The First Cell Begins to Multiply

The cell containing 46 chromosomes that is formed from the union of the sperm and the egg is the first cell of a new human being that will open its eyes to the world in nine months. The first and single cell which contains the plan for the whole body is called the "zygote".

The first cell division happens 24 hours after the sperm and the egg unite. These two newly formed cells are identical to each other. With this, the first day of the 9-month period of life in the mother's womb begins. Now there are not one but two cells in the mother's womb. Later this number will increase to four and continue in this way as the division multiplies.21

The cells in the cell cluster in the fallopian tube continue to divide and grow and move towards the place where they will spend the next nine months. This is the mother's womb (uterus).

After uniting with the sperm, the egg cell begins to divide. In the first division 2 cells are formed; these two cells divide internally and within a short time a cluster of cells is formed. As a result of the transformations undergone by this cluster, the vital structures of the baby are formed. After the period the baby spends in its mother's womb, it is ready in every way for life in the outside world. The heart, nerves, spine, arteries, lungs, teeth, bones, taste-buds-all these vital parts are formed while the embryo goes through the stages in the mother's womb. For example, at the end of the third month, the sex of the baby has been determined. The parts of the brain have been formed. At the end of the eighth month, virtually all parts of the baby's body have been formed.

In this stage, the necessary changes occur in the uterus. Blood rushes into the uterus and makes it strong and resilient. As we mentioned in the previous section, the corpus luteum in the ovary increases its secretion and informs the body that pregnancy has begun. In the meantime, the zygote moves with a swimming motion towards the uterus and begins to send a biochemical signal containing the message, "I'm here!" These messages make the mother's body prepared to ensure the presence of the salt, iron, blood and vitamins needed by the foetus. At the same time, the biochemical message that the zygote has secreted (the hCG hormone), reaches the mother's ovary and causes another hormone to be secreted there which prevents another period of ovulation (menstrual period) in the mother's body.22

The zygote is still composed of a few cells. The fact that it knows where it is and immediately sends signals relevant to the 9-month period that will follow is an extraordinary thing. How does the zygote know to whom it will send the message? How do the various organelles that receive the message know that it comes from a microscopic piece of flesh that they have never encountered before, and begin to help it by preparing an environment in which it will live? After all, the hormone secreted by the zygote is composed of molecules; so, how do the cells, in the place where these molecules are received, know what these molecules intend by arriving at that place? When a message is sent to a human being in a language that he understands, it is possible for him to read and understand it, and to make a decision on the basis of what he has understood. But in this case, the message consists of a hormone composed of a few molecules; what sends the message is a collection of cells; what receives the message is a slightly larger collection of cells. It is certainly a miracle that cells read and understand messages (hormones) that come to them just as a human being understands a message he reads.

Moreover, how does this zygote know what materials it will need in the course of its growth?

For example, think of yourself. What do you need to eat in order for your body to become strong? What minerals do you need to take? You can only learn this by studying scientific work that has been done in this area. What effects do potassium, phosphorus and calcium have on your body? From what food can you get these things? When should you take this food and how much should you take? These are things that you cannot know without consulting an expert. You, as a thinking, seeing, intelligent and feeling person, with the faculty of speech, can only know these things by seeking assistance; whereas a minute cluster of cells knows what it needs, and that it is necessary to produce it if that need is to be met; it knows who can produce what is necessary and that a signal must be sent to begin the process of production. Moreover, in spite of the fact that it has been in the body for only a few days, it knows how to send chemical information and it calculates that various organs in the body are capable of receiving this chemical information.

Certainly it cannot be said that a cluster of cells has this extraordinary information and devises a plan on the basis of it. There is a supreme power which makes these cells perform all their wondrous functions and creates them in a way that enables them to do their work. This power belongs to God, the only Ruler of the heavens and the earth. As a proof to us of His eternal power, God has inspired microscopic, unconscious, living cells, in a way that the human mind could never comprehend, to perform their complex work to perfection.

21. Eldra Pearl Solomon, Linda R. Berg, Diana W. Martin, Claude V. Willee, Biology, 3rd ed., Saunders College Publishing, p. 1066
22. Geraldine Lux Flanagan, Beginning Life, Dorling Kindersley, London, 1996, p. 28.