Page 26 - The Miracle of Protein

24 THE MIRACLE OF PROTEIN

size, you can appreciate just how illogical and irrational it is to
claim that unconscious atoms assembled such important struc-
tures by chance.
Some proteins, for example, combine to form a substance
that constitutes hair, nails and animal fur. Others comprise the

tendons that connect muscle to bone by chance, time, and nat-
ural selection. Moreover, proteins also carry the messages
reaching the cells, and which receive and evaluate them. The
"gates" and "pumping systems" that regulate entry into and de-
parture from the cell are also proteins. Proteins also accelerate
chemical reactions. The protein hemoglobin in red blood cells

carries the oxygen to the tissues. The protein transferrin carries
iron in the blood. Immunoglobulins are proteins that protect
the body against bacteria and virus pathogens. Fibrinogen and
thrombin permit the blood to clot. Insulin is yet another variety

of protein that regulates sugar metabolism in the body.
Other proteins are of great importance in the bodies of oth-
er living creatures besides human beings. The "antifreeze" pro-
tein in the blood of some fish prevents ice crystals from forming
in their tissues. The protein resilin possesses perfect elasticity
and thus permits the movement of insect wings. It's quite extra-

ordinary how these molecules, which consist of only 20 amino
acids—in other words, the combination of a few hundred
atoms—can possess such different properties. It is impossible
for unconscious atoms to accidentally combine and by chance
produce structures that can perform such important tasks, dis-

play intent, are able to organize and make the right decisions in
the right place.
One matter to reflect on, is how proteins consisting of
more or less the same atoms can possess a wide variety of tasks
and functions. When proteins' generally similar atoms are set