Design Not Accident
Deoxyribonucleic acid (also known as DNA) is known as the building blocks of life. Humans have 46 chromosomes that contain all the genetic information required to make a person. There are over 25,000 genes in the human genome and one gene is composed of over 3 billion base pairs (linking branches seen in picture above) in the human genome. All this information is stored in one cell…. Just think about that for a moment. And in every cell we have this condensed, highly complex and detailed book of information. Furthermore, the human body has approximately 10 trillion cells or “books”. Wow!
DNA is responsible for deciding what job or function a cell performs, whether a cell goes off to be a heart cell, kidney cell, white blood cell or an eye cell. Today’s scientific community remains in its infancy in understanding this complex and significantly important molecule, a molecule found in every cell in your body. Yet some scientists believe this information is our own discovery and contribution to mankind.
Many peers praise the American molecular biologist James Watson and English physicist Francis Crick for the discovery of DNA in the 1950s. Johann Gregor Mendel was a Christian monk at Augustinian Monastery; it is there where he performed genetic experiments using pea plants. He has been acclaimed as the first to link genetic variations producing different genetic hereditary compositions, awarding him the title “Father of Genetics”. However, equally many would argue in 1860 Swiss chemist Friedrich Miescher was the first to identify DNA.
The Book of Leviticus was written in the Persian period (538- 332BC) a long time before science was even thought of as a discipline and expression of human knowledge. Yet in this ancient text we have a knowledgeable statement (Leviticus 17:11) not quoting direct focus on science but referring to it as if it was common knowledge. The author is referring to it as to remind readers of how we can repent (change our direction of thought and attitudes) and enforce our spiritual belief in God and obey his commandments.
“For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul”. (Leviticus 17:11)
It is as if Moses knew the connection between blood, life and how important it was, to which, they used animal blood in spiritual rituals.
The genome is the biggest and most accurate instruction manual known to man to construct a human. And from this complexity and highly logical system of base pairs, molecules and condensed structure of articulate information we can only start to appreciate the spark of the supreme power of the author, which is of course God. Also DNA has been found to be a robust molecule to which can be buried for thousands of years and still remain intact, enough for scientists to be able to replicate and analyse. Such as the DNA from Egyptian mummies, in 2009 Helen Donoghue from University College London lead a team, supported by colleagues from Birmingham University. They were able to diagnose how an Egyptian died from TB (Mycobacterium tuberculosis) purely from DNA extracted from the mummified body. Wow!
“Helen Donoghue and colleagues from the University of Birmingham, UK, combined DNA amplification with a recently developed technique to search for a short repetitive section of DNA from Mycobacterium tuberculosis, they identified the organism in tissue from the lungs, bone and gall bladder. They also found biomarkers specific to the cell wall of the bacterium in the lungs and bones”. (New Scientist, 2009)
Today scientists are using the same mechanisms bacteria and viruses use to invade cells to edit the human genome, a technique known as CRISPA Cas9. This is said to be the future of Healthcare, editing and/ or deleting defective genes responsible chronic and hereditary diseases such as Sickle Cell Anaemia, Cystic Fibrosis, Huntington’s disease and more. We must remember in this time of scientific discovery and excitement that the ideas and innovations humans develop are observed and inspired by nature.
God is the ultimate creator of all things on earth and that we are to give thanks to God for providing all of what we use and create (Psalm 95:4-5).
Peace be with you all.
Tristan
