The minimum work principle is the force used on deeper levels (the maximum economy principle in other words). According to this, every action in the book of the universe is completed in a fashion to cause minimal energy consumption in the present binding conditions. The term binding condition refers to conditions that are mandatory (forced) for the system here. For instance, the total energy of a gas in a container that is perfectly insulated from the external environment is constant and therefore when we are investigating this gas, we should not overlook the conservation of total energy as a binding condition. Therefore, even for tiny actions, from the swing of a tree leaf with the wind to the flight of a dust particle in the air, the lowest energy consumption is essential in terms of present binding conditions.

We can make the topic easier to understand via short cut events of circuit boards. The reason behind a short cut is the conduction of electrical charges by the route with the least consumed energy. If even multiple short cuts are designed to attract electrical charges in an electrical circuitry, these charges are conducted via the route that requires the lowest energy.

It is all right, but how do electrical charges know this route? It is possible to ask a similar question about the orbit a ball follows when we throw it forward in a horizontal direction. The thrown ball continues on the orbit with the lowest amount of energy consumption depending on the present binding conditions (such as wind direction, strength, and the ball’s geometry). This is all well and good, but how does the ball know it will exert more energy on another trajectory?

Light follows the path where it moves fastest in the environment. In physics, “Fermat’s principle” states that when light is passing from one environment to another, it will be refracted not in the shortest path, but in the fastest direction of travel in the new environment (Figure 2). Therefore Fermat’s principle is the projection of the minimum energy principle on optics. In other words, the least amount of energy is spent by light on the path in which it will move fastest. However, for light to determine the direction that will be fastest, does it not have to first display refraction in all angles to identify the fastest path?

For science historian James Gleick it is impossible for physicists to discuss the minimum energy principle without giving the ball some type of willpower; the ball seems to choose its own orbit, as if it has knowledge of all the possibilities ahead of time.

A nice example in the living world for the minimum work principle is the similarity of ant behavior to the maximum economy principle. When some groups of the ant colony set out to forage, they communicate with pheromone hormones amongst each other. An ant that has found food leaves pheromones on the ground – indicating the quantity and quality of food – to guide others.

Another ant that follows this pheromone trace reaches the food, and marks the surface on the path back to nest with the pheromone by assessing the amount and quantity. Pheromones in spots that are not renewed by the ants within a certain time frame evaporate. Upon investigation of the ant routes, they are always found to follow the shortest path in between the food and nest, and leave pheromone tracks accordingly. For instance, when an asymmetric obstacle is positioned on the ant route (Figure 1), ants after a certain time are able to locate the shortest route again.

However, a more interesting case is the movement of the ant species named Wasmannia auropunctata when they are passing from one environment to another (Figure 3). It’s based on Fermat’s principle.

Not only ants, but also humans display trends that follow Fermat’s principle. For example, an emergency worker trying to rescue a drowning swimmer adheres to the most suitable strategy to reach the person at sea: When the beach and sea are considered as two different environments, first the rescuer runs to the nearest point to the swimmer on the beach, then reaches swimmer by entering the sea. Since humans move at different speeds on sand and at sea, if rescuer tried to reach the swimmer by entering directly into sea, it would take longer to reach the swimmer.

As seen in the above principle, the natural order of the world is created with incredible wisdom, without wasting any energy. Each truth has different projections on each existence and event. However, this distance in between the events or existences feels very far to us, therefore it is necessary to look more carefully to notice this relation among different projections.

There are also projections of this minimum work principle in our personal lives too. During the position of prostration in prayer, which can be considered as the humblest state of being when one feels closest to the Divine, the head, the highest point of body, is brought down to the level of the feet to compose a potentially lower energy status. This, in terms of the physical sciences, is the situation with the lowest work achievement capability, and can be seen as a status in which human deficiency and weakness as opposed to the infinite power of the Almighty are declared.

The minimal work principle can also be adopted in shaping the methods and style of providing services to other people, especially in the service of faith. Humans are the sons of their ages. Each age can be defined as a different environment. Therefore, when humans interpret their experiences, the socio-cultural environment where one is born and the specifics of their period must be considered. The shortest cut to people’s hearts and minds with minimal work principle is possible when the conditions of the time are taken into consideration. Said Nursi once said if he were to live in the time of Rumi (13th century), he would have written the Mathnawi, rather than his magnum opus the Risale-i Nur, and Rumi would do the same if he lived during his time. The Mathnawi eight centuries ago was and the Risale-i Nur today is the safest, shortest, and widest public avenue of faith and reflected the zeitgeist of their respective periods in history, Nursi argued.

References

1. James Gleick, Genius, Richard Feynman and Modern Physics, Abacus, London, 1993.
2. Jan Oettler, Volker S. Schmid, Niko Zankl, Olivier Rey, Andreas Dress, Jurgen Heinze, Fermat’s Principle of Least Time Predicts Refraction of Ant Trails at Substrate Borders, PLoS ONE 8(3): e59739. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0059739

A particularly interesting class of all these non-coding RNAs comprises riboswitches. Riboswitches are structured mRNA elements that regulate gene expression upon binding of a specific small metabolite. These biosensors were first discovered in 2002 in bacteria. Later, it was shown that plants, green algae and fungi also posses riboswitches. Although, only one type of riboswitch is found in plants and none has beeen detected in mammals yet, metabolite-sensing riboswitches are commonly used for the regulation of fundamental biochemical pathways in bacteria. Riboswitches help cells monitor the environmental conditions and determine if a compound is present at sufficient levels or not. Based on this decision, production, degradation or transport of the related metabolite is either turned on or off.

Architecture of a Riboswitch

A standard riboswitch is divided into two parts: a ligand-binding domain and a gene expression domain (Figure 1). Small molecular metabolites bind to the ligand-binding domain, which is called aptamer, of riboswitches with astonishing specificity. For instance, purine riboswitches differentiate guanine from adenine by at least 10,000-fold based on the identity of a single pyrimidine (thymine or cytosine) that binds to the ligand (1). When a ligand binds to aptamer, conformational changes of the RNA’s structure occur at the gene expression domain. Eventually, this leads to the modulation of gene expression. Some of the riboswitch mechanisms to regulate the expression of genes include formation of stem-loops, lollipop-like RNA structures, which lead to the blocking of transcription or translation, which are the processes where proteins are synthesized using the mature mRNA, self cleavage or mRNA destabilization (Figure 2).

Classes of Riboswitches

The numerous distinct classes of riboswitches discovered so far are differentiated by their ligands and remarkably, the same class of riboswitches can control gene expression through different mechanisms in various organisms. For example, a riboswitch that recognizes and binds thiamin pyrophosphate (TPP), a derivative of vitamin B1, is called as TPP riboswitch (2). In plant cells, when TPP levels are high, excess TPP binds to a TPP riboswitch located in one of the TPP biosynthesis genes. As a result of TPP binding, conformation of that RNA segment changes, which leads to the formation of an unstable mRNA product which degrades quickly. Although, a very little amount of stable mRNA is also produced, it is not enough for the protein synthesis of an important component of TPP biosynthesis. Therefore, TPP biosynthesis can not be completed and consequently TPP levels drop in the cell. On the other hand, when TPP levels are low in plants, more stable mRNA is formed because there is not enough TPP that can bind to the riboswitch and cause structural changes which will result in the formation of unstable mRNA. The stable mRNA produced in the absence of excess TPP is used for the protein biosynthesis of TPP metabolism successfully and thus TPP levels increase in the cell. Unlike plants in bacteria, when TPP concentration is high, riboswitches down-regulate expression of thiamin biosynthesis genes by either blocking the formation of any type of mRNA (both stable and unstable) or preventing the mRNA process rather than destabilizing the mRNA. Some of the other riboswitches that bind vitamin derived compounds are adenosylcobalamin, the coenzyme form of vitamin B12, and flavin mononucleotide, a biomolecule produced from vitamin B2, riboswitches. There are also riboswitches that can bind to amino acids such as lysine riboswitch. The cyclic diguanylate (c-di-GMP) riboswitch is the first known example of an RNA that binds a second messenger, which carries signals from receptors on the cell surface to target molecules inside the cell (3). Purine riboswitches selectively recognize guanine or adenine and regulate purine biosynthesis and transport, which is important for DNA/RNA synthesis. Another interesting type of riboswitch is the glmS riboswitch. It modulates gene expression by undergoing self-cleavage when there is a sufficient concentration of glucosamine-6-phosphate, an important amino sugar. The spectrum of ligands that can be recognized by riboswitches also includes a metal ion, as well. Mg(2+) riboswitches control Mg(2+) transportation when cells are grown in high Mg(2+) environments. In brief, the growing list of studies on riboswitches shows how novel mechanisms are which they use to regulate the gene expression of many fundamental metabolic pathways.

Applications for Riboswitches as drug targets and chemosensors

Riboswitches are powerful and essential components in all three domains of life which are bacteria, archaea (a group of single-celled microorganisms) and eukaryotes ( organisms whose cells contain complex structures inside membranes such as plants and fungi) functioning as intracellular biosensors and regulators. They regulate gene expression in a highly efficient, precise and fast way. Therefore, they can be engineered for various applications.

First of all, riboswitches are excellent candidates as drug targets since they control many important bacterial and fungal genes. Chemical analogs that mimic the actual ligands of the riboswitches can be designed to silence or regulate the expression of defective genes responsible for disease development or even kill certain bacterial pathogens by turning off the genes that are involved in fundamental metabolic pathways. A great example of this strategy is presented by the Breaker laboratory at Yale University. The Breaker group chose guanine-binding riboswitches as targets for the development of novel antibacterial compounds. They have designed several guanine analogues and tested their ability to be bound by the riboswitch and repress bacterial growth (4). They have been able to inhibit the bacterial growth by inducing guanine riboswitch action. Their approach could be used to discover new antibacterial compounds that specifically target other riboswitch classes.

In addition to being drug targets, riboswitches can open new frontiers in bioremediation, bionanotechnology, and synthetic biology. In 2007 Shana Topp and Justin P. Gallivan from Emory University demonstrated that Escherichia coli can be reprogrammed to detect, follow, and precisely localize to a completely new chemical signal by using a synthetic riboswitch (5). They suggest that the bacteria with synthetic or mutated riboswitches could be used to follow and degrade pollutants in soil or target small-molecule signals of disease. Overall, their work to equip the bacteria which can autonomously follow chemical signals, degrade, synthesize or release compounds can help scientists invent new technologies in bioremediation, drug transport, and synthetic biology.

Furthermore, riboswitches are ideal candidates for use in analytical devices and techniques. Their binding features make them suitable in all specific analytical applications in which selective recognition is required. Therefore, these powerful molecular tools can be utilized in analytical chemistry, molecular biology and biosensor technology (6).

As a result, living systems utilize riboswitches to detect the concentrations of small-molecule metabolites and to modulate the expression of related genes via numerous elegant mechanisms. The use of genetic engineering of riboswitches holds enormous potential for inventing new applications to sense and destroy pathogens, deliver drugs, perform bioremediation, detect chemicals and many others that might have significant impacts on our lives. It is also remarkable that only a couple of decades ago most of the non-coding RNAs were assumed to be useless, and are called junks since they do not provide any information for protein synthesis. Yet riboswitches by themselves are enough to prove that God has created everything with a purpose. He is All-Wise and he does nothing in vain. Riboswitches are not useless at all. They are such complex, and perfectly working systems that they can serve humanity as well-designed on/off switches in numerous applications.

Safiye Arslan is a research fellow in the area of biological chemistry and lives in Nevada.

References

1. Gilbert SD, Reyes FE, Edwards AL, Batey RT. 2009. Adaptive ligand binding by the purine riboswitch in the recognition of guanine and adenine analogs. Structure 17, 857-868

2. Wachter A, Tunc-Ozdemir M, Grove BC, Green PJ, Shintani DK, Breaker RR. 2007. Riboswitch control of gene expression in plants by splicing and alternative 3′ end processing of mRNAs. Plant Cell 19, 3437-3450.

3. Kulshina N, Baird NJ, Ferré-D’Amaré AR. 2009. Recognition of the bacterial second messenger cyclic diguanylate by its cognate riboswitch. Nature Structural & Molecular Biology 16, 1212-1217.

4. Kim JN, Blount KF, Puskarz I, Lim J, Link KH, Breaker RR. 2009. Design and antimicrobial action of purine analogues that bind Guanine riboswitches. ACS Chemical Biology 4, 915-927.

5. Topp S, Gallivan JP. 2007. Guiding bacteria with small molecules and RNA. Journal of the American Chemical Society 129, 6807-6811.

6. Mairal T, Ozalp VC, Lozano Sanchez P, Mir M, Katakis I, O’Sullivan CK. 2008. Aptamers: molecular tools for analytical applications. Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry 390, 989-1007.

Decisions within the cell: mathematical and algorithmic character

In order to enable Escherichia coli bacteria to use lactose (disaccharide), the genetic information of the enzymes that have role in transporting the lactose into the cell and converting it into glucose is coded in the bacteria’s genome. The binding and decoding structure which enables the genes to be transcribed at the right time in the appropriate amount is called the operon. The operons are model mechanisms which work on the synthesis or destruction of every chemical molecule (metabolite). One of these, lactose operon, is a good example that demonstrates how the decoding information contained in DNA is regulated and controlled in the bacteria. E. Coli is equipped with a system that distinguishes lactose and glucose when they are combined and this system functions perfectly. Primarily, all of the existing glucose is consumed before the start of the production of those enzymes that splits lactose into glucose and galactose. It has been discovered that this operation in the bacteria is followed by an interaction between DNA sequences located on the upper part of the lactose gene and various molecules. The DNA sequences on the upper part of the gene are the signals that format DNA for transcription. These signals cause the decoding of the genes that interact with the transcription factors. While some of the signals in the relevant region of the genes are common in most genes, some others are specific.

The most basic interaction system of the genome-proteome (all proteins in cell) is the suppression of the lactose operon that is observed in E. Coli. This process depends on DNA-protein interactions which are based on a mutual relationship and it requires the existence of repeated DNA sequences. Tetramer lac1 protein control the lac operon binds to four repeating binding regions on the DNA. Since one dimer can be connected to one operator sequence, two dimers are connected to two operator region units, and as a result the result is a loop formation in the DNA structure. Consequently, because of the access of RNA polymerase to the promoter region, the pre-coding process of genes is hindered. If the hindering protein is in the form of a monomer, the operator displays a weak interaction with half of the sequence. In the dimer form there is a stable binding. For this reason, many procedures in the cell occur by working together and making a union of molecules. Since the loop shape of DNA stabilizes the structure, it prevents the RNA polymerase from being connected to the promoter region. In order to eliminate the blockage on the lac operon, the mutual relationship must be prevented by stimulatory molecules, such as lactose.

There is metabolic information in cells that measure and control the physiological condition. The sequences on the regulatory region of the lactose operator and the data concerning the physiological condition of the lactose and glucose metabolisms are analyzed in the cell which perceives the presence and the amount of glucose through the changes in the system that transports the glucose into the cell. The molecule that announces the presence of glucose in E.coli is cyclic-AMP and concentration of this molecule in the cell is inversely proportional to glucose. The level of this signal affects both the coding and regulation of genomic information. The protein that transports glucose into the cell contains a phosphate group; as it transports glucose into the cell, this carrier protein phosphorylates the glucose molecule thereby loosing its phosphate group. As a result, the proportion phosphorylated transport protein and those without phosphate provides information about the glucose level in the cell. The phosphorylated form of the carrier protein activates the adenosine cyclase enzyme. Through this enzyme, ATP is converted into cyclic-AMP. The cyclic-AMP level increases in the cell. Consequently, the situation that concerns the increasing concentration of the phosphorylated transfer protein and the cyclic-AMP is interpreted as non-existence of glucose in the cell. The CRP protein that binds to regulatory region of the lactose can only bind to this region in the presence of cyclic-AMP. The cyclic-AMP-CRP complex which is tied to the promoter region of the lactose gene speeds up the transcription of the lactose operon. Transcription rarely happens when there is no lactose. This is because the lactose repressor protein lacI, hinders the RNA polymerase reaching the lactose promoter region by binding to the operator of regulating region. The cell can sense the existence of lactose in a circuitous manner. Low levels of coded Permease enzyme on the lacY region transfer some lactose into the cell. The coded beta galactosidase on the lac Z region alters them into a sugar called allolactose. The allolactose is bound to the lacI repressor protein and changes its conformation. The allolactose –lacI repressor complex can not bind to the operator region. The promoter region, called LacP, of Lactose operon is set free for transcription. In fact, every one of these molecular interactions is an incident of information being transferred. All these incidents demonstrate that an algorithm (If there is no glucose and only lactose exists, then transcribe the lacZYA enzyme) that is able to distinguish the difference between two sugars exists in bacteria cells and that it functions perfectly.

In short, the signal transfer in lactose operon occurs with the activation of chemical molecules that represent the experimental data pertaining to the physiological environment of the cells. For example, the levels of cyclic-AMP, allolactose and protein phosphorylation indicate the existence of glucose and lactose. The regulating network system, on the other hand, combines many aspects of cell activity (transport, enzymology, energy metabolism) in order to make the transcription decision. Briefly, it is impossible to show that arranging the order of the genome in any cell occurs independently from physiological or biochemical processes.

The principle of “using combinations in the arrangement of specific binding regions” is commonly used in metabolic signal networks that control cell physiology and the differentiation of cell (morphogenesis) that are oriented towards tissue formation. Such an interaction takes place on these network paths between proteins and DNA sequences to ensure that the cell is allowed to process molecular information and to calculate whether it will transcribe a specific genetic sequence. The common binding regions on DNA have vital roles in the coordinated control of various genetic loci, and it is then that the decoding of genes in a harmonious (symphonic) manner becomes possible. Various combinations of these regions are also used in making more complex decisions. As an example, protein-binding regions that are involved in the lowest level of genomic indicators have a role in decoding genes. The proteins that bind to these DNA sequences can become active when they form a group that has an interaction with more than one protein molecule. For instance, each one of the lacO and CRP regions on the lactose operon shows a palindromic sequence structure (the DNA sequence remains the same when the sequence is read from either end). Similarly, the lacP region has two lower regions that are appropriate for the binding of RNA polymerase and are separated from each other by a 16–17 base pair. In all living beings, the proteins and DNA sequences interact with each other. For example, the LacI repressor, which is in charge of controlling the lactose operon,has separate regions for not only binding the DNA region, but also for creating protein-protein binding as well as the binding of allolactose stimulator. The unique combinations of this region on the genome sequence result in a unique protein synthesis.

The genetic engineering procedures in cells

Some of the genetic engineering procedures that take place in the cells are as follows: Recombination systems (mutual material exchange) that are observed in homologous chromosomes (the chromosome pair derived from each parent), recombination specific to a particular region; separation of DNA sequences specific to those regions (fusion of gene pieces, VDJ recombination of genes as appointed in the immune system); the existence of systems that combine end points in non-homologous chromosomes (the binding of broken DNA parts, the formation of new genetic fusion, the formation of sequences that are open to hyper mutations); DNA transposons (DNA sequences that can insert themselves into different DNA sequences or can copy themselves there and leave a copy); the RNA sector that can control the transcription and signals that are responsible for the maturing transcription; the signal sequences that cause the rearrangement of neighboring DNA sequences (such as amplification, deletion, and inversion); and finally, controlling the transcription with micro RNAs.

None of the above phenomena which cause in-cell changes are random. Each of the genetic engineering functions is planned in a way that makes specific changes and arrangements. In the processes of insertion, i.e. when a specific amount of DNA is added to a different region of the genome, or deletion, i.e. when a specific amount of DNA is severed, there should be arranging, cutting and coding sequences that will bind the cut part to its new place in an appropriate way. On the genome, special regions that are suitable to mutation are created in order to produce variety and to respond to adaptation. When all these molecular engineering functions are thoroughly analyzed, it can be seen that even the point mutations, which up until now were thought to have happened by chance, are not coincidence; rather, they occur through the divinely designed genetic engineering functions. Most of the mutations that are thought to occur by chance in the cell have been removed by the repair systems and fault correction functions in the cell. Thus, the changeability and variety in DNA sequences are shaped by the power and will of God the Almighty according to a planned, programmed genetic schedule.

The R&D department of the genome

Depending on the stimulation received, God-given genetic engineering functions are arranged in the cells and a decision is made about which parts of the genome should be changed. Some of the changes inside the cell appear on a large scale. Inside the genome, different and far removed regions can be rearranged. The changes are related to one another and are in no way disconnected. One mechanism can produce more than one change. The reconstruction of changes in some organisms is a part of the normal life cycle. In the Cornelius protozoan, the embryonic genome is regularly decomposed to a thousand slices. Then, through processing and rearranging in the cells, a functional genome with a distinct system structure is created.

While the genome is reshaped, there is the production of new different sequences rather than the sequences that they regulate and which have the code for the continuity of existing phenotype features. The organization of the genome along the system base emerges with the functions of the genetic molecules, such as cut-paste-rearrange. For example, in immune system cells, there is a planned disposition to mutation and the specific antibodies are rearranged to recognize an infinite number of different antigens. The life cycles of lymphocytes demonstrates both the control of the DNA rearrangement improvements and the specificity of mutations. It is estimated that the new sequences which do not change the existing structure operate like a research center for the genome.

The God-given genetic engineering systems imposed in the cells, when analyzed from the perspective of the population, are molecular mechanisms that carry out basic changes to ensure adaptation. The duty of reconstructing the genome during adaptation has been assigned to the divine genetic engineering functions imposed in the cell. The divine genetic engineering tools and mechanisms, which are placed in the cell with active nucleic acid elements that carry information, change the genome in parallel to the changes in both the inner and outer environment; this change occurs not only on one point of the genome, but rather on every point of genome. The functions of the DNA elements, which allow for the exchange of genetic information (both horizontally and vertically, in species and between species, between types and classes), are arranged by domestic cell signal transfer and data process networks. The signal network systems that are in charge of rearranging and controlling in-cell procedures not only control when the genome is rearranged, at the same time it decides where these rearrangements take place inside the genome. The selection of the target is planned, it is not random. For instance, R1 and R2 retrotransposons which are established in the DNA region that codes 28S ribosomal RNA have specific recognition regions and the information of endonuclease cutting DNA region on specific points that it had settled down. Eukaryotic cells have more complex decision making systems. The cells continuously create responses in response to DNA damage, cell physiology and outer-cell reproduction factors. One of the critical questions and answers is whether the damage will be repaired or whether programmed death will take place. If the cell avoids giving an answer, then genetic indecisiveness appears and abnormal cell reproduction, i.e., cancer, begins. From this perspective, cancer is a result of pathology in the signal and information process in the cell. The changes in gene expression without any changes in the DNA sequence (epigenetic) as well as the divine genetic engineering functions are clear proof demonstrating that every single action in the cell occurs with a certain aim that is based on knowledge and calculations.

Hamza Aydin holds a PhD in biology.

References

• Shapiro J. A.(2001). “Genome Formatting for Computation and Function: Genome Organization and Reorganization in Evolution: Formatting for Computation and Function.” Presented at the “Contextualizing the Genome” symposium, Ghent University, Belgium, November 25–28, 2001 (Ann. N.Y. Acad. Sci., in press).
• –. (2005). “A 21st century view of evolution: genome system architecture, repetitive DNA, and natural genetic engineering.” Gene 345 (2005) pp. 91–100.
• Shapiro J. A. and Sternberg R V (2005). “Why repetitive DNA is essential to genome function.” Biol. Rev. (2005), 80, pp. 1–24. Cambridge Philosophical Society. DOI: 10.1017/S1464793104006657.

Blood is a highly specialized tissue circulating throughout the body to carry out essential functions for an organism. Some of the basic functions of blood can be listed as: warming or cooling the body, protecting it against infectious disease, supplying essential ingredients to the cells, getting rid of harmful and unwanted waste from cells, and carrying messengers to initiate physiochemical events at the cellular level.¹ An average adult has approximately five liters of blood which completes its cycle in several minutes.² Blood can be regarded as a flawless servant to human beings with a perfect design to fulfill delicate needs and tasks to maintain their lives. If blood stopped performing just one of these tasks in some way, the survival of humans would not be possible.

Plasma is one of the main components of human blood in which the red and white blood cells are suspended.³ These two “living cells” are responsible for the crucial job of maintaining the balance of the body. Blood cells have a definite life cycle, just as all living organisms do. The most generous and all-compassionate owner, God, even knows the needs of the tiniest creatures and for Him to recreate these two cells is as easy as resurrecting hundreds of thousands of fruits, vegetables and animals every spring. Interestingly, bone marrow acts as a factory to reproduce new blood cells in place of continuously dying cells.³

In order to generate energy required for all cellular processes, oxygen has to be carried into the cell and the resulting carbon dioxide should be carried away immediately. Red blood cells, known also as erythrocytes, contain an iron-rich protein called hemoglobin which performs this duty in an excellent way. Each red blood cell contains approximately 250 million hemoglobin molecules.⁴

Hemoglobin transports oxygen from the lungs to the rest of the body and carries carbon dioxide away from the body to the lungs by consecutive chemical events in harmony. Hemoglobin can bind oxygen and/or carbon dioxide reversibly and the preference for binding to either oxygen or carbon dioxide depends solely on the environment. Upon inhaling the air, the amount of oxygen will increase in the lungs and oxygen will bind to hemoglobin’s iron unit preferentially. Later, the heart pumps oxygen-rich blood all over the body to deliver it to where it is required. As blood travels through the body in artery veins, oxygen will be exchanged with the carbon dioxide, since the amount of carbon dioxide inside cells is higher than oxygen. Then, the bound carbon dioxide will be sent back to the lungs and this process will be cycled over and over again during the course of life.⁵ During these processes a lot of complex chemical and biological changes occur in a systematic way to optimize the speed, effectiveness and quantity of oxygen transportation.

Surprisingly, one hemoglobin unit can carry four oxygen molecules at the same time. However binding of four oxygen molecules does not happen at the same time, they rather prefer binding one after another. One of the most striking discoveries about these processes is that when the oxygen attaches itself to the iron in the hemoglobin, the shape of the hemoglobin changes and this phenomenon facilitates binding other oxygen molecules.⁶

At higher altitudes air contains less oxygen as compared to lower altitudes. In people accustomed to living at higher altitudes the amount of a chemical known as 2,3-BPG in blood was found to be higher than in people living at lower altitudes.6 Researchers showed that this chemical actually binds to hemoglobin to result in easier oxygen delivery in lower oxygen atmospheres. Without this chemical, at high altitudes people would start suffering from oxygen deficiency and some of the vital organs would start dying slowly. It is obvious that this is a decisive and self-evident proof that there is an ultimate power in the universe and He is the one Who is the most Merciful.

Also the hemoglobin in the fetus has a greater affinity for oxygen than its counterpart in adults. Fetal hemoglobin uses maternal oxygen from the mother’s bloodstream and this ability gives the fetus more access to oxygen for better survival.⁷ Otherwise, no baby would be able to grow fully in its mother’s womb. Divine mercy is aware of the need of even an incapable baby in the mother’s womb and His wisdom and generosity provide appropriate tools, decorations and ornaments to whoever is in need of them.

The human body can be seen as a perfect machine equipped with state-of-art components that functions magnificently to sustain human life without any conflict. It is designed to such an extent that even its slightest needs are satisfied with an amazing design planned by great wisdom and engineering. This beauty, extreme skill, and utmost perfection testify to the existence of the All-Wise Maker and All-Knowing Inscriber. Claiming that this masterpiece is not the work of a purposeful artist is as foolish as claiming that a beautiful painting is not the art of a good painter. Even in one of the sub-structures of red blood cells (hemoglobin) the highest degree of mastery and the exquisiteness of administration for each process show an irrefutable wise Creator who has utmost knowledge and proficiency. His unique power for marvelous creation is even more visible on the surface of the earth.

“He Who has created seven heavens in harmony. You do not see any fault or incongruity in the creation of the All-Merciful. Look yet again: can you see any rifts?” (Mulk 67:3)

Mutations somehow alter the sequences of genes responsible for producing hemoglobin and as a result of inheriting these genes, some kinds of hereditary diseases may occur in future generations, such as thalassemia and sickle-cell.⁸ Since hemoglobin in these cases does not have the ability to carry oxygen properly, in some extreme cases blood transfusion is necessary to supply healthy hemoglobin for survival of patients. Instead of producing super quality hemoglobin, mutations lead to malfunctioning of the system. No observable mutation can generate meaningful and healthy changes in an organism. Trying to explain the formation of these beautiful, complex, harmonious, and utterly perfect cells by chance or coincidence and attributing the creation of these systems to unconscious nature as their creator is far beyond any reasonable scientific explanation.

“Was he not once a mere drop of semen poured forth? Then he became a clot clinging (to the womb wall), and He created and fashioned (him) in due proportions.” (Qiyama 75:37-38)

Ibrahim Yildiz is a graduate student of chemistry at the Miller School of Medicine, University of Miami.

Notes

1. Previte, J. J. Human Physiology McGraw-Hill, 1982.

2. Cecie, S., Taggart, R. Biology: The Unity and Diversity of Life. California: Wadsworth, 1989.

3. Jones, B. D. Delmar’s Comprehensive Medical Terminology. Thomson Delmar Learning, 2000.

4. Roberts, M. B. V. Biology: A Functional Approach Cheltenham: Thomas Nelson and Sons, 1986.

5. Mehler, R. E. How the Circulatory System Works Blackwell , 2000.

6. Ganong, W. F. Review of Medical Physiology McGraw-Hill, 2005.

7. Champe, P. C., Richard, A. H. Biochemistry Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2005.

8. Steinberg, M. H. Disorders of Hemoglobin: Genetics, Pathophysiology, and Clinical Management. Cambridge University Press, 2001.