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71. George Greenstein, The Symbiotic to be transmitted down the optic nerve to
Universe, p.96-7 the brain. The result, when interpreted by
72. This chain reaction taking place in the the brain, is vision. (Quoted from Michael
eye is actually much more complicated. The Behe, Darwin's Black Box, New York: Free
light reaching the eye passes through the Press, 1996, pp. 18-21).
lens and falls upon the retina in the back. This is actually a very brief and simplified
When light first strikes the retina a photon version of how we see. If the events devel-
interacts with a molecule called 11-cis-reti- oped like this, we would never be able to
nal. The change in the shape of the retinal see. If the reactions mentioned above were
molecule forces a change in the shape of the only ones that operated in the cell, the
the protein, rhodopsin, to which the retinal supply of 11-cis-retinal, cGMP, and sodium
is tightly bound. The protein's metamorpho- ions would quickly be depleted. There are
sis alters its behaviour. Now called many mechanisms that would restore the
metarhodopsin II, the protein sticks to an- cells to their original state.
other protein, called transducin. Before The reactions described above is far from
bumping into metarhodopsin II, transducin being a complete biochemical explanation
had tightly bound a small molecule called of seeing and they are only summarized.
GDP. But when transducin interacts with However, even what has been related above
metarhodopsin II, the GDP falls off, and a suggests that seeing is a very complicated
molecule called GTP binds to transducin. and perfect mechanism which can never
Now, two proteins and one chemical mole- come about by evolution.
cule are bound to one another and it is 73. Michael Denton, Nature's Destiny, p 62,
called GTP-transducin-metarhodopsinII. It 69
now binds to a protein called phosphodi- 74. Michael Denton, Nature's Destiny, p 55
esterase. When attached to metarhodopsin 75. Encyclopaedia Britannica, 1994, 15th
II and its entourage, the phosphodiesterase ed., volume 18, p. 203
acquires the chemical ability to "cut" a mol- 76. John Ray, The Wisdom of God
ecule called cGMP. Initially there are a lot of Manifested in the Word of Creation, 1701;
cGMP molecules in the cell, but the phos- Michael Denton, Nature's Destiny, p. 73
phodiesterase lowers its concentration, just 77. Lawrence Henderson, The Fitness of the
as a pulled plug lowers the water level in a Environment, Boston: Beacon Press, 1958,
bathtub. Foreword.
Another protein that binds cGMP is called 78. The latent heat is the heat which does
an ion channel. It acts as a gateway that not change the heat of water but enables it
regulates the number of sodium ions in the to change it from solid state to liquid state
cell. Normally the ion channel allows sodium or from liquid state to gas state. When you
ions to flow into the cell, while a separate give heat to ice to melt it, the ice reaches to
protein actively pumps them out again. The 0oC and no increase in heat occurs even if
dual action of the ion channel and pump you continue to heat it. Yet, it is no longer
keeps the level of sodium ions in the cell ice; it dissolves and becomes water. This
within a narrow range. heat, which is needed to convert the solid
When the amount of cGMP is reduced be- state into the liquid state despite causing no
cause of cleavage by the phosphodi- difference in temperature is "latent" heat.
esterase, the ion channel closes, causing 79 Lawrence Henderson, The Fitness of the
the cellular concentration of positively Environment, Boston: Beacon Press, 1958,
charged sodium ions to be reduced. This p. 105
causes an imbalance of charge across the 80. Michael Denton, Nature's Destiny, p. 32
cell membrane that, finally, causes a current 81. Harold J. Morowitz, Cosmic Joy and