Page 51 - The Miracle in the Cell

HARUN YAHYA

over and over again by control
enzymes. If there is a mistake-and any
mistakes could prove fatal-it is quickly
identified and repaired. The faulty seg-
ment is removed and a corrected one
brought and put into place. All of these
processes occur at dizzying speeds. For
example 3,000 base pairs are produced
every minute, while each rung of the
ladder is gone over by enzymes on
duty and then repaired, if need be.
External factors can cause mistakes to
old new new old occur at a higher rate than normal in
the synthesis of the new DNA mole-
Figure 2.7 cule. In this case, ribosomes in the cell
Replication of the DNA helix.
With the help of many enzymes, begin to manufacture repair enzymes
the helix unwinds and opens up
like a zipper. Then nucleotides according to the command given by the
are secured from the surround- DNA. In this way, the DNA is protect-
ings, and pairs are formed with
the appropriate base on each ed, and the next generation of cells is
strand. In this way are formed preserved.
two new helixes of DNA, each
an exact copy of the other. Cells, just like the human beings they
make up, are born, multiply and die.
But the life span of the cell is much shorter. For instance, most of the
cells that made up your body six months ago are no longer alive today.
You still exist because those old cells divided and left new cells to take
their place. For human life to continue, it's vitally important that such
processes as the multiplication of cells and the copying of the DNA be
carried out flawlessly. In fact, the replication process takes place so
perfectly that the rate of error is only one base pair in 3 billion. And
before it can cause the body any problems, this single mistake is fixed
by control mechanisms of a higher order.
So all day, without your even knowing it, innumerable processes,

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