Skeleton of Triceratops at the Los Angeles County Natural History Museum

It appears that we are seeing the continuing subversion of science and the rise of politically-motivated interpretations and manipulations of science … [My comments in blue italic]

University Silences Scientist After Dinosaur Discovery

A scientist was terminated from his job at a California State University after discovering soft tissue on a triceratops fossil, and then publishing his findings.

[My first thought was that he may have published the findings of a team and somehow violated academic policy on the publishing of team discoveries. The second thought that he may have published an erroneous or anomalous finding that brought embarrassment to his department or caused a loss of funding. But as you will see, these issues did not apply and there was no way that I could have anticipated the reason he was allegedly removed or released from his position].  

While at a dig at Hell Creek formation in Montana, the scientist, Mark Armitage, came upon the largest triceratops horn ever unearthed at the site. When examining the horn under a high-powered microscope back at CSUN, Armitage was fascinated to see the soft tissue. The discovery stunned members of the scientific community because it indicates that dinosaurs roamed the earth only thousands of years in the past rather than going extinct 60 million years ago.

[OK, his findings appear to run counter to the hypothesis regarding the rate of destruction, decomposition, and deterioration of soft tissues in fossils. His findings can be easily confirmed by others, so I still fail to see what the big deal might be.]

Pacific Justice Institute filed suit, yesterday, with the Los Angeles County Superior Court, against the board of trustees of CSU, Northridge, citing discrimination for perceived religious views. "Terminating an employee because of their religious views is completely inappropriate and illegal," commented Brad Dacus, President of PJI. "But doing so in an attempt to silence scientific speech at a public university is even more alarming. This should be a wakeup call and warning to the entire world of academia," he continued.

[What possible religious views could have impacted his discovery of soft tissues and how would that be relevant to his findings? Especially, if these findings were confirmed by an independent researcher?]

According to court documents, shortly after the original soft tissue discovery, a university official challenged the motives of Armitage, by shouting at him, "We are not going to tolerate your religion in this department!"

Armitage, a published scientist of over 30 years, was subsequently let go after CSUN abruptly claimed his appointment at the university of 38 months had been temporary, and claimed a lack of funding for his position. This was news to him, and contradicted prior statements and documents from the university.

[There must be more to this story as up to this point. Why a published researcher’s religion would make a difference in his work still isn’t clear. Or, is this simply a ploy to regain his lost job?]

Source: University Silences Scientist After Dinosaur Discovery - Pacific Justice Institute - Defending Faith, Family, and Other Civil Liberties

The rest of the story …

I decided to read the actual complaint filed in the Los Angeles Superior Court (Case BC552314 dated July 22, 2014) as I was curious why someone would invoke religion in a wrongful termination lawsuit involving a significant scientific discovery. 

In the legal filing, Armitage alleges, under oath and penalty for perjury) that …

On June 12, 2012, one of the leading Professors in the Department and the Professor that I reported to, Dr. Ernie Kwok confronted me in my lab, in an angry manner and said, "We are not going to tolerate any of your religion in this department!! This is a science department and we will only have science here- none of your creationist projects or your religion ."

I am a Christian and an internationally published scientist. I hold strictly to the Bible. I do not believe in evolution. I have over 40 publications. I recently published a significant paper in a major journal about the massive amounts of soft tissues I found in a Triceratops bone from Montana [see: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0065128113000020 ]

If dinosaur bones are 65 million years old , why are they loaded with soft tissues that have not decayed away?

After Dr. Kwok stormed out of my lab, I immediately emailed my boss and the Department chair [I saved the emails] and they both came to my lab and told me not to worry.

On the day that my paper was published online [February 13 of 2013], Dr. Kwok mounted a "witch hunt" against me [my bosses words]. He called a secret meeting of the EM/Confocal Microscope Committee [a committee I serve on]. He told the department secretary "don't tell Mark".

It was in that meeting he made the decision to terminate me. He had me fired 13 days later on 2/26/1 3. Other Christian employees in the Department have come to me and stated they will openly testify against leaders in the Department who have harassed them publicly over their belief in what the Bible says when this goes to court.

I was told by department personnel that Dr. Kwok made the the decision to terminate me. The reason they gave was because of "lack of funding" and that my lab had to be "shut down and taken away."

However, the lab is still fully functional - it is full of students and faculty and has not been "shut down" . Furthermore, Dr. Kwok has now replaced me and is running the lab. I have many emails that show the department had "new big money" for the expansion of my lab, so money was no issue. They got rid of me because of my religious beliefs.

Source: MARK ARMITAGE v.BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE CALIFORNIA STATE.UNIVERSITY, (California State University, Northridge); ERNEST KWOK. an individual; WILLIAM KROHMER, an individual; RANDY COHEN,an individual; AND DOES 1-25, inclusive.

The publication abstract …

Abstract

Soft fibrillar bone tissues were obtained from a supraorbital horn of Triceratops horridus collected at the Hell Creek Formation in Montana, USA. Soft material was present in pre and post-decalcified bone. Horn material yielded numerous small sheets of lamellar bone matrix. This matrix possessed visible microstructures consistent with lamellar bone osteocytes. Some sheets of soft tissue had multiple layers of intact tissues with osteocyte-like structures featuring filipodial-like interconnections and secondary branching. Both oblate and stellate types of osteocyte-like cells were present in sheets of soft tissues and exhibited organelle-like microstructures. SEM analysis yielded osteocyte-like cells featuring filipodial extensions of 18–20 μm in length. Filipodial extensions were delicate and showed no evidence of any permineralization or crystallization artifact and therefore were interpreted to be soft. This is the first report of sheets of soft tissues from Triceratops horn bearing layers of osteocytes, and extends the range and type of dinosaur specimens known to contain non-fossilized material in bone matrix. <Source>

It appears that it was not the science that was at the heart of the employment issue, but the explanation of how such a find could exist at all.

The finding of soft tissues in a 13 triceratops horn, complete with bone cells (osteocytes) that look alive, was shocking to many in the Department of Biology, including Kwok's students Plaintiff was training; because such cells would have decayed into nothingness 65 million years ago. Since some creationists, like Plaintiff, believe that the triceratops bones are only 4000 years old at most, Plaintiff's work vindicated his view that these dinosaurs roamed the planet relatively recently. Hence, the discovery lends credence to the view that the Earth is young.

In demonstrating the use of a microscope to students, Plaintiff would engage in brief socratic dialogue about the possible age of the horn. These types of exchanges were consistent with leading students through the scientific method and were within the scope of Plaintiff's employment. One of Dr. K wok's students was stunned by the discovery and its implications and went to tell Dr. K wok about it.

What at first seemed to be a fortuitous find in a remote part of Montana, destined to catapult a scientist's career in an upward trajectory, turned out to be the beginning of Plaintiff's downfall at CSUN. Once word of Plaintiff's triceratops find was circulated in the Biology Department, Dr. Ernie Kwok stormed into Plaintiffs lab and shouted, "We are not going to tolerate your religion in this department!!" K wok also chastised Plaintiff for his "creationist" projects, an obvious reference to the triceratops horn.

Source: MARK ARMITAGE v.BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE CALIFORNIA STATE.UNIVERSITY, (California State University, Northridge); ERNEST KWOK. an individual; WILLIAM KROHMER, an individual; RANDY COHEN,an individual; AND DOES 1-25, inclusive.

Bottom line …

This is but one side of the issue – the answer to the complaint may contain more information. But, one thing is certain, if this scenario played out like it is being alleged by Armitage, we are in deep trouble. Academic freedom has given way to consensus science and there are career implications for those who do not adhere to the “company line” or established theories.

Perhaps the tattletale students should have challenged Armitage’s assertions rather than reporting him to the administration?

While Darwinism and the evolution of man makes perfect sense to me, knowing what we don’t know about the universe also offers up different possibilities. Especially if one considers that our measurement and perception of time may be drastically wrong in terms of time dilation since the big bang. Something to be argued by philosophers and scientists in a free and open academic environment. Where your job should be based on your technical and scientific skills, not your personal beliefs.

-- steve

Reference Links:

Mark Hollis Armitage, Kevin Lee Anderson, Soft sheets of fibrillar bone from a fossil of the supraorbital horn of the dinosaur Triceratops horridus, Acta Histochemica, Volume 115, Issue 6, July 2013, Pages 603-608, ISSN 0065-1281, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.acthis.2013.01.001. (http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0065128113000020) Keywords: Osteocytes; Fossil; Dinosaur; Triceratops; Horn; Ancient soft tissue