Page 196 - The Miracle in the Cell Membrane

After a car has been produced in the factory and before it
reaches the consumer it needs to go through such stages as
sale to distributors and registration. The way that proteins
produced by cells reach the regions where they are needed is
a complex process. The body of a mammal
contains approximately 1 billion protein mole-
cules that need to be renewed at least once a
month.
The Rockefeller University researcher
Günter Blobel and his team analyzed an
important part of this protein distribution sys-
tem and found that a kind of molecular postal Gün ter Blo bel
code directs protein to particular locations.
Special receptors on the surface of the cell membrane read
these signals and permit only the correct protein to pass
through or be installed in the cell membrane.
One portion of the newly produced proteins are removed
from the cell under the supervision of the cell membrane, to
be used outside the cell. Those proteins entering from out-
side—again regulated by the cell membrane—constitute
major protein traffic. The extraordinary coming and going
inside the cell is far too small to be seen with the naked eye.
But so many particles in such a small space, each with its own
important function, can go where they are needed in great
order and harmony. Every protein produced in what is known
as the ribosome and every protein from other cells will be
used in a specific place. But how do these proteins know
where they need to go? How do they pass through the cell
membranes with their tight safeguards? How does this aston-
ishingly heavy protein traffic function without a mistake ever
being made?
There can be no doubt that proteins to be drawn into or
removed from a cell, and the cell membrane that permits this,
are just some of the proofs of the existence of Allah.

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