Not-So-Simple Plankton | The Institute for Creation Research

Not-So-Simple Plankton

Plankton is a generic term for small marine creatures such as algae, bacteria, and protozoa. Although tiny, they are packed with incredibly intricate submicroscopic structures. This complexity isn’t surprising since many of these entities are photosynthetic, able to turn light energy into sugars needed for life’s energy. This process of photosynthesis is surprisingly complex.
 
Bacteria and single-celled algae have been found to produce a sulfur compound called dimethylsulphoniopropionate, or DMSOP for short.1 This find led to an explanation of the origin of huge amounts of sulfur in the global sulfur cycle—perhaps billions of metric tons of new sulfur annually. This is significant because researchers discovered “a completely unexpected shortcut in the cycle.” A chemist from the University of Jena states, “Our current insights have once again revealed what an incredibly complex and effective system is hidden away in plankton.”2
 
Plankton has been designed with sensors on its cell surface that allows it to move in and fill the marine ecosystem that has “different salt contents and oxidative stress.” Creation scientists believe these metabolic pathways—including the recently discovered shortcut pathway—were there since “the beginning.” In addition, the created plankton’s internal biochemical features, not the exposure to the environment, define an exposure as “stressful.”

There is no such thing as simple life. If it’s living, it’s complex. Tweet: There is no such thing as simple life. If it’s living, it’s complex.

Not-So-Simple Plankton: https://www.icr.org/article/not-so-simple-plankton/

@ICRscience

#Science #Research

There is no such thing as simple life. If it’s living, it’s complex. Evolutionists state life somehow came from non-life, but they don’t know when or where life appeared on Earth. Two authors suggest the oldest fossils ever discovered appeared “3.5 billion years ago”3 while two other researchers state, “The appearance of oxygenic photosynthesis on Earth [was] about 2.5 billion years ago....”4 All four authors agree that these bacteria-like organisms were photosynthetic.
 
As stated above, amazingly complex processes are still being discovered in allegedly simple life. And each discovery points to the Designer.

References  
1.Thume, K. et al. 2018. The metabolite dimethylsulfoxonium propionate extends the marine organosulfur cycle. Nature. 563. 412-415.

2. Garrison, T. and R. Ellis. 2016. Oceanography, 9th edition, Independence, KY: Cengage Publishing, 16.
3. Nelson, D. and M. Cox. 2017. Principles of Biochemistry. NY: W. H. Freeman, 776.
 
*Mr. Sherwin is Research Associate is at ICR. He has a master’s in zoology from the University of Northern Colorado.

Article posted on December 13, 2018.

The Latest
NEWS
Adaptation Without Innovation: Rethinking Mutations and Design
What if mutations that seem helpful today become harmful tomorrow? That question sits at the center of a new genetics study published in Nature Ecology...

NEWS
More Soft Tissue in Archaeopteryx
Was the famous extinct fossil named Archaeopteryx a bird or an evolutionary link that led to birds? And how confident should scientists and others feel...

NEWS
The Lipstick Vine: Evidence of Designed Adaption
In their desire to validate the questionable case for evolution, conventional biologists will appeal to local adaptation, variation, and ecological...

NEWS
Biblical Giants in the News
Recent claims that an Egyptian papyrus scroll may affirm the past existence of giants have gone viral,1,2 and news outlets still reported...

NEWS
March 2026 ICR Wallpaper
"Behold, I will do a new thing, Now it shall spring forth; Shall you not know it? I will even make a road in the wilderness And rivers in the desert." (Isaiah...

ACTS & FACTS
Creation Kids: Ladybugs
Hi, kids! We created a special Acts & Facts just for you! Have fun doing the activities while learning about the wonderful world God...

ACTS & FACTS
North Cascades National Park: Assembled During the Flood and...
North Cascades National Park is sometimes called “the American Alps” for its stunning vistas that average about 5,000 feet above sea level,...

ACTS & FACTS
Engineered Genomic Changes in Adaptation
Programmed genome rearrangements (PGRs) are deliberate, genetically controlled changes in an organism’s DNA sequence and chromosome structure...

ACTS & FACTS
How Can I Know Evolution Is Wrong?
Evolution pushes Christians to doubt what our Bibles say about creation by asserting impersonal processes made everything over eons. Scripture asserts...

ACTS & FACTS
What Is a Charitable Gift Annuity?
A charitable gift annuity (CGA) is a simple, proven way to make a gift to ICR and receive fixed income for life—often at rates higher than CDs....