Wow, our colleagues from Brazil are brimming with energy. Following on the heels of Marcos Eberlin’s combined radio and video debate on intelligent design (noted here yesterday), they now send along a full YouTube playlist of the proceedings from the launch of Discovery Institute-Mackenzie. The new research center at Mackenzie Presbyterian University in São Paulo welcomed Douglas Axe, Brian Miller, and Michael Behe to reflect on the science of ID.

In these videos, Dr. Axe discusses the challenge to Darwinian theory from protein evolution, Dr. Miller gives an overview of the case for design in nature, Dr. Behe defines the “edge of evolution,” and more. Apart from individual presentation by these speakers and others by some of their Brazilian counterparts (Marcos Eberlin, Enézio Almeida, Douglas Aleodin), you can watch the cerimônia de lançamento (launch ceremony) and a concluding mesa redonda (round table).

The round table includes on-the-spot translation from English to Portuguese and back again. There’s an interesting moment when Doug Axe responds to a questioner and touches on the enigma of ORfan genes, a term that, as he has to explain through the translator, is a play on the English word “orphan.” The Portuguese, as Google Translate informs me, is órfão – which almost works but not exactly.

The discussions in Portuguese don’t yet include subtitles, but knowing our friends at Discovery- Mackenzie, I would guess that is only a matter of time, and not much of it.

Photo: Douglas Axe and Marcos Eberlin participate in a mesa redonda, via TV Mackenzie.