hand it is to make great, and to give strength unto all." He is the "King of Kings and Lord of Lords" (Revelation 19:16).
Foundational Principle #4: God delegates authority and we are to manage His resources. The initial authorization was given to Adam and Eve (Genesis 1:18) and later to Noah (Genesis 9:1-7). The parables of the Talents (Matthew 25:14-30) and the Pounds (Luke 19:11-27) reinforce our responsibility to "steward" God's resources for His glory.
It is easy to forget our "stewardship" responsibilities in a world that lauds monetary success and accumulation. Our goal should be to build "treasures in heaven" (Matthew 6:20) through our good stewardship on this earth. There are only two things now present in this earth that are eternal: the souls of men and the word of God. How have we used our resources to invest in these eternal things?
Happy New Year!
If you are led to make a year-end gift to ICR of something other than cash (stocks/bonds/real estate/a vehicle, etc.), please know that I will be in the office to assist you. Keep in mind that, to qualify for a 2001 receipt, we must take delivery of your gift by December 31.
[typeID] => 4 [visible] => t [pdf] => [publishURL] => biblical-foundations-for-stewardship [publishDate] => 0000-00-00 [authorAsterisk] => f [domainID] => 1 [publication] => [volume] => [issue] => [page] => [author] => Henry M. Morris III, D.Min. [rand] => 879850107.6008079 ) -->
