The Cell's Design--part 4

Let’s pick up where I left off last time as I summarize the findings of Dr. Fuz Rana, in his book The Cell’s Design. This is an important book that explores the biochemical reasons to believe there is a designer behind the creation of life.

Dr. Rana continues where he left off talking about the genetic code inside the cells. He says recent discoveries have unwittingly stumbled across the most profound evidence yet for intelligent activity -- a type of fine-tuning in code rules. These rules create a surprising capacity to minimize errors and communicate critical information with high fidelity. There is a redundancy to the code which is not haphazard. Deliberate rules were set up to protect the cell from the harmful effects of substitution mutations. The conclusion is that any genetic code assembled through random biochemical events could not possess such ideal error-minimization properties. Nobel laureate Francis Crick argued in 1968 that the genetic code cannot undergo significant evolution because any change would result in a large number of defective proteins. What is really amazing is that the genetic code originated at the time when life first appeared on earth. The complexity of the code makes it virtually impossible that natural selection could have stumbled upon it by accident in such a short period , according to Dr. Rana’s book.

A later chapter talks about biochemical quality control systems which are in place to identify and rectify any production errors. Biochemists have discovered that, like any manufacturing operation designed by human engineers, key cellular processes incorporate a number of quality control checks. Checkpoints occur at several critical junctions during protein manufacture, including mRNA production, export from the nucleus, and translation at ribosomes. One of the most remarkable features is the ability to discriminate between misfolded proteins and partially folded proteins that appear misfolded but are well on the way to adopting their intended three-dimensional architectures.

Next, Dr. Rana asks a key question. If life results solely from evolutionary processes, then shouldn't scientists expect to see very few cases in which evolution has repeated itself? Random processes shouldn’t repeat over the history of the earth. That makes sense to me. He goes on to say, however, if life is the product of an intelligent creator, then the same designs should repeatedly appear in biochemical systems. He gives one hundred recently discovered examples of repeated biochemical designs (see pages 207-214). The explosion in the number of these examples is odd if life results from historical sequences of chance evolutionary events. However, if there is a creator, it's reasonable to expect he would use the same designs repeatedly.

There is one more chapter devoted to recent discoveries that seem to require a supernatural agent. Dr. Rana takes a look at cell membranes. Forty years ago they were seen as little more than haphazard, disorganized systems. However, since then advances have dramatically changed how scientists think about these membranes. Biochemists have discovered the cells’ boundaries are highly structured, highly organized systems. They require fine-tuning of their composition to be as stable as they are. These membranes not only form a key boundary layer, but they also play a critical role in regulating the activity of proteins associated with the membrane. Some biochemists go further, suggesting that cell membranes harbor information.

The last part of his book responds to one of the most common challenges leveled against arguments for intelligent design -- imperfections found in nature. I'll save that for one last blog on The Cell’s Design.