Cells: Building Blocks of Humans

The fertilization of an egg by the sperm means the beginning of a new human life. Millions of sperm compete to fertilize the egg, although only one of them will manage to do so. Yet the race is not left to chance or coincidence, since every phase of it has been created by God with a fixed outcome. God reveals this truth in a holy verse:

We created you, so why do you not confirm the truth? Have you thought about the sperm that you ejaculate? Is it you who create it or are We the Creator? (Qur'an, 56:57-59)

When the father's sperm cell fertilizes the mother's egg cell, the parents' genes come together to determine all the physical characteristics of the baby that will eventually be born. Each of the thousands of different genes has a particular function. It is the genes that determine hair and eye colour, facial shape, and countless details in the skeleton, internal organs, brain, nerves and muscles.

When the sperm unites with the egg, a cell forms-the basis of a new human being-and along with that cell, the first copy of the DNA molecule also forms, which will carry that person's genetic code inside each cell all through his life.

In order for that first cell, the fertilized egg, to turn into a human being, it needs to multiply, and in the knowledge of that, it begins to divide, with a remarkable consciousness. That consciousness reveals itself in the next phase. As the cells divide, they begin to grow different and go to those parts of the body where they are needed. Instead of a mass of flesh composed of exactly the same cells, some of them turn into eye cells and go where they are needed, others form heart cells and go to the chest, and still others become skin cells and cover the whole body. All the cells multiply as much as is needed for the particular tissue they will construct, and start joining together to give the tissues the structure they need, thus beginning to create different organs.

The coordination of this differentiation and structuring is made possible by the DNA molecule. We must not lose sight of the fact that DNA is neither a biochemist working in laboratories full of the very latest equipment, nor a super-computer able to perform trillions of calculations a second. DNA is a molecule made up of atoms such as carbon, phosphorous, nitrogen, hydrogen and oxygen.

Let us now consider the following facts: The trillions of cells in the human body multiply by dividing. Yet different genes in different cells are activated at different times, and that allows cells to differentiate. To put it another way, every cell that divides and multiplies after the first cell contains a complete set of genetic information. In other words, every single cell possesses the ability to produce heart muscle, skin, red blood cells or any other tissue in the body. Even though each cell contains a complete genetic description of the whole body, only some genes are active at different times in different organs. For instance, every cell contains the codes for the development and functioning of the kidneys, yet only the relevant genes are active in that organ, at certain times in the development phase. Similarly, certain enzymes, glucose-6-phospate for instance, are found mainly in the liver. Although all the cells of all other organs also possess the description of this protein, they never produce it. Eye cells never do; for example, they just make what is necessary for the eye: nerve cells will carry messages to and from the brain and the organs, liver cells will purify toxins, and fat cells store food for times when food is hard to find. None of them ever commit the error of producing stomach enzymes. So who carries out this flawless division of labor? Who orders the cells to specialise in different areas after they have divided and multiplied? Moreover, how do all the cells come by the consciousness to obey, and whom do they listen to while working with such flawless discipline and organization? It is quite clear that none of these are coincidental systems, formed as the result of yet other coincidences.

This flawlessness does not end with the fact that cells appear in the right place and at the right time, and bring the right genes into play. Cells also have to be present at the appropriate stage of life, and in the right quantities. Our "upkeep" genes work the whole time in almost all our cells. Other genes only function in some cells at a critical period in life, working for just a few hours before going into dormant mode. For instance, milk production is accelerated by genes during breastfeeding. Existing information is activated at the right time, in the right amount, at the right place. Evolutionists' use of "coincidence" to explain this conscious, planned, determined, calculated and intelligent direction and use of the billions of pieces of information concealed in DNA is really no explanation at all. No system in the world, not even the simplest, can come about by coincidence, so it is utterly illogical to see the extraordinarily planned and organised events that go on at the level of microscopic space as coincidences. In fact, evolutionists admit that they are far from offering an explanation for this differentiation and division of labour in cells. The evolutionist microbiologist Professor Ali Demirsoy makes this confession:

In essence, no satisfactory explanation for the development of groups of cells with very different structures and functions has yet been provided. (Prof. Dr. Ali Demirsoy, Kalytym ve Evrim, p.158)

All these extraordinary events can clearly not be accounted for in terms of coincidences or being the work of the cells themselves. So, who directs these developments that occur in the cell, creates them for a particular purpose, and possesses the intelligence and power to introduce billions of pieces of information into a tiny space invisible to the naked eye?