PREDICTIONS ABOUT THE ORIGIN OF LIFE

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1 PREDICTINS ABUT THE RIGIN F LIFE Initial Disorganization: 1. Natural processes should be sufficient to produce life (no supernatural intervention). Initial Complexity: 1. Life should be far too complex to be the result of purely natural processes. The Bible vs. Evolution verhead # 101

2 PREDICTINS ABUT THE RIGIN F LIFE Initial Disorganization: 1. Natural processes should be sufficient to produce life (no supernatural intervention). 2. We should find evidence that the early earth s environment was much different than it is today. Initial Complexity: 1. Life should be far too complex to be the result of purely natural processes. 2. We should find evidence that the early earth s environment was suitable to sustain life as we know it probably quite similar to the way it is today. The Bible vs. Evolution verhead # 101

3 WHAT IS LIFE? Imagine two chemically identical collections of matter side by side. The first takes in nutrients, excretes wastes, responds to its environment, grows, and reproduces. It is alive. The second does none of these things. It is a corpse. Nobody knows what makes one alive and the other dead. Science can describe how life operates but cannot tell us what it is nor why it exists. The Bible vs. Evolution verhead # 102

4 THE PARINHALDANE HYPTHESIS As atheists, A.I. parin and J.B.S. Haldane were looking for a purely naturalistic explanation for the origin of life. Since living things are made mostly of the elements Carbon, Nitrogen, Hydrogen, and xygen, they said that the early atmosphere must have been composed of a mix of naturally occurring gases that could furnish those elements. The gases they proposed were methane (CH 4 ), ammonia (NH 3 ), water vapor (H 2 ), and hydrogen (H 2 ). thers later suggested adding carbon monoxide (C) and carbon dioxide (C 2 ). These gases would have mixed into the oceans to produce a mixture of chemicals commonly known as the primordial soup. parin and Haldane believed that the soup was bombarded by some sort of energy source which enabled it to form amino acids, proteins, and living cells. The Bible vs. Evolution verhead # 103

5 LIFE IN THE LAB? Basic design of Dr. Stanley Miller s apparatus. ther experiments use different energy sources or extra gases, but all are based on Miller s design. The Bible vs. Evolution verhead # 104

6 Glycine (gly) LLeucine (leu) H CH2 CH Copyright 2003 by David A. Prentice The 20 Amino Acids Used in Proteins: LAlanine (ala) H CH 3 LIsoleucine (ileu) H CH CH 2 CH 3 CH 3 LSerine (ser) H CH 2 H LThreonine (thr) H C H CH2 H LCysteine (cys) H CH 2 SH LValine (val) H CH H 3 C CH 3 LProline (pro) CH 2 CH 2 CH 2 LAspartic acid (asp) H CH2 C H 3 C CH 3 LAsparagine (asn) LGlutamic Acid (glu) LPhenylalanine (phe) H N + C C H N + C C LTyrosine (tyr) LMethionine (met) H CH 2 H CH 2 H CH 2 H CH 2 H CH 2 C NH 2 CH 2 CH 2 C H S CH 3 LLysine (lys) LGlutamine (gln) LArginine (arg) LHistidine (his) LTryptophan (try) H CH 2 CH 2 CH 2 H 3 N + CH 2 H CH 2 H CH 2 H CH 2 CH 2 CH 2 C N CH C NH 2 NH CH 2 HC N 3 N + C NH Source: James Watson, Molecular Biology of the Gene The Bible vs. Evolution verhead #105 H CH 2 C CH NH

7 Problems With The Primordial Soup 1. Nonxygen Atmosphere. Even the lowest Precambrian sediments, all the way down to basement rock, contain red beds oxidized deposits showing the presence of free oxygen. The evidence indicates that the atmosphere has always contained free oxygen. No traces of the primordial soup have ever been found. The Bible vs. Evolution verhead #106

8 Problems With The Primordial Soup 2. xygenuv Dilemma. Without oxygen in the atmosphere, there would be nothing to filter out deadly longwave (3000Å or longer) ultraviolet. Skin damage due to UV light Wavelength in Angstrom units a. Free oxygen = wrong reactions. b. No free oxygen = Rapid breakdown of the methane and ammonia in the primordial soup; Destruction of amino acids and other organic compounds as fast as they could form. The Bible vs. Evolution verhead #107

9 Problems With The Primordial Soup 3. Trapping Mechanism. The same energy source that produces the organic compounds quickly destroys them unless they are removed by a cold trap. No such trapping mechanism is known in nature. The Bible vs. Evolution verhead #108

10 Problems With The Primordial Soup 4. ptical Isomers. 19 of the 20 amino acids used in proteins can exist in mirror images known as the lefthanded (L) or righthanded (D) form. For example: Random chemical processes produce a 50/50 mix. Yet protein in living cells is made up of NLY the L forms. This CANNT be explained by chemical processes alone. The Bible vs. Evolution verhead #109

11 Amino Acids and Probability Suppose a cell used 1 type of amino acid instead of 20. Could random chemical action accidentally put together just 125 proteins of 100 amino acids each, using only lefthanded amino acids? It s about as likely as a groundhog with a 50/50 chance of making it across any one lane getting across 12,500 lanes on a superhighway. The Bible vs. Evolution verhead #1010

12 a. We have to start with the right chemicals to make amino acids, bases, and sugars. Problems With The Primordial Soup 5. Chemistry. crosssection of a typical animal cell after The Concise Columbia Encyclopedia (CD version) The Bible vs. Evolution verhead #1011

13 a. We have to start with the right chemicals to make amino acids, bases, and sugars. b. Hundreds or thousands of these must work their way past the Problems With The Primordial Soup 5. Chemistry. useless compounds in their way to link into each molecule of protein and RNA/DNA. crosssection of a typical animal cell after The Concise Columbia Encyclopedia (CD version) The Bible vs. Evolution verhead # 1011

14 a. We have to start with the right chemicals to make amino acids, bases, and sugars. b. Hundreds or thousands of these must work their way past the Problems With The Primordial Soup 5. Chemistry. At least some of these must be able to attract the other molecules they need. useless compounds in their way to link into each molecule of protein and RNA/DNA. c. Next, these have to come together into clusters such as coacervates. crosssection of a typical animal cell after The Concise Columbia Encyclopedia (CD version) The Bible vs. Evolution verhead # 1011

15 a. We have to start with the right chemicals to make amino acids, bases, and sugars. b. Hundreds or thousands of these must work their way past the Problems With The Primordial Soup 5. Chemistry. At least some of these must be able to attract the other molecules they need. d. Now they must form a cell membrane and absorb exactly the useless compounds in their way to link into each molecule of protein and RNA/DNA. c. Next, these have to come together into clusters such as coacervates. crosssection of a typical animal cell after The Concise Columbia Encyclopedia (CD version) necessary molecules to put together a mechanism to reproduce. The Bible vs. Evolution verhead # 1011

16 a. We have to start with the right chemicals to make amino acids, bases, and sugars. b. Hundreds or thousands of these must work their way past the Problems With The Primordial Soup 5. Chemistry. At least some of these must be able to attract the other molecules they need. d. Now they must form a cell membrane and absorb exactly the useless compounds in their way to link into each molecule of protein and RNA/DNA. c. Next, these have to come together into clusters such as coacervates. crosssection of a typical animal cell after The Concise Columbia Encyclopedia (CD version) A cell is more than just a few amino acids strung together! necessary molecules to put together a mechanism to reproduce. e. Finally, the whole thing has to undergo some unknown process to come alive. The Bible vs. Evolution verhead # 1011

17 Is It Soup Yet? N! Even with a primordial soup containing only Carbon, Hydrogen, Nitrogen, and xygen, the chemistry is so complicated that experimenters buy purified amino acids instead of making their own. But this soup is far too simple! (1) Two amino acids require Sulfur; (2) DNA and RNA require Phosphorous; (3) Early plants required Magnesium for photosynthesis; and (4) Living things also need Iron, Copper, Calcium, and many other elements. When these are added to the soup, the chemistry to produce a cell becomes impossibly hard. The Bible vs. Evolution verhead # 1012

18 Probability of Forming a Cell The simplest possible cell would have about 124 proteins of 400 amino acids each. If the primordial soup contained nothing but pure amino acids, the probability that the right ones could come together to form a cell is less than 1 in 10 78,400. If there were as many possible types of cells as atoms in the universe (about ), the probability is still less than 1 in 10 78,300. Ideal conditions everywhere in the universe for trillions of years wouldn t help. Nothing could reproduce because there would be no DNA. The Bible vs. Evolution verhead # 1013

19 Problems With The Primordial Soup 6. DNA/Enzyme Dilemma Special proteins called enzymes are crucial to the operation of cells, making some reactions proceed billions of times faster. Without them life would be impossible. DNA is needed to make enzymes, but enzymes are needed to make DNA! Since both have to be present at the same time, they could not have evolved by gradual changes in dissimilar mechanisms. Where did they come from? The Bible vs. Evolution verhead # 1014

Membranes in living things contain microscopic gateways called ion channels or permeases, which let needed substances in and out.

20 Problems With The Primordial Soup 7. The Cell Membrane. Phospholipids can combine spontaneously to form membranes. However, these membranes are impermeable to many substances needed for cell growth and reproduction. Membranes in living things contain microscopic gateways called ion channels or permeases, which let needed substances in and out. They are present only because DNA contains the instructions to make them. Detail of double phospholipid membrane showing 2 ion channels Cutaway view of animal cell surrounded by membrane Permeases are needed to form DNA, but DNA is needed to form permeases. The Bible vs. Evolution verhead # 1015

21 Problems With The Primordial Soup 1. Nonxygen Atmosphere required. 2. xygenultraviolet Dilemma. 3. Need for a sophisticated Trapping Mechanism. 4. ptical Isomers. 5. Chemistry. 6. DNA/Enzyme Dilemma. 7. Impermeability of Cell Membrane. The Bible vs. Evolution verhead # 1016

22 Directed PanSpermia Sir Francis Crick, winner of the Nobel Prize for his codiscovery of the structure of DNA, recognizes that conditions on earth have never been right to produce life by chemical processes. Instead of believing in creation, he proposes that some sort of seeds were sent to earth by an advanced civilization in outer space. These seeds then began the process of evolution. Where is the observation required by science? The motive for PanSpermia is not scientific, but philosophical. You don t have to give an account for your life to a UF. The Bible vs. Evolution verhead # 1017

23 Is There Life on ther Planets? We don t even know for sure that there are planets outside the solar system. Reports of planets around other stars are based on periodic fluctuation in the wavelength of light from those stars, interpreted to mean that an orbiting companion is pulling the star alternately toward and away from us. However, the companion need not be a planet; it could be a brown dwarf star. Even if the objects really are planets, they would have to be very large and very close to their stars to produce enough fluctuation to be seen from earth. They would have far too much gravity and heat to support life. N A S A P h o t o The Bible vs. Evolution verhead # 1018

24 Life in Space? The Bible Says N! Rom. 5:12 through Adam sin and its effects entered the kosmos the whole universe. The whole universe is decaying. If beings in space never sinned, it would be unjust to subject them to decay. The effects of Adam s sin even reached heaven. Jesus had to take His blood into the Holy of Holies to purify it (Heb. 9:2224). Deut. 4:32 from one end of the heavens to the other, God has never dealt with anyone the way He did with Israel. If extraterrestrials sinned, God never gave them the same chance for redemption. This would be unjust and contrary to His nature. Humans sinned only after Satan tempted them. If beings on other planets sinned too, how long was he planethopping, and were we his first victims? 1 Cor. 15 Jesus, the Last Adam, came to undo what the first Adam did. If beings on other planets sinned, how many planets would He have to die on? Heb. 7:27 Jesus died once and for all. 2 Pet. 3:10 when Jesus comes back to judge the earth, the rest of the present universe will pass away. God needs only one planet to show His wisdom and majesty. The Bible vs. Evolution verhead # 1019

25 UF s Most can be explained by natural causes (reflected light, secret military aircraft, etc.) But what about those that can t? Satan can make himself seem like an angel of light. When God allows it, he can interact with the physical world and even do things to people s bodies (Job 1:1619, 2:67). In the last days he will deceive many. By making people believe that UF s have the answers to all our problems, he is able to turn them away from God. Hypnotists have been able to plant seemingly real memories of things that never happened. In the same way Satan can make people think they ve been on a UF, even throwing in a few bruises and punctures for good measure. UF reports of 60 years ago told of little green men in flying saucers. Now they describe beings with large heads and catlike eyes, in ships capable of incredible maneuvers. Either the aliens and their ships have evolved, or else Satan knows what we expect and makes sure we get it. The Bible vs. Evolution verhead #1020

THE SEARCH FOR DESIGN:

THE SEARCH FOR DESIGN: THE SEARCH FR DESIGN: A Normal Part of Science! NASA Space Flights / SETI Airplane Crash Investigation Arson Investigation Investigation of Suspicious Deaths Archaeology Studying the rigin of Life verhead