Natures wonders: making spider silk (Introduction)

by David Turell , Thursday, August 07, 2014, 01:40 (3760 days ago) @ dhw


> DAVID (under "Cell Memories"): At a guess, pre-programming seems to fit more with the concept of God as a first mover.
> 
> dhw: So let me get this straight. Your best guess is that God built into the very first living cells an intricately planned mechanism which billions of years later, having passed through zillions of generations of different organisms, would enable spiders to spin their silk. But you also think it possible that God took hold of some non-silk-spinning organisms and juggled with their genome so that they could spin silk. Can you think of any other way in which this "intricate planning" could have taken place? -Actually no. I just can't imagine a group of "intelligent" cells conjuring up the necesary pH changes to spin silk from protein molecules on the spot, which is what spiders do. It, obviously to me, takes some very careful planning in putting the mechanism in action.