Page 112 - A Chain of Miracles

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A A Chain of Miracles
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THE FORMATION OF ATOMIC BONDS NECESSARY FOR
LIFE REQUIRES THE TEMPERATURES WE HAVE ON
EARTH
The various chemical bonds keeping atoms and molecules
together are called ionic, covalent or weak bonds. Covalent bonds
join the atoms in amino acids, the building blocks of proteins.
Weak bonds keep the three-dimensional structure of the amino
acid chains they form when they fold or twist together. In other
words, if weak bonds did not exist, the proteins formed by
chains of amino acids could not function, where there are no pro-

teins, there is no life.
Interestingly, the temperatures needed to form covalent as
well as weak bonds fall within the range existing on Earth. In re-
ality, covalent and weak bonds are wholly different bonds and
there is no natural reason why they should require the same
temperatures to form.
Yet both types of chemical bonds occur only within the tem-
perature range existing on Earth. Were they to form at different
temperatures, proteins—therefore, life—could not form, because

proteins require both types of bonding simultaneously. In other
words, if the temperature ranges in which covalent bonds enable
the formation of amino acid chains weren’t also conducive to the
formation of weak bonds, proteins could not develop their three-
dimensional structure; and amino acids would remain as pur-
poseless and dysfunctional chains. Likewise, if a temperature
range suitable for weak bonds were not conducive to forming

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