DNA Repair Enzymes: Vital Links in the Chain of Life | The Institute for Creation Research

DNA Repair

DNA Repair Enzymes: Vital Links in the Chain of Life

Several decades ago, the cellular process known as “DNA repair” was not even suspected. But since then, investigation of genetic functions has increasingly revealed a system that is mind-bogglingly elegant, minute, and effective.

A suite of several dozen proteins are active in our cells, each of which plays an integral role in the repair of damaged DNA. They include DNA Ligase, PCNA (a sliding clamp), and p53 and p21, which signal the appropriate DNA repair enzyme clamps to the corrupted DNA at the right place and time. There are also enzymes “tailored to deal with certain specific types of DNA damage,” as well as over 200 proteins peripheral to DNA damage detection and repair.1

Properly-functioning DNA repair mechanisms are important because they constantly combat the relentless accumulation of mutations that occurs from the jostling of molecules. Without a repair system in place, it is likely that excessive mutations would have dramatically shortened our lifespans, and would have caused our extinction long ago.2

A new DNA repair enzyme has been accurately modeled and its vital function discovered.3 The enzyme, Rtt109, ensures a bit of “slack” in what would otherwise be tightly-spooled DNA. Only if the DNA has the correct amount of slack in the right place will the other necessary repair enzymes have enough space to access and clamp onto the DNA properly.

If we postulate that new biological structures arise from the selection of genetic mistakes, called mutations, and that this process has resulted in the life functions we currently observe, then we have an enigma: random genetic mistakes created specific enzyme systems which operate with sequential coordination. With each new biochemical discovery, our picture of the complexity of cells grows.

Biologists of the 1800s thought of cells as simple blobs of protoplasm. We have since learned that cells contain armies of elegant and dazzling miniaturized motors.4 This evidence of complex, purposeful function is so compelling that it begs the question: if Charles Darwin had known what we know now, would he have even bothered to proffer a naturalistic mechanism for the formation of life?

References

  1. Weizmann Institute scientists discover a molecular security mechanism for keeping mutations in check. Weizmann Institute of Science press release, May 4, 2006.
  2. See Demick, D. 1999. The Blind Gunman. Acts & Facts. 28 (2).
  3. Researchers solve structure of an enzyme vital for DNA repair. Rockefeller University press release, August 11, 2008. Accessed on newswire.rockefeller.edu August 14, 2008.
  4. This is well illustrated in “Molecular Visualizations of DNA,” a computer animation created by Drew Berry of the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research. A copy posted on YouTube.com on May 8, 2008 was available at the writing of this article through the following URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4PKjF7Oum
    Yo.

* Mr. Thomas is Science Writer.

Article posted on August 27, 2008.

The Latest
NEWS
Silurian Horseshoe Crab
Supposedly, throughout the past hypothetical millions of years, sub-human primates became man, dinosaurs evolved into birds, and a group of mammals...

NEWS
Stunning Enigmatic Dinosaur Discovered
New species that are 100% dinosaur continue to be discovered by paleontologists with increasing frequency. One such recent discovery, described as “both...

NEWS
The Coelacanth: A Living Window into God's Design
Imagine a fish designed with such precision that it has thrived in deep, dark ocean waters for generations unchanged, resilient, and wonderfully suited...

CREATION PODCAST
Dr. Timothy Clarey | How Faith Shaped His Scientific Journey...
ICR’s science staff have spent more than 50 years researching scientific evidence that refutes evolutionary philosophy...

NEWS
Ant Super Smell: A Masterclass in God's Genetic Engineering
To an ant, the world is written in scent—and they read it with uncanny precision. A single colony can recognize thousands of chemical cues that...

NEWS
Subsurface Oceans on Two Uranian Moons?
A team of researchers led by University of North Dakota planetary scientist Dr. Caleb Strom concluded that the two Uranian moons Ariel and Miranda (directly...

NEWS
Slowing Plates Support High Flood Boundary
Flood geologists have predicted that plate motion slowed at the end of the Flood year, and now conventional scientists are finding it to be true. A...

NEWS
Microscopic Ingenuity: Stentor and the Case for Intelligent Design
What if the smallest creatures held the biggest clues to life’s design? A 2025 study in Nature Physics investigates the remarkable behaviors of...

CREATION PODCAST
Dr. Jeff Tomkins | A Scientist's Journey to Creationism | The...
ICR’s science staff have spent more than 50 years researching scientific evidence that refutes evolutionary philosophy...

NEWS
Early Fish Evolution?
The discovery of a new species of a plant or animal would probably not spark much excitement to the non-scientist. But in this case, the conditions...