DNA, Where did the code come from?

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As is often the case, when scientists explain one mystery, they open a door to another. That was true regarding the discovery of DNA. When it was understood that DNA contains coded information, thoughtful people asked, ‘How did the information get there?’ Of course, no human observed the formation of the first DNA molecule. So we have to draw our own conclusions. Even so, these conclusions need not be speculative. Consider the following comparisons.

In 1999, fragments of very ancient pottery with unusual markings, or symbols, were found in Pakistan. The marks still remain undeciphered. Nevertheless, they are considered man-made.

A few years after Watson and Crick discovered the structure of DNA, two physicists proposed searching for coded radio signals from space. Thus began the modern-day search for extraterrestrial intelligence.

The point? People attribute information to intelligence, whether that information is in the form of symbols on clay or signals from space. They do not need to see the information being created to draw that conclusion. Yet, when the most sophisticated code known to man—the chemical code of life—was discovered, many shoved that logic aside, attributing DNA to mindless processes. Is that reasonable? Is it consistent? Is it scientific? A number of respected scientists say no. These include Dr. Gene Hwang and Professor Yan-Der Hsuuw. Consider what they say.

Dr. Gene Hwang studies the mathematical basis of genetics. At one time he believed in evolution, but his research changed his view. “The study of genetics,” he told Awake! “provides insight into the mechanisms of life—an insight that fills me with awe for the Creator’s wisdom.”

Professor Yan-Der Hsuuw is the director of embryo research at Taiwan’s National Pingtung University of Science and Technology. He too once believed in evolution—until his research led him to conclude otherwise. Regarding cell division and specialization, he said: “The right cells must be produced in the right order and at the right places. First they assemble into tissues that will in turn assemble themselves into organs and limbs. What engineer can even dream of writing instructions for such a process? Yet the instructions for embryo development are superbly written in DNA. When I consider the beauty of it all, I’m convinced that life was designed by God.”

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Type: Question • Score: 17 • Views: 25,577 • Replies: 553

@anthony1312002,

Quote:

DNA, Where did the code come from?

God. Why?

I mean, not all questions in life are complicated...

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@gungasnake,

Yes that's true.

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@anthony1312002,

You should read about natural selection.

There is a perfectly reasonable process that DNA based life can develop through evolution with out the need for any intelligent designer. Of course you can still choose to believe in one or more deities if you want... but DNA doesn't prove that such a deity exists.

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@gungasnake,

gungasnake wrote:

Quote:
DNA, Where did the code come from?

God. Why?

Magic is not an answer to anything.

1 Reply

@maxdancona,

I appreciate your point. But what still has to be addressed is, how were the rules that govern the order in which DNA operates established? Natural selection does not address this.

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@anthony1312002,

Quote:

But what still has to be addressed is, how were the rules that govern the order in which DNA operates established? Natural selection does not address this.

Of course natural selection addresses this. Do you understand natural selection?

Some individual organisms operate under one set of rules, some other individual organisms operate under a different set of rules. The organism that survives continues to pass down its mechanism.

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@maxdancona,

How does it do so? I'm not challenging, just asking.

1 Reply

@anthony1312002,

anthony1312002 wrote:

I appreciate your point. But what still has to be addressed is, how were the rules that govern the order in which DNA operates established? Natural selection does not address this.

But physics and chemistry and all of the natural processes we see around us do. We already understand how DNA can come about and how it evolved because we understand far more than just that.

You will have to dig much deeper to ask the right question.

1 Reply

@anthony1312002,

(You may have missed my edit) I think I provided a rather simple explanation of a very complex process.

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@rosborne979,

So how do they explain the rules that govern its operation? Again, just asking.

1 Reply

@anthony1312002,

anthony1312002 wrote:

So how do they explain the rules that govern its operation? Again, just asking.

Physics governs all the rules.

Are you trying to ask where Physics comes from? Because that's a very different question.

1 Reply

@maxdancona,

But thats part of my point, in each case there are rules that govern each process. How were they established? For example, as noted by German scientist Bernd-Olaf Küppers. He states that
To describe the writing in DNA as “molecular-genetic language” is more than “mere metaphor.” He points out, “the molecular-genetic language also possesses a syntactic dimension.” Put simply, DNA has a “grammar,” or set of rules, that strictly regulates how its instructions are composed and carried out.

The “words” and “sentences” in DNA make up the various “recipes” that direct the production of proteins and other substances that form the building blocks of the various cells that make up the body. For example, the “recipe” might guide the production of bone cells, muscle cells, nerve cells, or skin cells. “The filament of DNA is information, a message written in a code of chemicals, one chemical for each letter,” wrote evolutionist Matt Ridley. “It is almost too good to be true, but the code turns out to be written in a way that we can understand."

I can see why in the light of scientific discovery and improved understanding regarding rules this complex that many scientists are changing their position regarding the existence of a Creator.

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@rosborne979,

Thanks for your response.

1 Reply

@anthony1312002,

anthony1312002 wrote:

Thanks for your response.

That's it?

Ok, well, I'll add one more observation for you then... pretty much everything in the natural world is amazing once you really start to look at it. It's not just DNA, it's everywhere and everything. And it's the process of science that allows us to see something amazing, learn how it works and be amazed over and over and over again.

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@anthony1312002,

Quote:

I can see why in the light of scientific discovery and improved understanding regarding rules this complex that many scientists are changing their position regarding the existence of a Creator.

I don't believe it is true that many scientists are "changing their position regarding the existence of a Creator". Obviously you will find examples of people changing their mind one way or the other, but I don't see any evidence of a trend.

According to this article from Pew research 33% of scientists believe in God, which is about the same amount as it was 80 years ago.

http://www.pewforum.org/2009/11/05/scientists-and-belief

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@anthony1312002,

Rules don't have to be established. They can just be random. The Universe has to operate somehow and there are rules that just are.

If the rules were different for some randomness, then the result would be different. Maybe there wouldn't be humans based on DNA... instead Ilgoraxes with their XMDF biology would be considering these questions.

Things just happen randomly because they happen, and they start processes that lead to some result. The end result doesn't say anything special about which random things happened to happen.

1 Reply

@anthony1312002,

DNA strands do not "contain" information. Thats naive. They correspond (or not) to structures in somatic cells of organisms. The real question is "Does DNA define the structure, or does the structure "capture" the DNA"?

Did life exist before ribonucleic acids? HOW do we know?
We can only go by what evidence we can gather, and right now, we conclude that, by natural selection , these ribonucleic acids nicely fit into a ladder of molecular structure thatin some cases the DNA codes , nd in some cases (actually most) it does not . Just because it does NOT encode, does not mean that its not of any use to the somatic cells.

How does god come in besides as a statement of belief.

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@farmerman,

We can follow the migration and evolution on a map of Eurasia , Africa, and North America via nat selection of the various species of mammoth throughout the Pleistocene. The variability of DNA in the frozen "fossil ellephants" clearly show how these critters migrated and their routes, as well as their SNPs and MNPs modification. Evidence is a nice thing. We may accept it or ignore it. It really matters not, (unless you spend money trying to learn more about the stuff or even to find some practical uses for this knowledge)

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Thank you all for your observations and viewpoints. But in light of observations by persons such as Dr. Gene Hwang, Professor Yan-Der Hsuuw who is the director of embryo research at Taiwan’s National Pingtung University of Science and Technology, and German scientist Bernd-Olaf Kuppers, I'm convinced that more than just these 3 notable persons in science are rethinking their views regarding the existence of a Creator. There are others who feel this way but may not see it advantageous to make this known. Clearly their findings arrived at by their expert research and analysis using creditable methods cannot be dismissed as mere nonsense. For a fact their observations deserve serious and unbiased examination. Lets be willing to keep an open mind and at least be willing to respect a view that differs from our own.

2 Replies

DNA, Where did the code come from?

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