'45-Million-Year-Old' Brewer's Yeast Still Works | The Institute for Creation Research

'45-Million-Year-Old' Brewer's Yeast Still Works

Stumptown Brewery in Guerneville, California, brews its beer according to a unique formula. Although standard ingredients such as malt and hops are used, the yeast that is added is supposedly 45 million years old.1 The yeast was found in the digestive tract of a bee encased in amber. How could yeast cells survive and still be able to make beer after such a long time?

The yeast strain was revived by Raul Cano at California Polytechnic State University, who has awakened many other ancient yeast strains and bacteria. While owner of a biotechnology corporation called Ambergene, he oversaw the isolation and characterization of over 1,200 ancient microorganisms from amber, including many recognizable species and strains of bacteria and yeast.2 Time magazine reported in 1995 that not only is DNA recoverable from amber, but Cano “revived the exact ancient organism, totally intact” from the entrapped bee’s gut.3

While this kind of discovery has been considered “miraculous,” “marvelous,”3 and “enigmatic,”4 it actually reveals the exceedingly improbable and unreasonable nature of the age assigned to the ancient materials from which these organisms were extracted. Chemistry and even natural selection conspire to break down living systems, at the biochemical and population levels respectively. So even encased in amber, natural deterioration processes still apply.

Cano even revived some non-spore forming bacteria “from a 120-million-year-old block of amber.”4 DNA, proteins, and tissues like blood vessels that have been found intact in earth materials that are supposedly millions of years old provide enough reasons to question the deep-time evolutionary interpretation of earth’s history.5 Now, an array of still-living organisms trapped inside amber provide strong additional reasons to doubt it.

However, if these amber deposits were a result of Noah’s Flood, then they all date to only 4,350 or so years ago.6 Finding live, revivable yeast after this length of time is much more plausible than the evolutionary assigned age of 45 million years, given the deleterious effects of the laws of chemistry and physics, which only do more damage given more time.

References

  1. Biba, E. Gallery: The Making of a Prehistoric Brew. Wired Science. Posted on Wired.com July 31, 2009, accessed August 10, 2009.
  2. Cano, R.J. Bio Sketch from California Polytechnic State University. Posted on calpoly.edu, accessed August 10, 2009.
  3. Nash, J.M. and D. Bjerklie. Return of the Living Dead? Time. Posted on time.com May 29, 1995, reporting research published in Cano, R. J. and M. K. Borucki. 1995. Revival and identification of bacterial spores in 25- to 40-million-year-old Dominican amber. Science. 268 (5213) 1060-1064.
  4. Greenblatt, C. L. et al. 2004. Micrococcus luteus - Survival in Amber. Microbial Ecology. 48 (1): 120-127.
  5. Thomas, B. Dinosaur Soft Tissues: They’re Real! ICR News. Posted on icr.org August 11, 2009.
  6. Thomas, B. Fossilized Gecko Fits Creation Model. ICR News. Posted on icr.org September 8, 2008.

* Mr. Thomas is Science Writer at the Institute for Creation Research.

Article posted on August 17, 2009.

The Latest
NEWS
Why Aren't There Any Flightless Bats?
Animals designed to fly are classified into four groups: the extinct flying reptiles (pterosaurs), insects, mammals (bats), and birds. According to...

DAYS OF PRAISE DEVOTIONALS
Spring 2025
...

NEWS
Rocky Exoplanets Are Literally Being Vaporized
Astronomers have discovered a disintegrating rocky planet in another solar system.1,2 This extrasolar planet, or exoplanet, has been given...

CREATION PODCAST
Hot Springs & Badlands – Folded Rock, Fossil Graveyard, and...
America is home to stunning forests, mountains, monuments, and other wondrous features. The unique beauty of many of these locations has prompted...

NEWS
Mammals ''Shrank'' After Post-Flood Ice Age
By examining fossils from 19 archaeological sites in Jordan’s Azraq Basin, researchers have concluded that gazelles, hares, and foxes shrank in...

NEWS
Breaking News: Ancient Mollusks Were Complex
Mollusks consist of a wide range of invertebrates that include the intelligent octopus, pulmonated snails (gastropods), and bivalves (clams). They appear...

NEWS
Dino Trackway Leads Straight to a Young Earth
Uncovering animal tracks and trackways in sedimentary rocks is a testament to the Genesis Flood.1–4 Fascinating discoveries continue...

NEWS
February 2025 ICR Wallpaper
"But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:8 NKJV) ICR's...

CREATION.LIVE PODCAST
Fascinating Dino Fossil Finds! | Creation.Live Podcast: Episode...
Dinosaurs are fascinating creatures and the fossils they've left behind inspire awe and wonder. Many scientists claim that the existence of...

NEWS
New Antarctic Ice Core: Good News for Creationists
Scientists have successfully drilled a fourth long ice core in East Antarctica.1 This new core, which reached to bedrock, has bottom ice...