Perreault Magazine - 59 -
I am always amazed by Nature and all its living creations. The hovering of a hummingbird; the radiant delicate petals of a rose; the cascading of water flowing from a creek after a summer’s rain; the thousand-mile migration of monarch butterflies from North America to the central mountains of Mexico or the transformation of a caterpillar into a butterfly. However, there is one stone in the labyrinth of life that we, as aware and active participants, frequently pass over or even fail to recognize. It is the core of our existence, a small molecule known most commonly by its acronym:
DNA: Deoxyribonucleic Acid.
It was in 1953 that James Watson and Francis Crick discovered the double-helix structure of the DNA molecule inside the nucleus of our cells. DNA is made out of two long, twisted strands that contain matching genetic information. A gene is a segment of DNA that is passed down from parents to children and bestows a trait to the offspring. They are organized and packaged in units called chromosomes.
Each chromosome is made up of DNA tightly coiled many times around proteins called histones that support its structure. In humans, each cell normally contains 23 pairs of chromosomes, for a total of 46. Chromosomes are a key part of the process that ensures DNA is accurately copied and distributed when making new body cells. Human reproductive cells carry just one copy of each chromosome, while all other cells contain two sets. When two reproductive cells unite, they become a single cell that contains two copies of each chromosome. One copy of each chromosome is inherited from the female parent and the other from the male parent.
Miraculous Mystery
DNA is the substance of life. Contained in this gene is the code that determines the structure for existence. The DNA molecule carries a genetic language, the blueprints for being alive. The language itself is independent of the molecule and science is still investigating the source of this “Miraculous Mystery.” All of life’s building blocks are coded into our DNA and are acknowledged as our “genetic code.” This coded language communicates with our cells through proteins, the "workhorse" molecules of life and building materials for living. An amazing fact is the same fundamental language that communicates instructions in simple bacteria and algae also communicates instructions in a human being. All cells on this planet contain DNA whether they are animal, vegetable, or bacterial. Remarkably, they are all filled with salt water, in which the concentration of salt is similar to that of the oceans of the world. What does this tell you about Life and Divine Intelligence?
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