Page 96 - The Miracle in the Cell

THE MIRACLE IN THE CELL

Figure 5.2 The structure of the oxyhemoglobin protein
tein is made up not of 61, but of about 400 amino acids. Even if all of
the atoms in the whole universe stopped whatever they're doing and
occupied themselves only with forming this protein at random, the
billions of years that the universe has been in existence and all the
atoms in it would not be sufficient for this protein to form coinciden-
tally.
In short, for an average protein of about 400 amino acids to come
about as a result of coincidence is not possible. What's more, when we
go one step further in the development of life, we see that the one sin-
gle protein doesn't amount to much. Even one of the smallest bacteria
known today, Mycoplasma Hominis H 39, contains 600 different pro-
teins. So in this situation we would have to apply the above probabil-
ity by an exponent of 600, and be faced with a number that exceeds the
limits of human understanding.
It's impossible for even one of these proteins to have formed by

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