A cascade of hormones
A single human cell divides into two.
The two become four, the four become eight until forty weeks and 26 billion cells later, a new human being is ready to be born. This amazing transformation is overseen by a series of powerful proteins called hormones.
A hormone is described as a 'chemical messenger', a vital part of the body's control and information systems. There are about 50 of them, and they travel throughout the body to control growth and development, metabolism, sexual function, reproduction and mood. They are powerful – small amounts cause important changes. They enter the bloodstream directly from eight major endocrene glands (see right) scattered through the body, and each has a feedback system which makes sure the amount of each hormone is not too much or too little.
The big question we need to answer is this –
is Darwin's mechanism of undirected variation and 'natural selection' capable of producing such a complex and vital control system?
It's important :
no hormones, no baby, no human race.
A 'lock and key' system
The human body (which started off as just one cell) is now made up of over 200 different specialised cells. Each hormone affects only a small proportion of them. If a cell has the right 'key' (receptor cells) it responds to a particular hormone.
If it doesn't, the hormone will have no effect, until it finds a different type of cell with the right 'key'. So the impact of each hormone is focused and limited to a particular type of cell.
It is not too difficult to imagine the problems for evolution in coming up with an information system at all, let alone one where certain cells are preprogrammed to accept or reject certain messages.
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Ultrasound of a four month foetus
Back to the baby. There is a specific array of hormones which
govern the growth of the baby in the womb and maintain the health of its mother. This is an orderly "cascade' of hormones, each with a specific function and applied at the right time in development. Here, in the briefest and simplest possible terms, is the list (names of hormones can be complicated, so they are generally abbreviated, eg the human chorionic gonadotropin hormone is hCG):
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1 FSH stimulates ovary and production of estrogen (female sex hormone)
2 LH orchestrates menstrual cycle – becomes inactive during pregnancy – triggers release of egg from ovary
3 hCG suppresses mother's immune system to prevent rejection of embryo (Note: levels of hCG are used for pregnancy testing)
4 Estrogen helps uterus to grow – triggers growth of baby's organs
5 Progesterone triggers growth of breast tissue, prepares mother's body for labour
6 Relaxin relaxes mother's muscles, bones, ligaments, and joints so that baby can be born
7 hPL readies mother's breast for feeding
8 Oxytocin triggers muscle contractions in
labour
9 Prolactin stimulates
breast milk
Following the birth, hormones carry out the vital work of restoring the mother's body to its normal function – fully prepared to go through the same thing all over again!
"Without this fine-tuned cocktail of pregnancy hormones, there would be no newborns, because after implantation a baby would never reach the point of delivery."
Marcos Eberlin 'Foresight' (see reference below).
The Psalmist expressed his faith this way in his song to God:
"For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother's womb.
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your ways are wonderful." Psalm 139:13
Charles Darwin (d. 1882) knew nothing of hormones.
The term was not invented until 1905, following the discovery of the first hormone, secretin, in 1902. His philosophy was conceived in total ignorance of all the profound scientific breakthroughs of the 20th century. It is a tragedy that scientists cling on to an outdated nineteenth century theory that is quite powerless to explain the exquisite systems which we now know ensure human survival and flourishing. With our unprecedented knowledge, we of all people should be able to capture the Psalmist's awe and wonder, and with him recognise and worship the great Creator who designed and made us.
Reference: Marcos Eberlin, 'Foresite', Discovery Institute Press 2019
Eberlin is the founder and former president of the International Mass Spectrometry Foundation
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