Evolution
Encyclopedia Vol. 2
Chapter 11
CELLULAR EVOLUTION
"Today our duty is to destroy the myth of evolution, considered
as a simple, understood and explained phenomenon which keeps rapidly
unfolding before us. Biologists must be encouraged to think about the
weaknesses and extrapolations that the theoreticians put forward or lay
down as established truths. The deceit is sometimes unconscious, but not
always, since some people, owing to their sectarianism, purposely
overlook reality and refuse to acknowledge the inadequacies and falsity
of their beliefs." —*Pierre-Paul Grasse, Evolution of Living
Organisms (1977), p. 8.
"To my mind, the theory does not stand up at all."
—*H. Lipson, "A Physicist Looks at Evolution, " Physics
Bulletin 31 (1980), p. 138.
"The evolution theory can by no means be regarded as an
innocuous natural philosophy, but that it is a serious obstruction to
biological research. It obstructs—as has been repeatedly shown—the
attainment of consistent results, even from uniform experimental
material. For everything must ultimately be forced to fit this theory.
An exact biology cannot, therefore, be built up." —*H.
Neilsson, Synthetische Artbildng, 1954, p. 11.
"Evolution itself is accepted by zoologists, not because it has
been observed to occur . . or can be proved by logical coherent
evidence, but because the only alternative, special creation, is clearly
incredible." —*D.M.S. Watson, "Adaptation," in
Nature, Vol. 123, p. 233 (1929).
CHAPTER 11
- CELLULAR EVOLUTION
BASIC
ARRANGEMENT OF THIS CHAPTER
Introduction
Evolution theory could
never originate or evolve a living cell
1 - The amazing cell -
2 - Parts of the cell -
3 - Single-celled creatures -
Appendix
-
1 - Cells are too complicated for evolution-
Related studies:
Chapter 9, Primitive Environment
Chapter
10, DNA and Protein Evolution
Chapter
13, Natural Selection
Chapter
14, Mutations
In 1970, the public press proclaimed the latest
triumph of modern evolutionary research: *Dr. J.P. Danielli had
artificially produced a living cell! "Marvelous, astounding"
were among the comments made.
What Danielli actually did was to carefully arrange a
favorable environment of dishes with continuous warmth and food. Into
one he placed several living cells obtained from living tissue.
Carefully, he removed a part from a living cell and quickly put the same
part from another living cell into the first one. Then he replaced
another part from a different cell that was still whole and alive, and
on it went, part after part.
That was how Dr. Danielli "synthesized a living
cell!"
Efforts to prove evolution include claims of
so-called "cellular evolution." And yet a
self-evolved cell tissue would be just as impossible as is the
self-formulation of DNA, RNA, amino acids, protein, fats, sugars, and
enzymes. A living cell includes all those factors, plus much mare.
The truth is that not only is there a powerful DNA
and amino acid barrier to evolutionary origins of life, but there is
also a formidable cell barrier as well.
Here are facts you will want to know about this masterpiece of
creative handiwork. Learning them, you should be prepared for those who
would try to convince you of cellular evolution.
1 - The Amazing Cell
MASTER CRAFTSMANSHIP—A Boeing 747 is a collection
of 4 million nonflying parts, but because of design and organization,
continual guidance by intelligence, and a continuous supply of energy,
repair parts, and repair work—it flies.
A living cell is enormously complex. Francis
Crick, a world-renowned Nobel Prize recipient for his co-discovery of
the structure of the DNA molecule, tried to explain in writing the
structure of the human cell, and then he stopped, and gave as his
reason: "Because it is so complicated, the reader should not
attempt to struggle with all the details" (*F. Crick, Life Itself,
p. 71). As you will learn in this chapter, there are so many mysterious
details that Francis Crick struggles with them also.
A living creature is not merely a bunch of parts, it
is also organization, purposive design, and intelligence at work.
"[The instructions within the DNA of a single cell] if written
out would fill a thousand 600-page books. Each cell is a world
brimming with as many as two hundred trillion tiny groups of atoms
called molecules. . Our 46 [human] chromosome 'threads' linked
together would measure more than six feet. Yet the [cell] nucleus that
contains them is less than four ten-thousandths of an inch in
diameter."— *Rick Gore, "The Awesome Worlds within
a Cell" in National Geographic, September 1976, pp. 357-358, 360.
WHAT IS IN A CELL—Back in the 19th century when
men were trying to work out their theory of evolution, they knew nothing
about Mendelian genetics, the DNA molecule, or the contents of the cell.
Cells vary greatly in size among different plants and
animals, but generally they are quite small and can only be studied
with the aid of a microscope.
Some of the smallest creatures have the most
complicated cells. The cell of a one-celled amoeba accomplishes many
functions, while specialized cells in the human body, for example,
accomplish far fewer tasks.
One centimeter (cm) equals 0.4 inch, or 4/10th of an
inch. The average plant cell is about 0.005 cm (5/1000ths of a
centimeter) in diameter. The average animal cell is about 0.001 cm
(1/1000th of a centimeter). Bacterial cells vary from half the size of
regular animal cells, down to such tiny cells that they cannot be seen
with a light microscope. The largest cells are bird eggs.
Within a container that is only 1/1000 of an inch
across, is to be found a fantastic assortment of special structures,
each of them appointed to do a certain work.
"The cell is as complicated as New York City."
—*Look, January 16, 1962, p. 46.
2 - Parts of the Cell
MARVELS IN A CELL—The cell is supposed to
have originated and evolved by random accidents and unintentional
blunders. But let us now take a closer look at this city that is a
living cell:
1 - Basic unit. The cell is the basic unit of life.
Every living thing is composed of cells. All living things are but a
collection of cells. Some creatures have only one cell; most have large
numbers of them. The body of a man has more than a million million of
them. That is one trillion.
2 - Size. Most cells are so small that they can only
be seen under a microscope. It would take 40,000 human cells to fill
this letter o. The surface of one square inch of skin on your body
contains over a million cells.
3 - Shape. Cells come in a variety of shapes, but
each one is structured just the right way to accomplish its
designated purpose. Cells may be shaped like coils, cubes, boxes,
snowflakes, rods, saucers, or blobs of jelly.
THE INCREDIBLE
CELL
We think we understand it, but the more we research
into the cell—the less we find that we know. The amount of coded
knowledge, practical technology, systems management, manufacturing
specialties, storage, and maintenance that goes on every moment in a
living cell is astounding. Yet it is only one-thousandth of an inch
across.
4 - Specialized cells. It would not accomplish
much to merely dump a trillion look-alike cells into your body. Most
cells are specialized. You have nerve cells, bone cells, blood
cells, muscle cells, and more beside. There are specialized tissue cells
in each of your organs: your liver, kidneys, spleen, pancreas,
pituitary, and on and on.
5 - Living. Each cell is living and has the basic
life functions. That is, it breathes, exhales, takes in food, emits
waste, grows, and reproduces. All this is in each cell.
6 - Complexity. A closer look at a typical cell
reveals a thin covering called a membrane, , through
which oxygen, carbon dioxide, liquid, nutriments, and other substances
can pass. Inside the membrane is a jelly-like fluid, called
protoplasm. Within this fluid, to our astonishment, we find a
whole host of small objects with various shapes. Not one of them is
useless; everything has a special purpose. Without all of them, the
cell would cease to exist.
7 - There from the beginning. Everything had to be
there in the very beginning—or, from the very start, that cell
could not have existed!
8 - Control Center. Near the center of the cell
is the nucleus, which is the cell's control center. It has a set
of blueprints stored within it that guide the cell in all of its
functions. The master plan is the arrangement of a chemical compound
called DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid).
9 - Unique Code. All of this DNA, whether it comes
from a plant or animal, looks about the same and has about the same
chemical makeup. Only the code is different. It is obvious that a
single, powerful Intelligence designed and made all this. The code
within the DNA makes all the difference in the world. As a result, the
cells will form themselves into a dog, zebra, fern, or catfish.
10 - Both little or big. Bacteria are among the
smallest of cells; 50,000 of them would measure only one inch. Bird's
eggs are the largest, with an ostrich yolk about the size of a baseball.
But most cells are about the same size. Cells in a mouse are no
smaller than cells in an elephant; the elephant just has more of them.
11- All are complicated. But even the smallest
cells—the bacteria—are extremely complicated. Thousands of
structures and on going activities are to be found within even the
smallest living cell, all because of complicated information, written in
code form, within its DNA molecules.
"A bacterium is far more complex than any inanimate system known
to man. There is not a laboratory in the world which can compete with
the biochemical activity of the smallest living organism."—
*Sir James Gray, chapter in Science Today (1961), p. 21 [professor of
Zoology, Cambridge University].
12 - Plans and executes: But what that tiny cell
can do is amazing. For example, it can take in food and water, always
deciding just what it wants and will accept. This same
self-contained decisiveness extends to its excrement of wastes, and all
its other functions.
13 - Self-producing. Each cell even makes itself! It
manufactures all the materials of which it is made, and then puts them
all into the proper location and connects them properly. It knows how to
harness all the energy needed to carry on its various functions. It has
the insight to store energy, raw materials, and finished products that
it will not need till later. Frequently it knows how to manufacture
chemical compounds to be used in other cells somewhere else. When it
excretes those chemicals, other cells know that they should carry them
to the proper place where they are to go.
It is one thing to have a code in the cell; it is
another thing to be able to think, plan, and execute. It is as if each
cell had a tiny brain within it!
"Protoplasm has one of the most complicated and
beautiful structures in the universe. So elaborate are cells that one
can say that nature had already done most of her job by the time she
evolved them. After that it was merely a matter of putting cells
together to build fishes, birds, horses, elephants—even human beings."
—"Rutherford Platt, "The Wondrous `Inner Space' of Living
Cells" in Reader's Digest, June 1964.
14 - Selective doorway. The cell membrane lets some
particles pass right through it, but it is selective of which ones and
which way they will go—in or out. Various liquids seem to be
selectively pumped through. We are still trying to figure it out. Some
materials are actually engulfed by the membrane. Scientists call the
process "cellular drinking." The cell membrane sends
out finger-like projections which surround the fluid or substance, and
then draw it in. Having done this, a small bubble of membrane will
continue to surround that food substance, as it gradually moves inward.
Then, in some unknown way, it is absorbed.
We could go on and on with our description of
structures and functions within the cell—and fill several books the
size of this one. But here is a very, very brief look of several more
things you will find in a living cell:
15 - Ribosomes and RNA. . There are
tiny granules in the cell called ribosomes. These are little
factories which assemble the amino acids into protein. Messenger RNA,
from the DNA in the cell nucleus, carries instructions to the
ribosomes as to what to do, how much to do, and when to stop and start!
With the instructions received, more messages go out to other parts of
the cell to send in various proportions of amino acids to those
particular ribosomes. Within it, they are connected in their proper
sequence to make one or more of the hundreds of different specialized
proteins used in the body.
Each cell needs over 75 "helper molecules,
" all working together in careful harmony, to make one protein as
instructed by one base series DNA. Some of the molecules are several
types of RNA; most are highly specific proteins.
"Most of that energy, perhaps many times more
than previously supposed, is used for proofreading processes that ensure
the accuracy of such synthesis, according to Michael A. Savageau and
Rolf R. Freter of the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Living cells
are fastidious about their proteins, checking and double-checking them
at particular stages during synthesis." —-*"Cells Energy
Use High for Protein Synthesis," in Chemical & Engineering
News, August 20, 1979, p. 6.
16 - Enzymes. Enzymes are made also. Without them
the DNA and protein would be useless. Enzymes are proteins with
special slots for selecting and holding other molecules for speedy
reactions. Each activating enzyme has five slots: two
are for chemical coupling, one is for energy (ATP), and—very
important—two are used to make a non-chemical three-base code name for
each different amino acid group. If this was not done, the cell could
not know which amino acid was which.
Each enzyme carries a "signboard" telling
which chemical compound it has inside it. The cell reads the signs—and
selects the enzymes it wants to use! How can the enzyme be smart
enough to write the signboard? How are the cell units smart enough to
read it?
The living cell has to have at least 20 of these
activating enzymes. They are called "translases."
There is one of the 20 for each of the specific R-group/code name
(amino acid/tRNA) pairs. Yet these 20 translases and their 100
specific slots would be (1) useless without ribosomes. Ribosomes are
a mixture of 50 proteins plus rRNA, for they break the base-coded
message of heredity into three-letter code names. (2) They would be
destructive without an ever fresh supply of ATP energy to keep the
translases from tearing apart the pairs they are supposed to put
together. (3) They would vanish if they and other special proteins
did not continually make new translase proteins to replace the ones
constantly wearing out.
But only specific proteins can make specific
proteins. How did the one get there without the other? Impossible by
evolution, but easily done by Creation.
"Now we know that the cell itself is far more
complex than we had imagined. It includes thousands of functioning
enzymes, each one of them a complex machine itself. Furthermore, each
enzyme comes into being in response to a gene, a strand of DNA. The
information content of the gene—its complexity—must
be as great as that of the enzyme it controls."
—*Frank B. Salisbury, "Doubts About the Modern Synthetic Theory
of Evolution, " in American Biology Teacher, September 1971, pp.
336-338.
17 - Mitochondria. Mitochondria are egg-shaped
bodies in the cell which receive electrons from enzymes in a precise
manner, which results in an energy build-up. Mitochondria are little
batteries which, when charged up by electrons from certain enzymes,
provide the energy for the cell. In the process, ATP (adenosine
triphosphate) is formed and exuded. ATP provides energy power
packs for the cell which enables it to carry on much of its work.
When the charge in any ATP is used up, its electrons unite with oxygen
and hydrogen to form water, which is then used for other things.
18-Golgi bodies. The Golgi bodies within cells
are small concave structures, stacked in one another like a set of
kitchen bowls. Golgi bodies manufacture or assemble hormones, enzymes
and certain other materials which that cell—or some other cell—will
use. As with everything else, RNA messengers continually bring
instructions as to what to make, when to begin, how much to make, and
when to stop. Any cell which secretes substances for use in other
cells—will always have Golgi bodies. But there will be different ones
in different organs. In the thyroid, Golgi bodies manufacture thyroxin,
in the pancreas they make insulin and other substances. So, in addition
to making other substances, it is the Golgi bodies which manufacture
body hormones.
19 - More on the Code. Each cell con tains enough DNA
information within the cel l nucleus, not only to perform its own
functions, but also to rebuild the entire animal or plant it is part of!
The nucleus not only sends messages, it also makes
decisions as to when to make new cells. When this decision has been
made, the chromosomes within the nucleus divide into two, so that each
of them now has a complete DNA code of information. Then a new cell is
made. What kind of cell will it be? muscle, bone, nerve, endocrine,
skin, etc. No problem; the cell knows exactly what to do, when to do it,
and how to do it. The information is all stored in the DNA within the
nucleus, and the brains to work it all out is there somewhere.
20 - The ER. . Then there is the endoplasmic
reticulum, called ER. This consists of sheets of membranes within
the cell which store and transport materials made by the ribosomes.
This ER is a thin skin-like material with a double wall and all folded
oddly on itself. The space between its outer walls appear to be
canals for shipping materials. The ER performs many different functions,
but how it does them we do not know.
The RNA is apparently made inside the nucleus, and it
is the messenger, mentioned earlier, which sends signals to the
ribosomes and perhaps other cell structures. How it travels is still
unknown.
21- Replacements. Cells gradually wear out and new ones are made to
take their place. Yet the task is carried out rapidly, accurately, and
with exquisite care and thought.
"A living cell is a marvel of detailed and complex architecture.
Seen through a microscope there is an appearance of almost frenetic
activity. On a deeper level it is known that molecules are being
synthesized at an enormous rate. Almost any enzyme catalyzes the
synthesis of more than 100 other molecules per second. In ten minutes, a
sizable fraction of total mass of a metabolizing bacterial cell has been
synthesized. The information content of a simple cell has been estimated
as around 1012 bits, comparable to about a hundred million
pages of the Encyclopedia Britannica."—*Carl Sagan,
"Life" in Encyclopaedia Britannica: Macropaedia (1974 ed.),
pp. 893-4.
And as these replacements are made, they are done with exactness.
"The cells from a carrot or from the liver of
a mouse consistently retain their respective tissue and organism
identities after countless cycles of reproduction. "—*Phillip
C. Hanawalt, "Simple Inorganic Molecules to Complex Free-living
Cells" in Molecules to Living Cells (1980), p. 3.
"All life . . reproduces with incredible
fidelity." —*Lynn Margulis, Symbiosis in Cell Evolution
(1981), p. 87.
22 - Plant cells. And then there are plant cells. These are just
as astounding as animal cells.
"The largest single manufacturing process in
the world takes place in one of the smallest units of life—cells of
green plants.
"The manufacturing process is..
photosynthesis. Each year this process accounts for the transformation
of 100 billion tons of the inorganic element carbon into organic forms
that support life.
"By contrast, all the big blast furnaces of
the world make only a half-billion tons of steel in the same time. "—*New
York Times, November 13, 1966, p. 6E.
Did your 100,000,000,000,000 cells just happen? Where did this
astounding city of cells that is you come from? An intelligent
master Designer is responsible for planning and making it. Only an
ignorant man would suggest that it made itself.
OVER FORTY THINGS—There are over 40 different objects packed into
the tiny cell so small you cannot see it. Here is a partial listing:
Amino acids, amyloplast, basal body, cytoplasm,
cytoplasmic membrane, cisternae, centrioles, cilia, chloroplast,
chromoplast, chromosomes, DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) helix, enzymes,
desmosomes, extracellular space, flagella, golgi complex, granular
endoplasmic intermediate junctions, lysosomes, messenger RNA strands,
microfilaments, macrotubules, microvill, mitochondria (power plants),
mitochondria) DNA and RNA, nucleolus, nucleus, nucleus' membrane,
plasmodesmata, plastids, proteins, reticules (traffic lanes),
ribosomes (protein producing centers), ribosomal RNA strands, smooth
endoplasmic reticules (traffic lanes), transfer RNA strands, terminal
bars, tonoplast (vacuole membrane), vacuoles, vesicles, etc.
There is no evidence that the cell has ever
evolved—from anything! It has always been in its present
most-complicated form.
"[William Paley said] `Where there is design
there must be a designer and where there is contrivance there must be
a contriver' . . If we can discover evidence for design then, unlike
Paley's case, it cannot be refuted, because there is no evidence that
the cell has actually evolved. We simply do not know of any life
except that based on cells. Nor is there any evidence that a
subcellular form of life has ever existed."—L.R. Croft, How
Life Began (1988), p. 128.
For additional information see quotation supplement,
"Cells are too Complicated for Evolution," at the end of this
chapter.
FUSED CELLS —Scientists are not able to make
cells nor are they able to decide how they could have made themselves in
the beginning. But a new field of study concerns the fabrication of fused
cells. These are laboratory experiments in which a cell from one
species is linked together with a cell from another species. The
objective is to let the two cells, now united, divide and produce a new
species! New monster, would be the better name for it. But, never fear,
the new monster cell just begins to divide, and then, very soon, it
stops dividing. But in the process, it casts off genes. Scientists study
these in an effort to "map" chromosomes.
"I watched Dr. Hayden Coon. . fuse the cells
of a hamster and a human. . Researchers have fused human cells with
mouse, chicken, and even mosquito cells. There is no possibility,
however, of creating a monster with the head of a man and the tail of
a mouse. Fused cells of different animals will not develop beyond a
colony of single cells.
"What fused cells will do, however, is lose
the chromosomes of one species—in stages. For instance, each time
hamster-human cells divide, some human chromosomes disappear."—*Rick
Gore, "Awesome Worlds Within a Cell, " National Geographic
Society, September 1976, p. 385.
Just think of it! For over 20 years, scientists have
been uniting cells of different species, but each time the cells refuse
to produce a NEW species! If ever there was evidence needed that
cross-species transitions cannot be made, it is this!
"In one [experiment], the dark protoplast of
barley begins to fuse with the light protoplast of soybean. The fused
cell divides as would a natural species—to a point. Dr. Kao's
superhybrids have yet to grow beyond the hundred-cell stage." —*Op.
cit., p. 391.
3 - SINGLE-CELLED CREATURES
A TINY BACTERIUM—There is a small bacterium
which has been studied quite a bit. It is called Escherichia coli. This
little creature is one of the smallest living creatures known, and yet
it carries genetic information within its cells which is so complicated
that one researcher, after applying mathematics to it, decided that the
DNA code within this single bacterium could not have been formed by
chance, even if given 5 billion years to do the job! In spite of such a
scientific fact, evolutionists teach that all of life—including that
single bacterium and every other living thing in our world—originated
out of nothing and evolved by random chance within the last 5 billion
years!
..Remember now; we are only speaking about ONE tiny, microscopic
bacterium. There are millions of other types of creatures, most of them
much more complicated.
"In the genetic information found on the
chromosomes of this and other organisms, a double order is found. The
chemical pattern for the composition of the genes themselves is one
order of information, but in addition the genes are found on the
chromosomes at specific localities which are related to the order of
use by the organism for sequential biochemical changes.
"Aside from the problem of evolving the genes,
one wonders how the genes became located in their proper order. Eden
addresses the simple question of getting only 2 genes in order. It
is postulated that these genes evolved earlier at random localities on
the chromosomes. Eden estimates that it would take 5000 Ma [5,000
million years] for the changes necessary to bring 2 genes into their
proper order of use. This calculation is based on the observed rates
of reproduction and the generous assumption that this bacterium would
have been spread over the earth in a layer 2 c. thick for that
extended period of time. The 5000 Ma give no time for the genes to
evolve—a much more complex process,—nor does it give time for the
evolution of other organisms, some of which are several hundred times
more complex.
"Suffice it to say that many orders of
magnitude of time more than the 4600 Ma postulated for the earth are
required for the improbable events of the scenario of organic
evolution." —Ariel A. Roth, "Some Questions About
Geochronology," in Origins, Vol. 13, No. 2, 1986, pp. 7879.
(Based on *M. Eden, Mathematical Challenges to Neo-Darwinian
Interpretation of Evolution (1967), a book resulting from the Wistar
Institute of that year).
THE PROTOCELL—In an effort to theorize how the cell began,
evolutionists have imagined that there once was a "protocell"
that later developed into a fully-equipped and operating cell. But
reputable scientists object, declaring that a protocell would be
impossible to produce, would be inadequate for the task, and could not
later change into a more complex cell.
THE NERVE CELL
The nerve cell is a marvel of complex design and function! It is,
indeed, a marvel of creative wisdom. Random, lethal mutations, modified
by chance action ("natural selection") could never have
produced this.
The nerve cell (neuron) is triggered by a stimulus,
which travels across from one to another toward a major nerve center
or the brain, which may give a Response
"It is difficult enough to see how an imperfect
translational system could ever have existed . . That such a cell might
undergo further evolution, improving itself by 'selecting' advantageous
changes which would be inevitably lost in the next cycle of replication,
seems contradictory in the extreme [and a violation of the "noninheritance
of acquired characteristics" principle] . . That an error-prone
translational system would lead inevitably to self-destruction is not
only a theoretical prediction but also a well-established empirical
observation."—*Michael Denton, Evolution: A Theory in Crisis
(1986), pp. 266-268.
"A final difficulty existed for the metabolic
and genetic apparatus of the first cell. By definition, the cellular
systems of the `protocell' would have been less efficient than its
present day descendant. Woese acknowledges that such early systems would
be much more likely to make an error, to the point that error-free gene
translation could not have been done. However, an inaccurate translation
does not lead to a more accurate translational system." —Kevin
L. Anderson, "Prebiotic Formation of the First Cell, " in
Creation Research Society Quarterly, September 1989, p. 60.
Evolutionists tell us that, given enough time, the cell could somehow
have evolved in random fashion. But *Mora calls this delusional thinking
a retreat into "infinite escape clauses" (`Peter T. Mora, "The
Folly of Probability" in *S.W. Fox led.), Origins of
Prebiological Systems (1966), pp. 3952.).
The primitive cell must have possessed the ability to metabolize,
generate and transduce energy, and reproduce. But above all, it had
to be able to change, since this is the very essence of cellular
evolution.
"Ubiquity" means "being everywhere at
once." In the following quotation, "ubiquity" is used in
reference to cell units that are always present in all living cells.
"Harold Morowitz postulated the minimal requirements for a
self-replicating cell. Reasoning, in part, that ubiquity implies
antiquity, he determined that constituents such as DNA, tRNA, ATP,
NADH, and ribosomes must have formed early. Thus, these molecules set
a lower limit to possible size and simplicity of the `protocell. *Morowitz
suggested a cell with 45 functions and a diameter of about 1000 A. As
he concedes:
" 'It is almost certainly a lower limit, since
we have allowed no control functions, no vitamin metabolism and
extremely limited metabolism. Such a cell would be vulnerable to
environmental fluctuation.' [*H.J.
Morowitz, "The Minimum Size
of Cells" in *G.E.W. Wostenholme and *M.O. O'Connor (eds.),
Principles of Biomolecular Organization (1966), pp. 446-459.]
"Today the minimal size and postulated number
of functions in the 'protocell' would most likely be larger since
additional functions have been determined that are ubiquitous and
logically required. For example, Morowitz's postulations were prior to
a more complete understanding of membrane-bound cellular structures.
Our current knowledge suggests that functions such as reproduction and
energy generation would require a number of distinct chemical
entities, perhaps no fewer than the minimum in contemporary cells.
Also, such capability can hardly be envisioned apart from some type of
cellular membrane. Finally, compartmentation in the soluble phase is
necessary to separate synthesis from degradation, and maintain the
cyclic asymmetry required for cell division." —Kevin L.
Anderson, "Prebiotic Formation of the First Cell, " in
Creation Research Society Quarterly, September 1989, p. 57.
The cell had to spring into being—perfect from the
very beginning; complete in its vast number of parts and functions. And
only a CREATED CELL could thus suddenly appear with that original
perfection. If scientists, with all their ingenious knowledge,
techniques, and equipment, cannot make a cell—living or dead from raw
chemical compounds in their laboratory now, why should they expect that
a perfect, living cell could have formed in the beginning by the random
action of sloshing seawater?
ALL MADE BY THE SAME DESIGNER—Every living
plant and animal in the world is composed of basic units which are
startlingly similar. They all have such things as protein, DNA, enzymes,
etc., in common. And they all have cells. One researcher, *Willmer,
discovered that there are only four basic types of cells—and each of
the four are consistently found in each living creature!
There can be no doubt but that living beings were
intelligently designed, and not formulated by random action of
molecules. Yet, the evidence is alike overwhelming that those living
beings came from the hand of the same Designer!
"Professor E.N. Willmer of Cambridge
University . . [is] the world authority in tissue culture; that is, on
persuading little isolated groups of cells or even single cells to
grow on a drop of liquid which can be placed under the microscope.
Cells, generally speaking, don't much care for isolation and have to
be fed a nutrient juice extracted from other living tissue to keep
them happy.
"When Willmer placed minced-up fragments of
chicken heart in the drop of liquid hanging beneath his microscope
slide and watched, he saw that, after a while, undifferentiated cells
began to creep out, and these were of four distinct types. Most
numerous was a cell capable of forming bone and muscle or secreting
collagen, the fibrous material widespread in the body. Second, there
were cells which tended to join up edge to edge in a 'pavement' and
which formed membranes such as skin. Thirdly there were sensitive
cells which went on to become nerve cells. Finally, cells which wander
about like amoebae. Later, they specialize further [into blood, etc.]
Regardless of whether he started with tissue from mammals, amphibians
or whatever animal group, he always got these four kinds." —*G.R.
Taylor, Great Evolution Mystery (1983), pp. 191-192.
CELLULAR EVOLUTION IMPOSSIBLE—It is clear
that there is no basis whatsoever for cellular evolution.
"The notion that not only the biopolymer but
the operating programme of a living cell could be arrived at by chance
in a primordial organic soup here on the Earth is evidently nonsense
of a high order." —*Fred Hoyle, "The Big Bang in
Astronomy, " in New Scientist (1981) Vol. 91 pp. 521, 527.
"I think it is fair to say that all the facile
speculations and discussions published during the last 10-15 years
explaining the mode of origin of life have been shown to be far too
simple-minded and to bear very little weight. The problem in fact
seems as far from solution as it ever was.
"The origin of even the simplest cell poses a
problem hardly less difficult. The most elementary type of cell
constitutes a 'mechanism' unimaginably more complex than any machine
yet thought up, let alone constructed, by man. There is no real clue
as to the way in which any of these riddles were solved, so it is open
to anyone to espouse any theory which he finds helpful." —*W.
Thorpe, "Reductionism in Biology," in Studies in the
Philosophy of Biology (1974), pp. 116117.
The leap from sand, gravel, and seawater to the
living cell is a leap of such gigantic proportions that it leaves the
thinking scientist breathless. Not even one of the hundred known parts
of the living cell could be produced by randomness. Not one of the ten
thousand functions of the living cell could be formulated by chance. The
living cell is something that the evolutionists do best to leave alone.
It is unmakeable and unchangeable. It dates back to Creation, and has no
other possible origin.
You
have just completed
Chapter 11
CELLULAR EVOLUTION
APPENDIX - 11
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