The Chemistry of Life

Brent Anderson

Terrestrial life is based upon the complexities of Carbon chemistry. More specifically it is directed by information recorded on Deoxyribonucleic acids (DNA) or Ribonucleic acids (RNA). The chemistry of life processes is so complex that no single person can master any but a small segment of the science, and even so each specialist would admit that his or her knowledge of their specialty is far from complete. Yet, the efforts of many dedicated researchers have begun to yield understanding of the basic nature and foundation of life. What biochemists and geneticists are trying to unravel is the complex chemistry that is the result of billions of years of random changes to the firmware (software that is hardwired) of life. The mediums on which this firmware is recorded (there are exceptions to this generality such as Prions) are the previously mentioned DNA and RNA, which are huge molecules. The randomness of the information on these molecules reflects the chaotic birth of individual mutations. That same randomness is witnessed in the fact that most of the codes recorded on DNA or RNA have no currently discernable function. This seemingly useless genetic material collects along with known active genes, and its preponderance testifies to the random mechanics of the evolutionary process. The nature of evolution is that it is non-directional, or in other words there is no ultimate goal. Almost all of the mutations (random changes in the DNA or RNA molecules) have no discernable effect on the organism but of those that have an effect a great preponderance are fatal. In the case of fatal consequences, that mutation is permanently removed from the genome. Those that have no obvious effect accumulate within the genome, and thus account for the vast amount of inactive coding. However, on occasion a beneficial mutation makes the organism more competitive and thus the mutation itself proliferates. The principle involved in this process is simple; a mutation either survives or does not. In contrast, the chemistry involved is extremely complex, since it reflects the myriad changes that occurred over several billion years. All of the genes in the typical human, or any other living organism, were born of this process and represent the viable remains of the process through time.

The bonding of the atoms within the molecules, we call genes, is of such a nature that radiation or chemical reaction can break the bonds. When these breaks occur, the molecules will recombine, but not necessarily in the former sequence. This is the source of the changes that we call mutation. Mutation is the driving force of evolution and it has created a plethora of organisms that were, are, or will be good at survival. Each of us exists as products of this process, and hence it is fairly hard to kill the average human, let alone the human race. This is also true for any organism because each will use every bit of strength (genetic and physical) and intelligence, to try to survive a threat.

Life, as it has evolved upon the Earth, though transitory is anything but fragile. That does not mean that life forms are hard to push over the precipice to extinction (since at any one time many are teetering on the edge), only that given any new challenges to the ecosystem a substantial number of organisms will survive those challenges. This toughness of life as a whole is a direct function of the diversity in the firmware that directs all life forms. It has been fairly common in the Earth’s past to have die-off of a great number of organisms due to environmental changes. Those changes can be cooling or warming of the Earth, the birth of new pathogens, the development of new defensive measures in plants, or, as in the current great die off, the birth of an overpowering new species (in this case mankind).

The history of life on the Earth is written in the rocks upon which we live our ephemeral lives. Most of the information, which could be recorded in stone, is not, since mostly only bone or shell make their way to the fossil beds that mankind uncovers. However, almost all of the bone now existent will not survive to petrifaction. This fact has made, and will make, the fossil record cryptic and fragmented. But, the overall story as transcribed from this recorded information is clear, in that it recounts the gradual evolution of life on the Earth over a period of billions of years. The tenure of any organic life form is extremely short when compared to the rocks upon which this history is recorded, and most species that have lived have left no record in the rock. It is understandable that the interpretation of the record is not the work of one lifetime of scientific work and extrapolation, but of many. Further, it is understandable that, in light of the fragmented record, much of the life history of the Earth may never be known with certainty.

The intent of those who study this history is to bring new knowledge and understanding to mankind. One would have to be blind, however, to be unaware that there is a segment of the population that considers this search for truth to be an attack on their religious views. Because of this a great deal of anti-science enmity is generated within fundamentalist factions. The typical fundamentalist was born and raised in a culture that taught that the only true account of the creation of the world is contained in the writing of men in antiquity. In our society most of our children have been raised in a culture that embraces the scientific method as a means to arrive at understanding of the world. The natural result of this is that it is becoming more difficult for fundamentalists to recruit new believers to the traditional point of view because of the illumination cast by science fact on the processes of life. Unfortunately, this situation places those trained in science that also believe in God in the position of somehow rationalizing their belief with a creation story which was written several thousand years ago by a prophet who had very little knowledge of the science of life. There is little doubt that that prophet did the best that he could to describe something for which he had no words or concepts for expression. However does that fact lessen the truths discovered in the intervening time, certainly not.

Those scientists unbelief in this regard does not mean they don’t embrace the basic truths of religion. Those truths are more important than all of man’s learning, but they are unfortunately encapsulated in many and sometimes misleading myths. Mankind has always had a hard time separating truth from myth for some very good reasons. The building of mythology is endemic to the human animal, as any will observe in their own family’s traditions when considered with a critical eye. The creation of these stories is not generally malicious in any way. (But there are many notable exceptions to the generally benign nature that can be characterized as propaganda.) The intent is usually to build family, pride and tradition of accomplishment while spurring on youthful family members hopefully to greatness. Mankind is very attached to stories of all kinds. As a consequence, even the most educated of individuals who are devoted too rational thought will inevitably still hold some myths as true. The reason for this is simple, and that is that humans focus better on stories in any learning situation. This need for stories is so much a part of us that one of the most lucrative modern businesses is that of entertainment in its many forms (books, plays, movies, operas etc.). In fact, the more educated an individual is the more likely they are to involve themselves in these forms of entertainment. While the less educated (also some of the more educated) tend to prefer their entertainment in the form of physical contests in which the story is a simplistic battle between men or women with the resulting mayhem (boxing, football, hockey, etc.). These contests inevitably lead to heroic sagas that will be retold in ever more heroic terms in the future. The creation of myths is not the sole province of any particular human group; the stories just differ in focus from one group to another. The pervasiveness of this form of expression throughout the world must lead us to the conclusion that it is a fundamental characteristic of mankind. It would seem evident to almost any observer that this very malleable form of history is highly unreliable as a source of fact with regard to events in the past.

There is another aspect of life that is not so easily studied or understood, and it ultimately is more important than the chemistry involved in the life process or any of the other life sciences. Life on the Earth consists of a physical body made of the Earth’s elements. But, it also includes a spirit, which defies any physical measurement. Many who have sought understanding of the spiritual realm through prayer or who have gained that understanding from a near death experience testify that individual spirits exist. The Author is one who, through a brush with death, will state to any and all in unequivocal terms that the spiritual world is far more real than our shadowy lonely world. It is probable that most such witnesses would state the same with equal certainty. Our spirits and those of other earthly life forms are separate and discrete from each other and they continue to live after death of the body. However, there cannot be any proof offered for this fact other than the witness of individuals who have crossed the line between the two coexisting universes. It is immaterial to the scientific establishments whether or not there is spirit, for the obvious reason that instruments cannot measure it. There is one measure of the spirit that all can see, but it is in the striving of man and woman to become more loving and forgiving of humankind and secondarily of all life. All the forms of life upon the Earth are related by the chemical firmware in their cells, and by the spirits that inhabit the resultant bodies.

The natural order of this Earth is that prey sustains the predator, and all are prey from the supposed top of the ecosystem to the supposed bottom. Man, who is the real undisputed king of beasts, is the fodder of many life forms, and all mankind has or will fall victim to the microscopic predators of the Earth and eventually will die from their predation. Every animal or plant is dependent on the life and death of a vast number of organisms. The herbivores are dependent on the plants that they eat. The plants are dependant on the teeming microbiological world in the soil, the decomposing bodies of plants and animals, the sun, the atmosphere and even the predators that exploit them. The ecosystem of the Earth is built upon birth, competition, predation, and death. We in modern society sometimes forget this concept, which was so much a part of the Native American philosophy, or religion. It is important to understand that the evolutionary process of life would cease if there were no competition and death.

Today another force is brought to bear on the process of evolving DNA and RNA, and that is the increasing influence of man. Even before recorded history man began tilting the evolutionary balance to favor plants and animals (wheat, corn, cattle, sheep, dogs, etc.) that were useful. These manipulations helped mankind become the ultimate survivor and predator. With an ever-quickening pace, modern chemistry is allowing us to create new forms of plants and animals by a process we know as genetic engineering. Within the next 100 years, man will be able to build life forms using the finite principles of carbon chemistry. This advance will open the doors for more dramatic changes that will further increase man’s dominance of the life forms of the Earth. As was discussed in a prior paragraph, there is a segment of society, which harbors a visceral paranoia of all science, that will fight every new discovery or adaptation, and this is to be expected. But, what these constant pessimists have always failed to recognize is that the uncontrolled, chaotic, and natural evolutionary forces of Earth are far more likely to bring about new lethal predators of mankind (AIDS for one) than researchers who perform preplanned and highly controlled chemical manipulations.

The relative ease with which man is able to mold life forms is related directly to the huge genetic diversity found in all living things. The evolutionary process because of its chaotic nature is very easy to manipulate using intelligence and science. If mankind can thus create new life forms, which will then be inhabited by spirits, then is it not reasonable to conclude that a spiritual being (God) could do the same using his knowledge? Again, is it not reasonable that the process called evolution, that has become a curse word on the lips of fundamentalists, is the tool used in the "Creation" of this Earth by God.

Obviously, the basic evolutionary process is sensitive to almost any environmental change, and as was pointed out before mankind began tilting this balance thousand of years ago to achieve new forms of already existent species. Indeed, these initial changes may have been brought about without a specific plan or strategy on the part of man, as in the wolf to dog transformation. Certainly this sort of genetic engineering did not require any knowledge of the chemistry involved in the firmware of life. In the future, man will become the architect, of life on the Earth despite the possibility of mistakes. This is the destiny of mankind, but it must also be accompanied by a spiritual commitment based on the eternal truths, or it will lead to failure. Those truths require man to forsake the law of kill or be killed for the altruistic love of all life.

Life in the future will be designed and implemented by mankind. The processes of natural selection will become less and less a factor in the creation of new life. The last frontier in this process will be man and woman themselves. The reason for this is seen in the current hysterical response of politicians and media whenever any mention is made of using even ancient genetic tools to shape a healthier more intelligent mankind. The day will come within the next two centuries when this last bastion of resistance will fall and a new day will bloom upon an ever more beautiful Earth (In the event of Gods intervention this will be accelerated). Literally a garden tended by a hopefully ever more wise humanity.