My own instinct is not to acknowledge the phrase "intelligent designer" in any context other than university and industrial synthetic chemists. This sentiment only strengthens as time passes since the Pennsylvania court ruled last December that theological "ID" is nothing more than a religious marketing-and-litigation campaign. (For a .pdf of the decision, click here.)

While I am loathe to discuss it, many scientists--who can actually argue against it using original research--keep on keepin' on. Robert Hazen wears many hats. He is a University professor at George Mason, a senior researcher at the Carnegie Institute of Washington, and a former president of the Minerological Society of America. Last week, Hazen reminds us why the ID campaign is so insidious, as a preamble to his far more interesting review of origin-of-life science and his current research program. The introduction and review that follows it are both worth a glance. (The paper itself is behind a firewall, but the abstract can be read here.

Chemistry, particularly biology, is a game of shapes. Molecules stick to other molecules in large part because they fit together, through inherent molecular structure and therefore quantum mechanically. Hazen and colleagues have long sought answers to life's origin in the interface between minerals and organic molecules. His latest project is to systematically mate DNA strands with mineral crystals, seeking to understand what sticks to DNA and where it sticks. Somewhere, the researchers might stumble on to a plausible launch mechanism for the diversity of life's molecules--about as close as we may ever get to understanding just how this bird got off the ground.

American Mineralogist interviews Hazen in this downloadable .mp3 podcast.