<marquee style="width: 100%;" width="100%" scrollamount="1"><span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);"><strong>News By : Amit</strong></span></marquee>
"I don’t know what I may seem to the world, but as to myself, I seem to have been only like a boy playing on the sea shore and diverting myself in now and then finding a smoother pebble or prettier shell than ordinary, whilst the great ocean of truth lay all undiscovered before me".
Sir Isaac Newton
origin of life
nearly everyone will agree that complex non-living things, such as a car, could not possibly form on their own randomly (not to mention sustaining themselves by fueling, performing maintenance, repairing, and reproducing new models of itself). But some of these same people choose to believe that the first living organism (a single cell) on earth could have or did all this by random chance. Actually, we will make the probability more likely by allowing for the construction of just a RNA molecule from a simulated primordial soup in the laboratory (this is known as the RNA World hypothesis). This is the most basic self-replicating molecule known (from which DNA could have ‘evolved’) and ‘one step’ less complex than DNA which makes it. RNA forming by random chance is so much more probable than a cell coming about in whole randomly. Even so, no one has been able to do this no matter how favourably they tweak the conditions and even though the incentive to succeed is great. To be fair though, in actual fact random chance had in its favour perhaps a billion or so years for this to happen and so much of the earth’s area to utilize for such a chance event to take place. On a side note, we should be careful not to give organic matter any special treatment. For there is nothing especially different between organic and inorganic molecules other than that the former are carbon based and able to form long chained molecules (polymers).
Prior to the origin of life, carbon (most likely in the form of carbon dioxide or methane) would have to somehow react with amino and carboxylic acid groups to form nucleotides which are the building blocks of RNA. To the best of my knowledge, we still do not see nucleotides occurring naturally anywhere except where associated with living systems (plant and animal life). Of course in the natural world, there is a bias (due to free energy considerations) towards the formation of molecules made up of fewer rather than greater numbers of carbon atoms and this is the problem for the formation of nucleotides. So if nucleotides are not to be found today on their own, there is really nothing to suggest they would have formed before life began on earth (even if there may have been more favourable conditions for there synthesis which is debatable), and then arranged themselves in order to start something so incredibly complex as RNA, then DNA, and then a living cell. Are we then left to thinking someone or something synthesized the nucleotides necessary and arranged them into the RNA and DNA so that life could start? Additionally, amino acids would have to be synthesized into the necessary proteins to construct a cell. In cells, this is done in ribosomes. Outside of a cell it might be possible (though it has not really been demonstrated) that ribozymes (catalytic RNA), though relatively rare, could have taken this role that ended up resulting in the first cell.
There are extra-terrestrial theories for the origin of life also (for example, Fred Hoyle and Chandra Wickramasinghe’s theory that life on earth was ‘seeded’ from space).
We are so advanced in terms of science and technology, yet why is it that we cannot make a living cell? Put another way, if the first living cell could have just come about by random chance as some believe, and even if we cannot replicate the randomness of such an event, then it would really not be that miraculous if we were to create a living cell from scratch in a laboratory (if it were only a chance event, surely we should be able to replicate it if we take the chance element out?). Not only can we not do this, but we cannot even create a dead cell! This being the case, it just makes it harder to believe something so complicated and complex could have appeared through random chance.
A simple analogy is the formation of a plastic bag or pouch (like the type that is used to hold frozen vegetables in the grocery store). If we compare this to a cell membrane, we will see both are made of organic compounds. Since it is a relatively simple structure formed from petroleum, why does it not arise by chance? No matter what temperature, pressure, and atmospheric conditions petroleum is subjected to, we do not get a plastic pouch. It has to be intentionally created.
It should be noted that previously, the Big Bang was not the prevailing theory for the origin of our universe as it is now. This Big Bang origin made many people who were against a religious explanation to the origins of the universe, uncomfortable as it does add credence to an act of creation as the start of the universe. In fact, every question posed above indirectly infers a Creator.
Recently, physicists have practically come to the conclusion that the universe will continue to expand indefinitely. There will be no contraction and a never ending cycle of big bangs and contractions – our universe is a one time occurrence and this is indirect evidence for a special creation.
® Just as the universe as we know it (and anything beyond it if that is the case) could be infinite in size, matter could be infinitely small. So that theoretically, a universe with life in it that is as complex and diverse as our own, could exist in a single atom or even smaller quantum particle, and so on. In other words, a speck inside of our universe may hold a universe of its own and a speck inside of that universe may in turn hold its own universe, and so on, without limit. Likewise, our universe may be nothing more than a speck inside another universe and that universe in turn may be just another speck inside another universe and so on.
What is the origin of electrons, protons, and all quantum matter? Where did this matter come from? How did we end up with these nice building blocks called atoms? Why are there approximately 100 unique atoms (elements) in the universe and not say millions or only one? It all seems too ordered and convenient.
® Life could start and new life forms could emerge on their own if atoms and molecules (from one or more or all quantum particles) had some type of inherent intelligence. And the sum of all of the individual intelligences of the atoms and molecules when they combine together in a life form, could be the intelligence of the life form that we observe. However, there is little (from quantum mechanics) or no evidence to support this and thus it is highly improbable.
® Is it possible that the unconditional love possessed by God or the universal consciousness is the source of energy or power that allowed the universe’s creation and the life in it and also sustains it?
If there are other worlds in this universe which contain life, we should NOT assume that:
(1) They are based upon a carbon – oxygen system; it may be even possible for life to exist based only on metals. Or even elements we do not know about.
(2) Life is based on cells – it may be of a different form such as a plasma type substance or even liquids and/or gases.
(3) Life would be only possible under the conditions we observe it on earth today. It could exist under vastly different temperatures and pressures from that on earth.
(4) Life would take a physical form. Life forms could be more like ghosts or spirit-like entities.
LimitationsI
wish to digress for a moment and point out that although science is our primary tool for the understanding of life and the universe, it cannot possibly, nor should it be expected to, answer all of our questions – especially those of a non-empirical nature. Sometimes we just have to rationalize and look beyond the limited scope of science, though only when we have no other choice in the pursuit of knowledge and truth.
Often, our belief system clouds our ability to rationalize and be objective. Our belief system is something that is formed through the knowledge we acquire, our experiences, and from what we are taught by people who help shape us. New information we receive is first ‘filtered’ through this belief system and this is how we decide whether or not to accept this information as true or not. Unfortunately, many hold their beliefs as absolute and as a result are overly biased and simply just reject information they receive that contradicts their belief system.
The following would not constitute scientific evidence for life after death but many of us would give it some weight: Suppose an alien civilization visited us on earth and revealed some things to us about the universe such as it was created by a Divine Being and that we have souls that survive physical death. Some would accept this at face value and because they have faith in what the alien beings revealed, would consider this sufficient proof for the claim. Most of us (myself included) would take this as evidence (how good it is would depend upon the individuals own rationalization) but not proof. Others, including atheists (and scientists who are atheists) would not consider this as evidence as it goes against their belief system and does not have any scientific value. Of course, if they were told by the aliens that the speed of light is variable or there are at least a thousand elements in the universe (without being presented this evidence), these same people would be inclined to believe!
There is what could be considered an inherent bias that some scientists hold in that they believe that everything in the universe can be explained by materialism. Science is open minded (and realizes its limitations where warranted) even if some scientists are not.
Science only believes what it can measure, replicate, and understand the physical mechanism of (if it cannot do all of these, it simply dismisses the data). It is only one way of seeking answers, and by no means a be all and end all. It is not all encompassing. There are many questions it cannot and will never be able to answer. For example, we do not call on it to explain art, history, morality, ethics, human nature, philosophy, etc.. Thus if we attempt to employ present day science to explain spirituality and the existence of an immortal soul, we are bound to fail and I believe rationalization is the superior approach. [Note: I do regularly read the atheist materialistic
If we truly wish to follow science, then emotions do not exist because there is no way of physically measuring them (measuring something like seratonin levels in the brain does not do this as we cannot differentiate what it actually indicates – it’s levels are influenced by various factors other than emotions). So according to science, love, hate, and jealousy do not exist. Science has it’s limitations but somehow this fact seems to be going over the heads of some of the narrow-minded (but otherwise intelligent) scientists. It requires faith in it to believe it has all the answers just like it requires faith to be a truly devout Christian, Hindu, Muslim, Jew, etc.. Without realizing it, science becomes a religion for some.
But science does moves forward and come to our aid on different things. This is because science is always evolving and expanding its scope. Newton’s Laws of Physics were found to fall apart for matter moving near the speed of light by Einstein and he replaced them with the General Theory of Relativity. Now at the quantum (sub-atomic) level, Relativity does not hold and some other physical explanation(s) is needed. At one time, phenomena such as electromagnetism (it was also once thought incorrectly that electricity and magnetism were separate forces) and radio waves were unknown. This did not mean they did not exist. Later, they were understood and became part of science. Science simply has to progress to the stage where it can measure and quantify the phenomena. This is likely what will happen with some of the psychic phenomena one day and we may be in the initial stages of this in the near future with our improving understanding of quantum mechanics.
Thank You
Amit