DNA Archives - DOES GOD EXIST? TODAY

April 12, 2024April 10, 2024

Then It Would Be Alive!

Origin of life research has occupied scientists for years. The media often exaggerates claims that science is getting close to creating life. “Creating RNA life in a lab” is a headline in a recent issue of The Week magazine. The story is about the Salk Institute in La Jolla, California, developing a molecule of ribonucleic acid (RNA) “that could generate accurate copies of another type of RNA.” The article went on to say, “This brings the researchers one step closer to their ultimate goal of creating an RNA molecule that can make accurate copies of itself.” The study’s co-author Gerald Joyce said, “Then it would be alive.”

Ribonucleic acid (RNA) is a polymeric molecule essential for most biological functions. It has a structure similar to deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), which carries the genetic information in every living cell. The scientists have created the macromolecule RNA in the laboratory by combining smaller molecules. To say that if an RNA molecule could reproduce itself, “then it would be alive” is an exaggeration.

As an analogy, let’s suppose I want to make a new car, which I would call a Claytonmobile. I get an engine out of a Ford, a transmission out of a Honda, a chassis out of a Chevy, and an interior out of a Royals Royce. I put these together and announce to the world that I have created a car. In reality, what did I do? I took things already created and assembled them, but I didn’t create anything. Some of you old timers may remember the Tucker automobile, which was very much like what I just described.

This same process is happening in the scientific community attempting to create life. The goal of the group at La Jolla is to form an RNA molecule that can make copies of itself. The researchers say, “Then it would be alive.” That means they are changing the definition of life that most of us learned in biology classes from high school through graduate school. That definition says life is that which can move, breathe, respond to outside stimuli, and reproduce. When researchers can get RNA to reproduce, they will have satisfied one of the parameters, but they certainly will not have created life.

The more we know of the creation, the more we understand the wisdom and power of the Creator. In Proverbs 8:17-23, Wisdom, personified as a woman, says that those who seek her will find her and that her fruit is better than gold or silver. In verse 22, she says, “The Lord possessed me in the beginning of His way before His works of old. I was set up from everlasting, from the beginning before the earth was.” The complexity of RNA and DNA and of life itself is a great apologetic for the existence of God. We need to listen to the words of Wisdom.

Reference: The Week for March 29, 2024, page 21, reporting on a Washington Post story.

December 28, 2023December 27, 2023

Major Factors for Rejecting Faith in God

Polls show that belief in God among Americans has declined over the past few years, and most dramatically among Gen-Zers. Generation Z is the term used to describe those born between the late 1990s and early 2000s (approximately 1997 to 2012). This generation grew up with access to the internet and portable digital technology. What are some major factors for rejecting faith in God?

Stephen C. Meyer said that the Discovery Institute surveyed people if they agreed with this statement: “The findings of science make the existence of God less probable.” Among self-proclaimed atheists, 65% agreed, and 43% of agnostics agreed. What these people perceive about science has influenced their belief in God. However, as we have said before, science supports faith in God.

In recent years, scientific discoveries have given us more reasons to believe in God. One significant discovery is that the material universe had a beginning. Evidence for that appeared in the 1920s, was confirmed in the 1960s, and further reinforced in the 21st century. The Bible tells us that in verse 1, but it took scientists years to accept the evidence. Anything that begins to exist must have a cause. The cause of the material universe must be outside of time and space and, therefore, immaterial. Science recognizes that time, space, matter, and energy all had a beginning, but they could not have created themselves.

A second discovery that points to an intelligent Creator is that the universe was fine-tuned for life from the beginning. Many physical constants must be precisely as they are for life to exist. More than that, without precision fine-tuning of the physical laws and constants, the universe itself would not exist. Chance cannot explain the precision because so many precise factors must work together.

A third discovery that came into a fuller understanding in the 21st century is the design of the digital code in the DNA molecule that makes life possible. This design has been there since the emergence of the first living cell. We have no examples of information being created without a mind to create it. Information does not happen by chance.

In those three recent discoveries, science rediscovers God. Then what are the major factors for rejecting faith in God? More on that tomorrow.

Reference: Stephen C. Meyer on “Has Humanity Forgotten God” on YouTube

December 13, 2023December 12, 2023

A Pleasing Concert – The Parable of the Piano

When a piano performance concludes, who gets the applause? Is it the piano or the pianist? The piano is designed to create specific musical sounds, but without the pianist, the piano does nothing. The pianist’s skill makes a piece of furniture become a musical instrument to produce a pleasing concert that brings joy to everyone.

Let’s think of the piano as the DNA that provides a blueprint for our bodies. The human genome is the complete sequence of the information the DNA supplies. It includes genes that code for proteins as well as non-coding genes. This is a greatly simplified description of something infinitely more complex than a piano. The piano’s keys, hammers, and strings cannot be an adequate comparison to the human genome, but it will suffice for our parable.

So, in the piano concert, the pianist is the one who ultimately determines whether the performance is good or bad. The actions of the pianist can produce a pleasing concert that brings joy and pleasure to the audience. Or the pianist can make everyone uncomfortable. The pianist is the person everyone sees and applauds or the one that people boo.

If the piano is the DNA, then we are the pianists. Our DNA does not determine the quality of our lives. It may give us opportunities for success or have defective parts that make success in life more difficult. But we choose how we play the concert, and how we play can bring joy to others despite our limitations.

However, it is not just people to whom we can bring joy or pain. There is a piano Designer. In this life, He has not given each of us the same quality piano. The parable of the talents tells us that. But the Creator expects us to use what we have to make music pleasing to those around us and, ultimately, to Him.

How can we present a concert that even the Creator will applaud? He hasn’t left us without guidance. The Creator also gave us the musical score to follow. Read it, learn from it, and practice it every day. And when people applaud the pleasing concert, remember to give the credit to the One who created the piano and wrote the music.

April 21, 2023April 19, 2023

What Are the Chances?

Advocates of unguided naturalistic evolution say that evolution could have gone in many directions, and we are lucky to be here. But what are the chances of evolution producing you and me as we are today? Evolutionists would say the changes are 100% since we are already here. But, if we go back to the cosmic creation event, or “big bang,” the chances that we would have evolved are nil. On the other hand, if God planned and guided the creation because He had us in mind, the chances are 100%.

The DNA that makes us who we are physically is a highly complex strand of information. What are the chances that it could have written itself by chance? First of all, information comes from intelligence, not chance. Calculating the likelihood of something after it has happened is a statistical fallacy. After all, DNA is here, and so are we, so the chances are 100%. But what are the chances if we go back before the fact? What are the chances that non-living chemicals could come together in a just-right way to form the first living cell? Then what is the statistical evidence for that first cell multiplying and modifying by random chance mutations and natural selection to create humans?

One imagined scenario involves a billion chimpanzees typing on a billion keyboards for a billion years, accidentally typing one line of Shakespeare. What are the chances of that? Well, the short answer is that it will never happen. Computer keyboards have various numbers of keys, but the old-fashioned typewriters had 58, so let’s go with that number.

Forget Shakespeare. Look for the line “I love you more.” without quotation marks. That is a total of 16 letters, spaces, and a period. With 58 keys and 16 letters, what are the chances of accidentally typing that line? To compute that, you would have to multiply 58 X 58 X 58 X 58 X 58 X 58 X 58 X 58 X 58 X 58 X 58 X 58 X 58 X 58 X 58 X 58. That is a total of 16 times. If you want to try it, go ahead, but it will probably exceed the capacity of your calculator. The answer would be 16.4 trillion quadrillion typing attempts.

Typing continuously at a speed equivalent to 45 words per minute, it would take 2,100 trillion years to have a 50/50 chance that one of those chimps would type that phrase. Absolutely nobody thinks that the Earth is anywhere close to 2,100 trillion years old. Nobody even suggests that the universe is that old. For this thought experiment, we are only looking for one short line of text, “I love you more.” That is nothing compared to the complex system of life on this planet.

The bottom line is that we can’t explain life or the fine-tuned physical constants of the universe by chance alone. But we can explain those things if God planned and guided the creation because He had us in mind. With God, our chances of being here were 100% from the beginning. (See Genesis 1:1.)

Reference: “Chances are…” by Bob Berman on Astronomy.com

For more on this topic see “Arranging Books on a Shelf“

March 28, 2023March 27, 2023

Cells and Cities Show Purpose and Design

Whether we live in a city or in the country, we all recognize that cities are hubs of activity that keep life going and hopefully thriving. A living cell is like a miniature city, and we see life functions in the cell that correlate with activities that maintain life in the city. We can learn some things by comparing cells and cities.

A city has a boundary called the city limits, and cells have a membrane marking their outer boundary. At the city center, we have a city hall and courthouse storing vital information and sending out directives to keep the city functioning. Cells have a nucleus that performs similar functions. The nucleus contains DNA that stores all the information for constructing and controlling the cell’s components and, ultimately, the entire body.

Both cells and cities must have a way to transport materials within their boundaries. In cities, streets, roads, and highways perform this function. Cells have a transportation system called the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) to move proteins around and perform other functions. Both cells and cities need an energy source to function. Cities get their energy needs from fossil fuels, solar cells, and electrical generators. Mitochondria, “the powerhouse of the cell,” convert food calories into chemical and heat energy to maintain the cell’s life.

Garbage trucks and sewers remove waste in the city. Cells have structures called lysosomes filled with digestive enzymes that eliminate toxic materials. Cities have factories that produce the products people need. Protein factories in the cell are called ribosomes, which manufacture new structures according to the genetic instructions in the DNA.

While the U.S. Postal Service and companies such as UPS and FedEx transport materials between cities, the Golgi apparatus does that for the cells. For example, Golgi bodies in the pancreas package insulin for transport to other cells, allowing them to convert sugar into energy. Cells and cities need places to store essential commodities, and vacuoles perform that function in the cells.

We live in a city that was not built by random chance. Our city has a history of design that allowed Niles, Michigan, to be founded and developed. Just as Niles was not merely a product of chance, so too the cell is not an accident. In this comparison, we have greatly oversimplified our explanation of the cell functions since cells are even more complex than cities. If cities require design and purpose by intelligent beings, living cells give strong evidence of purpose and design by a wise creator God.

Inspired by: “Cells function like miniature cities” by Sheryl Myers in the Herald Bulletin of Anderson, Indiana, February 25, 2023

March 2, 2023February 27, 2023

Listening for Messages from Space

In 1960 radio astronomer Frank Drake began research to find alien civilizations in deep space by aiming an 85-foot radio telescope at some sun-like stars. He found nothing, but it was the beginning of a program known as SETI – Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence. The program has continued for 63 years, with many radio telescopes listening for messages from space. Researchers have spent thousands of hours and millions of dollars with zero results. They have detected no deep-space radio signals containing any intelligence – only noise.

Radio signals continuously originate from stars, nebula, and other space objects, but it is all noise. How do the SETI scientists know it’s just noise and not intelligence? Intelligence has a pattern. They may not understand the language, but they can tell language from random noise. They can distinguish random, accidental, chance blips from something created by an intelligent being.

Thus, scientists have confidence that they know the difference between information transmitted by an intelligent being and random noise when listening for messages from space. How about when examining the DNA within living cells? Does the complex pattern of information that creates the blueprint within each living cell show intelligence behind it – or is it random noise? Does it resemble a computer program written by a super-intelligence, or does it display random, accidental chance? If we can tell the difference between intelligence and randomness in space, why can’t we tell the difference in our own bodies? Is the problem that some people want to find signs of intelligence in deep space but don’t want to see it within our cells?

Frank Drake admitted that in 1974 he transmitted an encoded message toward a star cluster 25,000 light-years away in the constellation Hercules. That means the message should reach its target in 25,000 years (minus 49 years). If any intelligent being gets the message and responds immediately, the return message will take 25,000 years. Unfortunately, Drake died in 2022, at age 92, without getting a message back.

Is it possible that there really is an intelligent Being out there listening and waiting to hear from us? Is it possible that Being is not limited by time and space? Is it possible that the Being has already communicated with us by coming to Earth and taking on human form? Is it possible that while spending time and money listening for messages from space, we are not listening to Him?

We have dealt with SETI before, as you will find HERE, HERE, HERE, and HERE.

February 23, 2023February 22, 2023

Does Naturalistic Evolution Explain Life?

George Gaylord Simpson wrote in his book The Meaning of Evolution (1949), “It is already evident that all the objective phenomena of the history of life can be explained by purely naturalistic…materialistic factors.” In other words, neo-Darwinism explains life. With that in mind, he writes, “Therefore, man is the result of a purposeless and natural process that did not have him in mind.” Despite Simpson’s confidence, does naturalistic evolution explain life?

It is worth noting that Simpson began the paragraph from which I took the above quotes with these words, “Although many details remain to be worked out…” That is an understatement! Those who insist that naturalistic, materialistic evolution explains life completely are purposely overlooking “many details.” Does naturalistic evolution explain life? Here are a few of the problems with that explanation:

The Origin of Life- How did non-living matter become alive?

The Origin of the Genetic Code- DNA contains a massive amount of information, and information originates from intelligent sources.

The Origin of Sexual Reproduction- Most plants and animals reproduce sexually, requiring both male and female gametes. How did this complex process originate and continue?

The Lack of Transitional Fossils– If the evolution of all life has been a gradual process, why don’t we see an abundance of fossils showing transitional stages between life forms? How can you explain the sudden appearance of life forms, such as in the “Cambrian Explosion,” which Darwin admitted was a mystery?

The Development of Complex Organ Systems– How could they happen by gradual changes?

The Development of Irreducibly Complex Molecular Machines– They exist within every living cell and require every part to be in place for them to function. Therefore, explaining their origin through a step-by-step process seems impossible.

Mathematical Difficulties- Mathematicians have calculated that the number of gradual changes required to go from unicellular life to all of the diverse life forms, including humans, would be mathematically impossible within the span of Earth’s 4.5 billion years of existence.

Barriers Between the Types of Life Forms- It is possible with intelligent breeding to produce new varieties of dogs, cows, or roses. However, they are still dogs, cows, or roses. The evidence for one type of living creature evolving into another life form is lacking.

Those are just a few of the details that “remain to be worked out.” Darwin recognized some of them, such as the biological big bang of the Cambrian era and the lack of intermediate fossils. He expected those details would be resolved in the future. More than a century and a half later, there is still no resolution to those problems, and many more have been added to the list.

Does naturalistic evolution explain life? Many scientists accept it because the scientific community would shun them if they didn’t. Others accept it not because of its explanatory power but because they see no acceptable alternative. So when someone says that evolution has disproven the need for God, remind them that these are only a few of the reasons why naturalistic evolution falls short of explaining why we are here.

February 18, 2022February 15, 2022

No Life Without Water

Without water, life would not be possible. For that reason, astronomers are constantly looking for other locations in the universe where liquid water might exist. Only in such places could there be any hope of finding life. Whether life exists anywhere in the universe outside of planet Earth is a question people have asked for hundreds of years. Scientists still don’t know the answer, but everyone agrees that there could be no life without water.

The water molecule seems very simple. It is H²O–one oxygen atom combined with two hydrogen atoms. However, instead of bonding in a straight line (H-O-H), the two hydrogen atoms are on one side of the water molecule at a 104.5-degree angle from each other. That alignment gives the hydrogen side of the water molecule a partial positive charge, while the other side has a partial negative charge. Because of that, the positive and negative sides of water molecules attract one another and form hydrogen bonds resulting in a network of water molecules.

When water is in the gaseous state, the interaction between molecules is negligible. However, when it is in the solid form of ice, each water molecule forms a bond with four others, creating a lattice that causes ice to be lighter than liquid water. For most substances, the solid state is heavier than the liquid state. This unique property of water causes ice to float. Additionally, the low thermal conductivity of ice prevents the water below from freezing. If lakes and oceans froze from the bottom up, it would kill all marine life and ultimately all life on Earth.

If water molecules did not form hydrogen bonds, instead of boiling at 100 degrees C, water would boil at -100 degrees C. That would prevent life processes. Furthermore, because there is a 100 degree C difference between water’s melting and boiling points, life is possible in Earth’s wide range of environments. Water has the highest heat of evaporation of any known substance so that it remains liquid up to and even at its boiling point. It also has the second-highest heat capacity of any known substance, allowing its temperature to remain stable during heat fluctuations in the environment. Those qualities of water are also critical for life, meaning that there could be no life without water.

Water’s ability as a solvent makes it essential for the life processes of living cells. Likewise, water’s inability to dissolve oily substances is vital to create a strong “hydophobic effect.” Cell membranes, DNA, RNA, and proteins all contain oil-like regions. If the water in the cells could dissolve them, life would not be possible. In addition, the water molecule can participate in and enable chemical processes such as hydrolysis, reduction, oxidation, and others that are essential in living cells.

The bottom line is that there is no life without water and the fine-tuning of the hydrogen bonding in water molecules. With new scientific discoveries, we see fine-tuning for life in the cosmos and even in the cells of our bodies. Without that fine-tuning, life would not exist, and we would not be here. Accidental coincidences do not explain such incredible precision of design. We think the explanation goes beyond science and points to an intelligent Designer.

For much more on this, read chapter three, “The Chemical Anthropic Principle,” in Fazale Rana’s book Fit for a Purpose.

January 17, 2022January 17, 2022

Electron Orbitals of Oxygen and Nitrogen

Last week (January 13-15), we talked about the electron structures of oxygen and nitrogen and the importance of those elements for life. One additional design feature is the electron orbitals of oxygen and nitrogen, which is the shape of the electron paths around the nucleus.

Electrons do not revolve around the nucleus in simple circles but rather in geometric paths. For example, the oxygen atom has two electrons that orbit the nucleus in a circular pattern. A little further out and at a higher energy level, two more electrons move in a circular path. Oxygen has eight electrons, and the four electrons in the last energy shell, the valence shell, have a different orbital.

In the third energy level, the orbitals of the four electrons have figure-eight paths at right angles to each other. This figure-eight pattern has two electrons isolated from the other two and each at right angles to the other. That arrangement enables the oxygen atom to form an essential polar molecule.

When an oxygen atom combines with two hydrogen atoms by covalent bonding, they form a molecule of water, H²O. The water molecule has the two hydrogen atoms positioned at one end, making it positive, while the other end of the water molecule is negative. This polar structure gives water its unique properties. For example, water expands as it freezes, causing ice to be lighter than the liquid form. Because of that, ice floats on the surface of a lake instead of sinking to the bottom and freezing the entire lake, killing all marine life. The polar nature of water also allows it to dissolve minerals.

With its seven electrons, nitrogen has five valence electrons moving at right angles to each other, allowing it to form critical organic compounds. For example, nitrogen bonds covalently with three hydrogen atoms to form ammonia which has properties very different from water. Nitrogen’s ability to form three bonds makes possible the structure of the DNA in our cells.

This very simplified description of the atomic design of chemistry gives a small glimpse of the wisdom of design God put into the electron orbitals of oxygen and nitrogen. The Master Chemist designed the structures of atoms to allow life to exist in an incredible number of forms and thrive in a wide range of environments.

May 8, 2021May 7, 2021

Data on Neanderthals and DNA

News reports of the data on Neanderthals have often contained misinformation. Neanderthals (or Neandertals) were not apes, and they were not primitive subhumans. They engaged in activities similar to modern humans. Our suggestion for many years has been that we should think of the Neanderthals as a race of humans. When one looks at the different races of humans in today’s world, we see huge variations. A pygmy is much different from a Scandinavian, and yet from a scientific standpoint, they are one species. They can mate and produce fertile offspring, which was has been the usual way of defining a species.

The newest data on Neanderthals (Homo sapiens neanderthalensis) is that they interbred with those we call Homo sapiens, and their genes are being discovered in populations in Europe and western Asia. Science News carried an article titled “Neanderthals and Humans Mated Often.” It reported on the DNA evidence linking Neanderthals to modern humans.

If scientists found the remains of Adam and Eve, what would their DNA look like? The Bible gives us no indication of what Adam and Eve were like regarding their race or physical characteristics. The sons of Noah were Ham, Shem, and Japheth. In the original Hebrew, Ham means dark-colored and Japheth means fair. The term Neanderthal comes from where scientists found their first bones in the Neander Valley of Germany. The name has nothing to do with skin color. If we found the fossil remains of Adam and Eve, what name would we give them?

The only thing we know is that Eve was the mother of all living (Genesis 3:20). How long ago she lived and how we would classify her today is pure speculation.

Reference: Science News for May 8 and May 22, 2021 (page 7)