Saturday, November 23, 2019

DNA

Lesson 3:

DNA is the process by which all life creates the proteins needed for the organism to survive.

DNA is comprised of only 4 amino acids, Adenine (A), thiamine (T), cytosine ( C) , and guanine (G).
(A) only pairs with (T), and (C) only pairs with (G).

A set of 3 paired amino acids in a DNA chain is a codon.  This is the instruction for placing one amino acid into a protein chain.

Most proteins are about 300 amino acids long.  300 amino acids x 3 codons = 900 pairs of amino acids in the DNA chain to produce a single protein.

Within the DNA strand, the codon that codes the amino acid in the protein is also preceded and followed by codes to turn the gene on and off .

A very “simple” single cell organism needs at least 20 proteins to survive, which would be 20 x 900 = 18,000 amino acid pairs in the DNA strand (not including the codes for turning that amino acid on or off) to function for a single celled organism to exist.1

Problems for evolutionists:

First there is the origin problem:  The process of replication requires proteins to copy and translate the information of DNA into proteins.   It takes proteins to complete the process of replicating DNA. Where did the proteins come from to replicate the DNA needed to start the replication process?  Also, proteins, DNA and it's counterpart, RNA, break apart in water.  The prevailing evolutionary theory is that proteins, and eventually DNA, came about from a primordial soup of amino acids (in water)!

Next, there is the length problem:  Scientists have observed DNA forming spontaneously in a lab under special circumstances, but chains longer than 20 pairs break apart.  They have yet to find a way to formulate, (even with much control and input and manipulation of the chemicals) the long strands required to make one protein (900 amino pairs, not 20).

Third, there is the order problem:  DNA is a code or language.  It means something.  Random letters would not convey meaning.  Even if strands 18,000 pairs long could occur naturally, they have to come together in the right sequence.  The odds of 18,000 letters of DNA assembling in a specific order spontaneously:  the odds of any particular letter occurring in 1 position is 1:4, in 2 positions is ¼ x ¼. In 3 positions is ¼ x ¼ x ¼.  So for 18,000 positions it would be ¼ to the 18,000 power.  Not statistically possible.2

Then there is the shape problem:  The 20 letter strands formed in the lab are deformed.  They connect at the wrong points and don't spiral.  Non-spiraling DNA does not compact and is not able to be protected within the nucleus of the cell.3

Functional DNA has never been created in a lab.  Scientists have been able to alter bacterial DNA by adding genes from other organisms to produce proteins.  This is called recombinant DNA technology. They use this in vaccines and other applications.  Altering existing DNA is not the same as creating DNA.

• Why is DNA similar between life forms?  Creationists say it is because we have a common creator. Evolutionists say it is because we have a common ancestor. Which makes more sense?

Proteins:

Not only have scientists never created a strand of DNA, they cannot create proteins, either.  They have never been observed forming naturally, apart from cell synthesis from DNA.  The molecules do not just fall together.  And, again, for life to exist, the proteins must be put together via chains of amino acids in the correct sequence.  If even one amino acid is substituted in a single protein, the result is devastating. Sickle cell anemia, hemophilia, and cystic fibrosis are all diseases caused by substitution of a single amino acid in a protein chain.

To create a simple single-celled organism by evolution, 20 proteins x 300 amino acids in each one = 6000 amino acids that would need to line up and bond together in order, by chance.  The odds of this occurring spontaneously would be 1/1500 followed by 13,006 zeros.

The chance of 100 (not 300) amino acids combining correctly = 1/10 to the 130 power.  There are better odds of winning the Powerball lottery every day for a year (1/4244 followed by 2881 zeros).3
According to M. Strickberger, in his book “Evolution”:  If an entire universe 10 billion light years in diameter were densely packed with randomly produced polypeptides the number of such molecules 10 to the 105 power would not = 1/10 to the 130 power possibility.”  there would not be enough room in the universe to form 1 specific protein naturally, let alone 20 proteins for a simple, single-celled organism.4

Add to those astronomical odds this fact:  only left-handed amino acids are valuable for life.  Righthanded amino acids are non-functional and do not make proteins.  Randomly produced amino acids would be equally right- and left-handed, so only 50% would be useful.  Conversely, all sugars in DNA are right-handed.  Left-handed sugars cannot fold into the double helix shape that is needed.
Now, let's assume that somehow DNA and proteins were able to somehow spontaneously generate without being designed and created by God.  Evolutionists teach that life started with a simple, single-celled organism, then evolved into all of the more “complex” life forms we see today.

“Most DNA sequences are poly-functional and so must also be poly-constrained.  This means that DNA sequences have meaning on several different levels (poly-functional) and each level of meaning limits possible future change (poly-constrained).  For example, imagine a sentence which has a very specific message in its normal form but with an equally coherent message when read backwards.  Now let's suppose that it also has a third message when reading every other letter, and a fourth message when a simple encryption program is used to translate it.  Such a message would be poly-functional and polyconstrained.  We know that misspellings in a normal sentence will not normally improve the message, but at least this would be possible.  However, a poly-constrained message is fascinating, in that it cannot be improved.  It can only degenerate.  Any misspellings which might possibly improve the normal sentence will be disruptive to the other levels of information.  Any change will diminish total information with absolute certainty.”5

This would all be very unlikely to have occurred by evolution!

1Werner, C. (2007).  Evolution:  the Grand Experiment.  New Leaf Press.  p. 195.
2Werner, C. (2007).  Evolution:  the Grand Experiment.  New Leaf Press.  p. 196-197.
3Western, C. (2007).  Evolution:  the Grand Experiment.  New Leaf Press.  p. 208.
4Strickberger, M. (1996).  Evolution (2nd Edition).   Jones and Bartlett publishers. p. 115.
5Sanford, J., (2008).  Genetic Entropy & the Mystery of the Genome, 3rd edition, FMS Publications p. 131-133


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