Page 41 - The Miracle in the Immune System

Intelligent Weapons: The Antibodies 39

quences to form different proteins. This is similar to
making different necklaces by using beads in twenty dif-
ferent colours. The main differences among proteins
are due to the sequence of these amino acids.
Yet there is an important point to remember: Any
error in the amino acid sequence makes the protein
useless, and even harmful. Therefore, there is no room
for even the smallest error in the sequence.
So, how do the protein factories in the cell know in
which sequence to arrange the amino acids they con-
tain, and which protein to produce? The instructions
for each of the thousands of different types of proteins
are encoded in the genes found in the genetic data bank
in the cell nucleus.
Therefore, these genes are required for the produc-
tion of the antibodies which are a type of protein.
There is a very important miracle here. There are
only one hundred thousand genes in the human body
compared to the 1,920,000 antibodies that are pro-
duced. This means that nine hundred thousand genes
are missing.
Then how is it ever possible that such a small number
of genes can produce antibodies about ten times their
value? The miracle is revealed at this point. The cell com-
bines the hundred thousand genes it contains in different
combinations to form new antibodies. It receives the in-
formation from some genes and combines it with the in-
formation in other genes and makes the required
production according to this combined information.
1,920,000 different antibodies are formed as a result
4
of 5,200 different combinations. This process repre-