Brian O’Dowd was born in Dublin. He lives in Toronto. O’Dowd is a Professor at the University of Toronto. His novel ‘A Wicklow Girl’, was published in 2017. Available on Amazon etc. Publisher: Tellwell, Canada. In 2019 he won the prestigious Prix Galien 2019 Canadian Science Award, as reported in the Irish Times.
https://www.irishtimes.com/news/health/dubliner-wins-prix-galien-2019-award-for-pharmaceutical-research-1.4093350
Life ©
Brian O’Dowd
‘Life’ not understood.
Except by atheists.
They know it all.
So?
Martin Luther hammered his thesis outside on a Church door.
I need to be on side of the Angels.
Unfathomable
Most brilliant species not human, that accolade conferred on single cells, they invented life. ‘First cell’ mastered technology! ‘A’ plus! Seeded life on cooled earth, arrived armed with latent futuristic abilities, available for constant useful updates. Not seen last of that. Smart cells loaded with faraway plans, shape shifters brandishing flexible gene expression machines. Unimaginable cells formed flora and fauna, heartbeats all about. Such achievements imprinted in our chromosomes.
One Family at hearths core.
Differentiate, procreate ‘life’, gave us legs to stand on. Scientists endeavouring to decipher mechanisms stashed inside micro-balloons that run as clockwork. Physics swot over ‘Big Bang’ while misunderstand ‘begin’. Biology ponders twists of fate encouraged cell yokes to be alive. Cell life emerged ~3.8 billion years ago, 750 million years after Earth formed, sunlight ensured liquid water. Blue planet life blossomed, DNA helix ladder expanded gained extra steps that take us to the stars. Cells fulfilling roles need us, planets with only single cell life fail to thrive, need stick together.
Bugs put life on the road.
Cells powered to change.
Cell mantra we’ll own the joint.
Come on!
Waterfalls, snow topped mountains scenes carved by wind such beauty, waves on summer’s day. Lonely beaches. Beautiful earth compared to desolate Mars. Waste sweetness on deserted air? Something amiss! First cell created with intricate knowledge sets about, co-ordinate plans, produce hundreds of proteins encoded from invented DNA! Lashing of coding genes make proteins, loads of different amino acids. They say deep-sea vents pump vital chemicals, sun with cosmic rays make stuff, rocks from space loaded get mixed in the ocean. Tiny bugs internal pathways proceed effectively infect world with life. Greatness of time! Army of tiny engineered protein machines running assembly lines of construction. Biology required in place before anything lives, somehow compelled-motivated to start ‘life’. Lot to ask. Short times facing first cell, need duplicate pronto! What vision! Nothing willy-nilly, no time to second guess. Driven intent inventing living things, inspired that way to go. Life created from scratch on every Goldilock planet? Or some common denominator?
More happening then we’ll ever know.
Where biology know-how came from,
in times before birth of first cell?
Somehow that DNA helix!
Prior to cells existing?
Cart before the horse?
Of course, of course.
Simply put duplication requires many proteins to work in sync, flexible avoid obsolescence, drive life’s destiny. How we’ve tolerated spontaneous ‘rocks to life’, see no ‘designer evidence’ as babbling doubting Thomas pontificate! Much they gloss over, even when all that exists is evidence. They do not understand how they can remember. Their explanations how first cells appeared are simplistic, unrealistic. Prognosticate using their brains, knowing jack diddly squat how it works. Their message ‘steer to Darwin’ safe ground wild wolves to poodles. Sniff sweet roses watch those prickles. Survival plan of the canny flower.
Not heard voice yapping between their ears?
Their weak opinions running on fumes.
My suspicion whole caboodle not random.
Life crafted with intent required ‘planning’.
No accident.
Atheists are wrong.
God made us.
QED
Matter and life symbiotic.
Big Bang wrought for biology.
Universe creation intent to populate.
Not left to chance.
They say cells formed from primordial soup. Conditions right, passage of time! Soup full of life-y goodness! Such malarkey. Get out of here with that! Cell technology, life’s brick, visualized by electron microscope reveal the miracle. Take a look.
Created itself! All by it self !
Unaided’ this activity would be impossible.
No Creator, all ‘natural’ like.
Yeah, that’s not the ticket.
Process of serendipity you believe? Suspect even naysayers harbour private doubts. Cell learning willy-nilly to divide? Beyond belief. Crystallography technology, X rays show how detailed proteins are, hundreds of amino acids precisely organised each twisted up each like customized pretzels. Unforgiving with errors, Cystic Fibrosis caused by one deleted amino acid in protein of 1,480 amino acids. Prior to existing something constructed helix DNA, created codes to manufacture proteins, even bugs need loads of precision workings. Single cell bacteria, hereabouts for 3.5 billion years, run sophisticated operations, can double in 20 minutes. Okay we cloned Dolly the sheep in 1986. Daring or foolish to declare ‘no Creator’, when not knowing enough. Understanding complexities of bacteria nailed down operation still out of our depth in their miniscule world. Protein’s no beef slab, their explanation just hard to swallow. Components needed, wall membrane, cytoplasm, enzymes, ribosomes, polysaccharides, DNA in a nucleus (sometime no nucleus). Cells can contain 3–4 million proteins, made from 600 to 6000 different proteins. E. coli has 4288 different proteins, function of 30% unknown.
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‘Genesis’ is Logical
“Let the earth put forth vegetation: plants yielding seed, and fruit trees of every kind on earth that bear fruit with the seed in it. Let the waters bring forth swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the dome of the sky.”
Pope Benedict XII in 1336 issued Papal bull Benedictus Deus stating souls go to the kingdom of God, from this life to next. Belief souls survive biology indicative of unknowable powers within us. There are 2.4 billion Christians. Five million each year go to Lourdes, 1.5 million to shrine of Knock. We can read of multiple sincere believable near-death experiences. Not hallucinations. Catholic school, parish altar boy armed with their beliefs. Thank God I grew up in Ireland, with knowledge teaching of an existence beyond.
Biology ‘Big Bang’ first single cell.
Some-how first cell figured out
by it’s solo to duplicate exact copy.
Smart cell! What motivation!
Ingenuity and energy.
We don’t know how they do that.
For so long.
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Brain
T. Rex catapulted in smithereens to space when that rock hit, fossils remaining serve as a warning, main destiny promote ‘Goodness’ in the Galaxy. Being a contributing neighbour that time has come, Voyager now 15 billion miles away. Need to prove we’ll arrive in peace, with our record? Human minds followed to unleash storms of creativity. Brain cells live a life time, blood cells produce 200 billion red cell each day, 10 billion white cell, 400 billion platelets each day. Our minds formed in the womb, developed by 60 trillion neuronal connections as adults. Human brain with ~2.5 million gigabytes of memory (amazed we know?), created from fat, blood vessels and nerve cells with ~40% water! Human bodies contain 36 trillion cells to function! Go-to material for brain creation are cells, meshed into an internal space less than a GAA football. Now likely best times for brains with nutritious diets. Powered by electric energy generated from ‘ions flowing’! Our ‘brain voice talks all day long. Spent a year in a gaeltach so likely changed that language for a while. As bilinguals fill that storage twice as quick, appreciate never getting fluent with Latin. Although Nikola Tesla spoke eight languages.
Memories retrieved to our mind’s eye! Now burdened by cat, dog and parrot videos, explains some memory falters. Neuroscience describes ‘hard problem of consciousness’ which lies beyond our understanding, that place even chalk-dust maths cannot enter. No point enumerating all brains ability, preaching to a choir and we’d be here all day. Senses, emotions, eager to hook up, procreate. Enabling history, monuments, writing, libraries, museums, movies. Brain size quadrupled in six million years now shrunk by 15% last 100,000 years. Movie or books not as interesting if viewed previous. ‘Roundhay Garden’ first movie (136 years ago) gets stored in the noggin, ‘Au Clair de la Lune’ first song recording (1860). Estimates are 500,000 movies have been made. High school class photo we recall names, if played rugby even where they sat. Point of interest deaf people think in pictures of objects. Research now predicts involvement of a quantum world for cerebral/cognitive function, ‘Life’ defined not only by molecules. Einstein tossed his hands up with understanding quantum entanglement being ‘spooky action’.
Brain cells use quantum dynamics!
Experiencing different realm of reality.
Now that’s mind blowing.
Using human brain we’ve invented memory storage devices, live in space, sent robots beyond Pluto, landed a probe by parachute on Titan. Cloned mammals, first paper copier appeared in 1959. Abilities possible from innate cell properties. Skate, ski, swim, ride a bike, memorise songs using those neurons. Neil Armstrong’s brain over-riding panicked electronics in Apollo lander, final 30 minutes cell-technology bravery landed first men on the moon. Exist from mind of our Creator, populate our galaxy motivation for our life. Dinosaurs had 150 million years, careered off with giant size and focus on slaughter. Largest dinosaur was 130 feet long, still failed to measure up. T Rex brain size ~350 grams, intelligence like chimps. Suggestion that Stenonychosaurus perhaps to evolve intelligence, being small with a large brain. Never had that chance. Galaxy stars recently discovered possibly with Dyson spheres harvesting energy, megastructures surrounding stars. Clock ticking, tread careful, asteroids could come clean our clock. Some time.
Straw that breaks a camel’s back, maybe the final straw.
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Wisdom of God manifested in works of creation.
Inventing life, every brave creature.
Hard to comprehend.
Adolescent brain 80 percent developed, fully by ~25 years. Embryo brain development begins at week 5. Nerve cells proliferate by 15 million per hour, at seven month fetus emits brain waves (‘oscillating electrical voltages’). Brain conceived entirely by ‘evolution’ begger’s believing. Brain cheats, makes poison, plot crimes, sings hymns in the choir, guides most wonderful people, makes smart bombs if it pleases. Navigate ships, build coal and uranium mines. Motherload for good or evil. Each brain most amazing yoke on the planet. How many species have we driven to extinction? Not distinguished ourselves no better than dinosaurs?
Human brains,
harnessed to spread life in the Galaxy.
Why we are here.
Lest history repeats, do not fail.
Dodo and Dino get the picture?
Otherwise!
Duck and cover when ‘our’ rock comes.
Next life lies before us.
Only the heart-beat away.
I ponder Eternity of the soul.
Why choose to exist in jail cells,
rather than escape that existence.
Live extreme poverty or slavery lives.
Call it a day, try again?
Not my business.
Likely why Holy Veil exists.
Between us.
Catch up on the flip side.
Smartest kids on the block, we’ve gained slim biology glimmers, Neurobiologists realise much beyond their ken. How do we exist inside a brain?
Boomers
Our Astronaut tidy size made space travel possible. Richest activity times, we’ve been to other continents, journey once only confined for big shots or sailors. Compared to in days long gone by country folk, with childers off in America. Life of a sheep herder like villager Gabriel in ‘Far From the Madding crowd’. Ancient summers in Connemara recall around bonfire repetition of ancestorial tales, by the thatched cottage no TV or radio. Our libraries stacked at no cost to borrow! Gathering precious legacy knowledge, with learning from schools. In our minds eye flash to‘see’ people. Like magic? Memories dormant for decades retrieved. In our minds eye see parents that have passed. Recognize oodles of people like Groucho, Joyce, Michael Collins, Mac Liammóir, Maureen Potter, Patrick Pearse, Dev, Jackie Gleeson, Marilyn, Yeats, Maureen O’Hara, Lucy, Jimmy O’Dea. Now knowing lots more about them, Borstal boy Brendan, JFK that day in Wexford. Charlie Chaplin, born in 1889, still makes us laugh. TV fugitive Richard Kimble, and a one-armed man. Phil Silvers, Get Smart. Brain shoves it in, bits and drabs. Books from authors long gone. Moses in Ten Commandments film (1956). School reports. Loads more work for the hippocampus and other brain bits. Brain cells get loaded with music that remains for ever. We altered reality with LSD, once mostly booze, LSD constructed in a lab. Wake from afternoon slumber, wondering where am I? Brain rescues fills missing bits. Quicker than electronics with annoying updates.
Going good getting about solar system grand style, 12 lads landed on the moon! Sailed seven seas, now our sea of Tranquility. Still carrying ‘what good is that for’ band wagon. Life requires more than procreating, foraging and sleeping. Other species no knowledge of history getting stuck in cul-de-sac alley. ‘Svalbard Global Seed Vault’ facility for world’s crop storage on Norwegian island of Spitsbergen. Pride and joy, right direction. Keeping ahead!
Worms
Brain neurons in worm commenced a billion years ago. Ragworm’s with human-like neurons, indicates when we all began. Round worm Caenorhabditis elegans with ~20,000 genes, humans require a similar number! Wow! Still a work in progress. Apparently we share 50% of genes with bananas. Explains a lot.
Life just happens!
Yeah that’s the trick.
Successful tactic! What they spout!
Wait!
Only baloney.
Brains do not relate to us how they function, only pawns in this game. Now our understanding as Columbus discovering a Caribbean island, not yet Americas.
Sentient beings ‘Brain Voice’ yapping,
from few cell pounds.
From whence it came?
For ever soundly silent.
Nice having our Creator watching.
As we are living our life.
Thankful for everything
and life here-after.
As Promised.
Miracles infused our soul in the womb.
Free will lived in shadow of the Supreme.
Our dreams? Visual cortex messing about having a laugh, nothing else to do when sleeping in the dark.
Senses experienced.
Too spicy for me!
Perfume smells good!
New songs?
Heard that before!
Saw that film already.
Songs by Percy French
born in 1854!
Sound Wonderful.
To our ears.
Animals
Hairy chimps closest competitors, nothing like us despite often repeated sharing 99% of DNA. Imagine langered chimps on high stools in pubs upset at closing time. Losing it when packed up, delivered back to the Park. Biting lumps from merry plump faces, publicans flabbergasted stressed with the likes. Other than parrots and crows often under-whelmed with ingenuity of animals. Divergent in development, humans climbed trees, got hairless swimming from islands, distinguished from other primates. Farmers tilled fields, we built supermarkets, aisles detergent stacked at eye level. Giraffes went for long neck anatomy, chomping juicy leaves at top, requires heart at 2 feet, weighs ~20 pounds. Bizarre contortions to drink water. Such neck thinking they were ‘bee’s knees’. Woolly mammoths got dispatched on Neanderthal’s barbecues, as our brains excelled.
‘Conversations’ now reported with whales, one trick ponies likely all about fish. Better them in oceans, more space for us.
Darwin
Far be it for me putting Charley in his place, passage of time takes care of that. Don’t gift to Darwin for what he had little knowledge. Evolution and origin of life being two kettles of fish.
Universe created for life.
Not come by chance.
Best we get that straight.
Need Guardian Angels,
To guide us.
Onward.
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