Page 82 - Slanders on Muslims in History

80 SLANDERS ON MUSLIMS IN HISTORY

The conditions required for the formation of a cell are
too great in quantity to be explained away by coinci-
dences. TThe probability of proteins, the building blocks
of a cell, being synthesized coincidentally, is 1 in 10 950
for an average protein made up of 500 amino acids. In
mathematics, a probability smaller than 1 over 10 50 is
considered to be impossible in practical terms.
The DNA molecule, which is located in the nucleus of
a cell and which stores genetic information, is a magnif-
icent databank. I If the information coded in DNA were
written down, it would make a giant library consisting of
an estimated 900 volumes of encyclopedias consisting
of 500 pages each.
A very interesting dilemma emerges at this point:
DNA can replicate itself only with the help of some spe-
cialized proteins (enzymes). However, the synthesis of
these enzymes can be realized only by the information
coded in DNA. As they both depend on each other, they
have to exist at the same time for replication. This brings
the scenario that life originated by itself to a deadlock.
Prof. Leslie Orgel, an evolutionist of repute from the
University of San Diego, California, confesses this fact in
the September 1994 issue of the Scientific American
magazine:
It is extremely improbable that proteins and nucleic
acids, both of which are structurally complex, arose
spontaneously in the same place at the same time. Yet
it also seems impossible to have one without the
other. And so, at first glance, one might have to con-