A number of years back, I read a book titled Nature's Destiny by Michael Denton which supported a theory that the characteristics of the cosmos, the environments found on earth, the properties of light as well as the elements and molecules drive (or evolve) the form and function of all species in very precise directions because of their very unique and optimal characteristics. Basically the theory is that the physical laws and initial conditions in the universe were precisely tuned at the time of creation to drive creation to a very exacting developmental path that conforms to the characteristics of matter and environmental conditions on earth that these laws and initial conditions produced. This concept was not new but the author brought the topic up to date in his book with recent findings and excellent supporting data. There is such extensive evidence for the theory that has been discovered through scientific investigation, a second reading of the book was called for.
This topic has great relevance to the evolution/creation debate and deserves to be addressed here. The point of the theory is that life's evolution, whether the Darwinian or God guided variety, is directed greatly by the characteristics of the atoms, their combination into molecules, and the interactions with light, electrons, and physical forces encountered near the earth's surface where very special temperatures and pressures exist. These properties were set at the very beginning of the universe as fixed laws of nature and have forced simple and complex life forms to develop along a predetermined path which is compatible with these atomic/molecular properties that enhance natural selection and/or unfold to meet God's predetermined plan. The argument is made by the many examples of unique molecules and elements that have just the right characteristics to support life and permit the earth to have life sustaining environments for billions of years. After extensive study and experiment, scientists have found that there are no other elements or molecules that can take their place or even come close to their existing optimal qualities that support life. This is a strong argument in favor of design. The argument is further strengthened by the number of unique molecules which interact in just the right way to allow large plants and air breathing life forms to exist. There is no credible evidence produced thus far that these atomic properties had to be this way based on a Grand Unification principle. On the contrary, the natural constants in combination with the physical laws have the appearance of being specially tuned by our Creator to support life. Even the slightest variation in many of them would produce a lifeless universe. The set of physical laws and natural constants testify and make a overwhelming case for design which guided evolution toward large multicellular life forms. There is additional evidence that these characteristics aided in the development of anthropic life forms, or at a minimum, at least a strong case that nature was designed to be capable of supporting large air breathing mammals.
For example, water is now thought to be essential for life by most scientists due to its unique properties. Among these are its very low viscosity, unique thermal properities, and its alcahest like properties which allow most other molecules and elements to dissolve into it. Searches for life in the cosmos, now focus on planets where water is thought to exist because of these unique properties.
Carbon Dioxide is another molecule with unique properties. It diffuses and dissolves readily in the atmosphere and water, is a waste product of energy utilization, is a fuel source for photosynthesis and provides its own buffer to reduce acidity while in solution. Extensive plant life could not exist without this molecule as no other fuel source makes itself so readily available in the biosphere. No high rates of metabolism, such as in animals, could exist either. The key waste product of cellular metabolism, carbon dioxide, easily dissolves in water, is transported to our lungs, and is efficiently diffused into the air as we take in more oxygen in each breath. We produce about two pounds of this gas each day as a waste product and hardly notice its existence and elimination in each breath as we rush around town thinking of all the activities we must complete before we sleep. The fact that it is a food for plants and a waste product for animals permits carbon recycling. This permits the earth's largest food chain to be solar powered for billions of years.
After extensive study, iron seems to be the only element that can manage the oxygen transport safely and efficiently from the lungs to the cells. When incorporated into the compound heme used in hemoglobin, it can increase the amount of oxygen density in the blood about 50 times than oxygen dissolved in solution without hemaglobin. Also, iron is essential for the survival of all life on our planet's surface. Without it in our planet's interior, there would be no magnetic field to protect life from the damaging particles from outer space and the erosion of the atmosphere from the solar wind into outer space. Iron and other heavy metals are also essential for our human technologies, tools, comfort, and protection. It is essential for large active animals since it is the only element that can support high levels of oxygen transport efficiently to large multi-cellular life forms necessary for high rate metabolism.
Besides iron, several of the metals give every indication that their properties were designed to perform a very special predetermined biological role in life. Magnesium has very high light absorption characteristics uniquely suitable for photosynthesis. Molybdenum is utilized in both the proteins nitrogenase and nitrate reductase both involved in nitrogen fixation. All nitrogen used by living things is intially captured by reactions involving these two enzymes. Calcium is another metal that is unique in its ability to work with proteins for the rapid conveyance of information within the cell. Because of its low weight it rapidly moves within the cell, but also because of its great binding strength to proteins relative to other light metals such as magnesium, it can be tightly controlled in large volume. The element is necessary for muscle contraction, nerve impulses, hormone release, etc.
The molecules DNA, RNA, and their assistant proteins also are uniquely fit for their roles as the subunits for advanced life forms on this planet. Studies have shown that no other molecules come close to their efficiency in packing density of information, their ability to store, retrieve, and handle this information efficiency. For DNA, the strength and internal positioning of bonds is just right to not only permit long term storage of complex information within the cell, but precisely the right shape to match that of the attendant protein shape for the efficient retrieval of the information to conduct cellular activies. Without these molecules, no cells would be possible. No cells, no life.
The bi-lipid layer consisting, seems to also be unique in its role. Lipids are hydrophobic at one end and hydrophilic at the other. When combined into a bi-lipid layer it automatically forms into a sheet in water that forms a boundary for cellular protoplasm. Its characteristics are ideal for this function: ideal viscoscity, just right bonding strength to support multicellular life, electrical insulation with just right characteristics to support nerve impulses between cells, and just right characteristics for crawling during multicellular development.
In the early 1950s, John Von Neumann envisioned an extremely advanced machine capable of self replication. Based on what we know today about the cell it puts to shame the vision of the automaton put forth by Von Neuman. The cell contains tens of thousands of types of protein nano-machines (NM), NM making other NM, NM constantly rebuilding the factory (cell), NM duplicating the factory, NM reading blueprints from the central archive library (DNA), and NM tugging and guiding shipments of raw material around within the cell. The cell seems to be the perfect example of the automaton, as a molecular machine it has been able to support all of life's many forms and functions over the history of the earth. In fact it also had the ability to diversify through the modification of its internal information into many types of life forms including plants, trees, bacterial cells, amoeba, sponges, and human beings. Always consisting of virtually the same materials but different information in each of its forms. Through it all, the elements and molecules described above plus others that were designed from the beginning worked suitably and optimally within all of life's many versions.
Just based on the limited scope of the above, there is strong evidence of design at the heart of creation that guided all forms to be compatible with the environments, elements and molecules. All the species are molded to conform to the character of our matter and habitats produced by the natural laws and are found only here on earth on its surface and in its oceans. These special characteristics present themselves in a very limited temperature and pressure range almost non-existant anywhere else in the cosmos. This further guides the development process making it extremely unlikely that advanced complex intelligent life forms could exist anywhere else besides a mirror earth-like planet. But if one did exist the author of Nature's Destiny believed, its intelligent inhabitants would likely be land based oxygen breathing carbon based life forms with very similar metabolisms and look very similar to us. He may or may not be correct on this last assumption. The degree of divergence from this view seems rather contingent on the environmental characteristics of the planet: such as land area, particular temperature range, timing of E.L.E (extermination) events, solar stability, orbital characterists, etc.
It is a safe bet, however, that the physical laws do have a profound effect on the way that life operates and the elements and molecules that are used. We can see that all life forms utilized the same biological processes and they all take advantage of the unique and optimal characteristics of the elements, molecules and habitats available here. Even if life forms were popped into existance instantaneously by our Creator as the young earthers believe, it is a safe bet that they were designed to be compatible with the physical laws, otherwise, these kinds wouldn't function well and would quickly be unselected by the other varieties competing with them for food and space. If you are of the other persuasion, believing that life developed slowly in stages through Darwinian evolution, it is also the same safe bet that beneficial changes had to align with these special elements, molecules, and environments to survive the natural selection process. Either way, physical laws and the environment tightly control the form, fit, and function of the many life forms.
What is truly amazing is that all of the properties of the elements and molecules can be derived from just four physical constants and a few quantum mechanical rules such as the Pauli exclusion principle, electron orbits must be integer deBroglie wavelengths, and each electron must have only one of two values. The physical constants are the speed of light (c), Planck's constant, electric charge (e), and the mass ratios between the proton and electron. From these all the chemical characteristics can be determined. Although a sensitivity analysis of chemical properties for the above special molecules has never been performed to my knowledge, we can confidently predict that the fundamental constants in physics must have been extremely fine tuned to many decimal places right from the beginning to give the elements and molecules their precise values that permit life and especially large mammals including human beings capable of abstract thought. What an amazing design!
Praise God for His special insight in creating the physical laws and conditions on earth. It all came together here so that we can enjoy a drink of fresh water, a deep breath of fresh air, food on our tables, and shelter from our enemies. Please let me know if anyone finds another place in the cosmos (or another cosmos for that matter) where this is all possible!
Lee