Life on Mars could have come from Earth

By Babu G. Ranganathan

Recently, the headlines are filled with statements from NASA that soil on Mars may contain microbial life. What if this is true after all? Would such a discovery confirm evolutionary theory? No.

First, such a discovery would not prove that such life had evolved from non-living matter by chance natural processes. And even if we do find evidence of life on Mars it would have most likely have come from our very own planet - Earth! In the Earth's past there was powerful volcanic activity which could have easily spewed dirt containing microbes into outer space which eventually could have reached Mars. A Newsweek article of September 21, 1998, p.12 mentions exactly this possibility.

"We think there's about 7 million tons of earth soil sitting on Mars", says (evolutionist) Kenneth Nealson. "You have to consider the possibility that if we find life on Mars, it could have come from the Earth" [Weingarten, T., Newsweek, September 21, 1998, p.12]. Furthermore, MIT scientist Dr. Walt Brown (a creationist) in his book In The Beginning points out that during the great Genesis flood, as recorded in the Bible, the fountains of the deep that were let loose could have easily spewed out meteors and meteorites into space that very well may have contained micro-organisms such as bacteria.

In the midst of all the arguments over evolution and intelligent design, it is amazing how many in society, including the very educated, believe that scientists had already created life in the laboratory. No such thing has ever happened.

All that scientists have done is genetically engineer already existing forms of life in the laboratory, and by doing this scientists have been able to produce new forms of life, but they did not produce these new life forms from non-living matter. Even if scientists ever do produce life from non-living matter it will only be through intelligent design or planning so it still wouldn't help support any theory of life originating by chance or evolution.

Even in the case involving synthetic (artificial) life, scientists don't actually create or produce life itself from non-living matter. What scientists do in this case is create (by intelligent design) artificial DNA (genetic instructions and code) which is then implanted into an already existing living cell and, thereby, changing that cell into a new form of life. And, again, even if scientists ever do create a whole living cell from scratch (and not just its DNA) it still would not be by chance but by intelligent design. Synthetic life is just another form of genetic engineering. But God was the first genetic engineer. Remember that always!

If the cell had evolved it would have had to be all at once. A partially evolved cell cannot wait millions of years to become complete because it would be highly unstable and quickly disintegrate in the open environment, especially without the protection of a complete and fully functioning cell membrane.

Although it has been shown that the basic building blocks of life, amino acids, can come into existence by chance, it has never been shown that the various amino acids can come together into a sequence by chance to form protein molecules. If the amino acids are not in the proper sequence the protein molecules will not function! Even the simplest cell is composed of millions of protein molecules.

The cell seems to be irreducibly complex. For example, without DNA there can be no RNA, and without RNA there can be no DNA. And without either DNA or RNA there can be no proteins, and without proteins there can be no DNA or RNA. They're all mutually dependent upon each other for existence! It could not have gradually evolved! Evolutionists generally believe that it took one billion years for the first life form or cell to have evolved. That belief, although still taught as gospel in many elementary and secondary schools, cannot be sustained by modern science.

Of course, once there is a complete and living cell then the genetic program and biological mechanisms exist to direct the formation of more cells into existence. The question is how did life come about when there was no directing mechanism in Nature.

If humans must use intelligence to perform genetic engineering, to meaningfully manipulate the genetic code, then what does that say about the origin of the genetic code itself!

The great British scientist Sir Frederick Hoyle has said that the probability of the sequence of molecules in the simplest cell coming into existence by chance is equivalent to a tornado going through a junk yard of airplane parts and assembling a 747 Jumbo Jet!

We tend to judge something as being simple or complex by its size. So many of us assume that because the cell is microscopic in size that it must be simple. Not so! Size is relative, but not complexity. If you were as big as the Empire State building you would probably think that the tiny cars and automobiles on the street were simple and could easily happen by a chance combination of parts. However, we know that is not so.

Natural laws are adequate to explain how the order in life, the universe, and even a microwave oven operates, but mere undirected natural laws cannot fully explain the origin of such order.

Science cannot prove how life originated since no human observed the origin of life by either chance or design. Observation and detection by the human senses, either directly or indirectly through scientific instruments, is the basis of science and for establishing proof. The issue is which position has better scientific support. Both sides should have the opportunity to present their case.

If some astronauts from Earth discovered figures of persons similar to Mt. Rushmore on an uninhabited planet there would be no way to scientifically prove the carved figures originated by design or by chance processes of erosion. Neither position is science, but scientific arguments may be made to support one or the other.

Many think that natural selection in nature is proof that we had evolved. Natural selection does occur in nature. However, natural selection itself does not produce biological variations. Natural selection can only work with biological variations that are possible and which have survival value. It is a passive process in nature. Natural selection is simply another way of saying that if a biological variation occurs which is helpful to an animal or plant's survival then that that variation will be preserved and be passed on. Of course, nature does not do any active or conscious selecting. The term "natural selection" is simply a figure of speech. Also, natural selection only applies once there is life and not before. In other words, natural selection is not involved in any pre-biotic, non-living interactions of chemicals.

Evolutionists believe that random or chance mutations in the genetic code (caused by random environmental forces such as radiation) will produce the favorable evolutionary changes necessary for natural selection to act upon.

However, there is no evidence that random or chance mutations in the genetic code are capable of producing greater biological complexity (vertical evolution) among natural species. Mutations are only capable of producing horizontal evolution (variations within natural species). In any case, most biological variations among natural species are due to new combinations of already existing genes and not mutations.

Considering the enormous complexity of life, it is much more logical to believe that the genetic and biological similarities between all species are due to a common Designer rather than common evolutionary ancestry. It is only logical that the great Designer would design similar functions for similar purposes and different functions for different purposes in all of the various forms of life.

All of this simply means that real science supports faith in God. Science cannot prove that we are here by chance (evolution) or by design (creation). However, the scientific evidence can be used to support one or the other. It is only fair that evidence supporting intelligent design be presented to students alongside of evolutionary theory, especially in public schools which receive funding from taxpayers who are on both sides of the issue. Also, no one is being forced to believe in God or adopt a particular religion so there is no true violation of separation of church and state. As a religion and science writer, I encourage all to read my Internet article "The Natural Limits of Evolution" at my website www.religionscience .com for more in-depth study of the issue.

*Some other Internet articles by the author are: "Why The Traditional View of Hell Is Not Biblical", "Early Christianity Before The Papacy", "Free Will and Sovereign Grace", "Christ Was Begotten, Not Created", "Artificial Life By Intelligent Design", "Any Life On Mars Came From Earth!", "Creationists Right On Entropy, Evolution", "Are There Natural Limits To Evolution?", "Where Are All The Half-Evolved Dinosaurs?". The most up-to-date versions of these and other articles may be accessed at: Babu G. Ranganathan' s Articles.

The author, Babu G. Ranganathan, is an experienced Christian writer. Mr. Ranganathan has his B.A. with academic concentrations in Bible and Biology from Bob Jones University. As a religion and science writer he has been recognized in the 24th edition of Marquis Who's Who In The East. The author's articles have been published in various publications including Russia's Pravda and South Korea's The Seoul Times. The author's website may be accessed at: www.religionscience .com .


Banyak orang berpikir bahwa kesuksesan di bidang tertentu meminta
korban kegagalan di bidang yang lain. Benarkah hal ini terjadi ?
disinilah dibutuhkan keseimbangan hidup. (dr. Stephen R. Covey)

Rahasia kesuksesan adalah belajar bagaimana menggunakan kesengsaraan
dan kesenangan, bukan menjadi korban kesengsaraan atau kesenangan.
Jika kammu melakukan ini, maka kamu akan mengontrol hidupmu, dan
sebaliknya jika kamu tidak melakukannya. maka kamu akan dikontrol/
menjadi korban keadaan. (Anthony Robbins)

Ungkapan "tidak mungkin" adalah kata yang hanya bisa ditemukan dalam
kamus kehidupan orang bodoh (Napoleon Bonaparte)

Ia yang menjahati kamu sesungguhnya sedang memberimu kesempatan untuk
mewujudkan kesabaran dan kasih. (Dalai Lama)

Such a beauty, as they lit up the sky,
Blinking their way, all through the night.
And yet how can people fail to see
Something so lovely
Something to special
In each and every star?
The hidden messages
And mystery behind glitter.

Oh, I wish upon a star.
Upon a fantastic sight of a falling star,
That you could see and feel
My feelings I’ve hide
Behind each and every
Twinkle – twinkle little star.

My darling,
I want you to know
You are every star in my life
And because of that
I fold glow-in-dark paper stars
But I only fold them
when I am thinking of you
because each star represents
five times of ‘I MISS YOU’
and five times of ‘I LOVE YOU’

Through out the years
Never one failed to fold paper stars
Each time the thought of you cross my mind.

Now folded paper stars filled my room,
All in different glow-in-dark colors,
And if you will to count them,
Then,
You will know how much
I MISS YOU and I LOVE YOU!




Kembali Berlatih, Van Persie Siap Hadapi Italia


Berne - Kabar baik datang menghampiri kubu Belanda. Cedera yang membekap Robin van Persie dikabarkan mulai pulih dan ia diperkirakan sudah bisa tampil ketika De Oranje menghadapi Italia.

Sebelumnya, peluang Van Persie untuk tampil di pertandingan pertama Belanda sempat mengecil. Pemain berusia 24 tahun itu mengalami cedera otot dan terpaksa absen dalam sesi latihan "Tim Negeri Kincir Angin".

Namun, secercah harapan akhirnya menyeruak. Kamis (5/6/2008), gelandang Arsenal itu sudah mulai berlatih dengan rekan-rekannya untuk persiapan melawan Italia 10 juni 2008 di Stadion Stade Wankdorf. Itulah pertama kalinya Van Persie berlatih bersama timnasnya dalam sebulan terakhir.

"Robin akhirnya berlatih untuk pertama kalinya dalam sebulan terakhir. Mungkin ia agak sedikit bingung, tetapi kami akan terus memantau perkembangannya dalam beberapa hari ke depan," tukas pelatih Marco van Basten di Sportinglife.

Van Persie sendiri sudah menyatakan kesiapannya jika dipasang melawan Italia, meski mengakui bahwa masih sulit baginya untuk tampil penuh sepanjang 90 menit.

"Saya sudah berusaha selama sebulan dan saya pikir saya siap untuk melawan Italia. Sekarang tinggal pelatih yang menentukan. Tentu saja saya agak kurang fit karena jarang bertanding akhir-akhir ini. Masih sulit bagi saya untuk bermain penuh, tapi saya pikir saya masih bisa berguna bagi tim dengan cara lain," tukasnya.


'Portugal Bukan Cuma Ronaldo'

Jenewa - Dengan penampilan impresifnya bersama Manchester United, wajar apabila Cristiano Ronaldo dianggap sebagai tumpuan utama Portugal di Piala Eropa. Namun, Portugal bukan cuma Ronaldo.

Bersama The Red Devils, pemain berusia 23 tahun itu meraih dua titel juara musim lalu, Premier League dan Liga Champions. Kedua gelar tersebut semakin lengkap dengan catatan sensasional lain yang ditorehkannya, mencetak 42 gol dalam semusim.

Dengan catatan tersebut, Ronaldo diyakini akan tulang punggung Portugal untuk meraih kesuksesan di Austria-Swiss. Bahkan bek Chelsea, Paulo Ferreira, sangat mengharapkan daya magis pemain berjuluk 'CR7' itu berlanjut di Euro.

"Dia sekarang bersama kami. Dan seperti yang saya tahu, dia selalu menginginkan kompetisi yang ketat," ujar Ferreira seperti dilansir Goal. "Dia adalah seorang pemenang dan saya berharap ia bisa melanjutkan performa bagusnya di Manchester United bersama kami," lanjutnya.

Meski demikian, striker Turki, Nihat Kahveci, meyakini kekuatan Portugal tidak akan melulu tertumpu pada Ronaldo. Ia menngatakan bahwa sepakbola merupakan permainan tim dan tidak bisa hanya mengandalkan satu orang, apalagi Portugal memiliki banyak pemain bagus.

"Cristiano Ronaldo akan membuat perbedaan, itu pasti. Ketika Anda memiliki pemain yang memenangi Liga Inggris dan Liga Champions lalu mencetak bayak gol, wajar apabila ia menjadi pusat perhatian," tukasnya di Reuters.

"Tetapi, Anda tidak bisa menang dengan hanya satu orang pemain. Tidak bisa hanya dengan seorang Ronaldo. Ketika melawan mereka nanti pertahanan kami akan memegang peranan penting. Karena menghadapi pemain sekelas Ronaldo, Quaresma, atau Deco, kita harus berkonsentrasi penuh," tukasnya.

Turki akan berhadapan dengan Portugal pada tanggal 8 Juni 2008 di Stade de Geneve, kota Jenewa. Mereka tergabung di Grup A bersama tuan rumah Swiss dan Republik Ceko.

Menunggu 'Tarzan' vs 'George Clooney' di Euro

Jakarta - Nama julukan disandang sejumlah pemain tim-tim peserta Piala Eropa 2008. Alhasil, di gelaran kali ini akan ada pelukis, bintang Hollywood sampai Tarzan.

Di awal karirnya bersama Juventus, Alessandro del Piero sudah mulai menunjukkan bakat besarnya di lapangan hijau. Kemampuan artistik penyerang Italia itu di lapangan-lah yang kemudian bikin dia diserahi sebuah julukan.

Melihat kemampuan Del Piero "menghiasi" lapangan dengan corak-corak indah permainannya, pemilik Juve terdahulu Giovanni Agnelli menyamakan talenta sang pemain dengan pelukis Renaisans Italia, "Pinturicchio" --yang punya nama asli Bernardino di Betto (1454 – 1513).

Kalau di skuad Italia ada "seniman klasik" Yunani punya "artis seni" lainnya yang jauh lebih kekinian. Adalah kiper Antonis Nikopolidis yang diserahi julukan "George Clooney", karena rambutnya yang memutih itu bikin dia terlihat mirip dengan bintang Hollywood tersebut.

Nah, kalau bicara kemiripan, Spanyol pun "punya" Tarzan dalam sosok Sergio Ramos. Julukan "Tarzan" dilekatkan kepada Ramos bukan karena bek Real Madrid itu meraja di sebuah rimba, tapi lebih karena dia dinilai mirip dengan Johhny Weismuller, aktor pemeran Tarzan yang paling dikenal. Keduanya memang sama-sama memiliki rambut gondrong dengan badan berotot. Sang "raja rimba" dan "George Clooney" pun akan saling berhadapan karena Yunani dan Spanyol berbagi tempat di Grup D.

Beralih ke Prancis, saat ini mereka memang tidak memiliki pemain yang dilekati dengan julukan dari pelakon dunia seni. Namun mereka punya "mimpi buruk sepakbola Prancis" dalam diri pemain terbaik Prancis tahun ini, Karim Benzema.

Julukan yang diberikan oleh Rohff, artis rap Prancis favorit Benzema, tersebut tentu dimaksudkan kalau penyerang asal Lyon itulah yang akan jadi "mimpi buruk" buat lawan-lawannya. Tapi, kalau lantas Benzema menggagalkan kans Prancis jadi juara di Piala Eropa 2008 julukan sama masih boleh disandangnya, kendati kali ini dialah yang memberikan "mimpi buruk (buat) sepakbola Prancis".

Benzema juga punya julukan-julukan lain. Salah satunya adalah "BigBenz", yang tentu memelesetkan nama menara lonceng yang menjulang jadi ikon Inggris, Big Ben. Si "Benz Besar" Prancis ini memang punya tubuh cukup besar dengan tinggi sekitar 1,83 m dan berat 73 kg. Selain postur, yang besar tentu saja adalah determinasi Benzema untuk menjebol gawang lawan, terbukti dengan predikat topskorer Liga Prancis 2007/08 yang disandang.

Pelesetan untuk nama julukan juga dimiliki Marco Materazzi yang umum disebut "Matrix". Palang pintu Italia itu juga mendapat julukan "Macelazzi", pelesetan dari kata macellaio yang berarti "Sang Penjagal".

Kalau untuk memberikan julukan buat Materazzi diperlukan utak-atik kata, tak demikian halnya dengan Patrick Vieira dan Patrice Evra yang cuma dipanggil Pat, serta Florent Malouda yang disapa Flo. Tentu tak sulit menerka kalau julukan ketiga pemain Prancis itu semata-mata berasal dari tiga huruf nama depan mereka. Terlalu sederhana?

Beberapa pemain lain mendapat julukan hanya karena mengacu pada penampilan mereka di lapangan. Penyerang veteran Swedia Henrik Larsson yang tajinya masih belum kunjung termakan usia dapat sebutan "Mutiara Emas", kiper Spanyol Iker Casillas adalah "Santo Iker" karena kemampuannya menyelamatkan gawang. Sementara lini depan Rumania akan diisi "Dinamit" dalam sosok Adrian Mutu dan "Panah" yang dilekatkan pada Marius Niculae. Keduanya akan bahu-membahu "meledakkan" pertahanan lawan untuk kemudian melesat menuju target.

Namun demikian, Cristiano Ronaldo yang adalah bintang Portugal dan calon kuat peraih gelar Pemain Terbaik Dunia 2008 sepertinya belum punya julukan tetap di timnas, seperti dilansir AFP. Di klubnya sendiri, Manchester United, pemain itu akrab disebut CR7 --mengacu pada inisial dan nomor punggungnya-- serta "King of Wing" alias "Raja di Sektor Sayap" karena kemampuannya di lini tersebut.

Nama julukan-julukan pemain lainnya?



Hiddink di Depan Keajaiban Lain

Jakarta - Guus Hiddink sudah menciptakan keajaiban bersama Korea Selatan di Piala Dunia 2002. Menyusul hasil sempurna di laga persiapan menuju Euro, dia berpeluang menciptakan keajaiban yang lain.

Kamis (5/6/2008) dinihari WIB tadi Rusia menutup persiapannya menuju Euro 2008 dengan senyum mengembang dan kepercayaan diri tinggi. Menghadapi Lithuania dalam sebuah pertandingan persahabatan, Andrei Arshavin dkk menang meyakinkan 4-1.

Memang lawan yang dihadapi bukan tim papan atas Eropa, namun hasil itu tetap dirasa sangat positif mengingat banyak tim lain justru masih belum meyakinkan meski menghadapi tim kelas dua. Lebih jauh kemenangan tersebut menyempurnakan penampilan Rusia yang memang selalu menang di beberapa pertandingan ujicoba.

Adalah Kazakhstan yang pertama jadi korban keganasan Rusia saat mereka gunduli enam gol tanpa balas, 6-0. Kejayaan mereka berlanjut ketika menghadapi Serbia dan kembali memetik kemenangan dengan skor 2-1.

Ini jelas jadi awal yang sangat baik buat Rusia untuk merah prestasi tertinggi di Austria-Swiss. Mungkin terlalu muluk untuk menargetkan Rusia mampu mengulang sukses seperti yang pernah diraih saat masih bernama Uni Soviet tahun 1960 lalu, namun dengan apa yang sudah diraihnya kini Rusia berpotensi menjadi tim kejutan, seperti yang dilakukan Hiddink bersama Korea Selatan enam tahun lalu di Piala Dunia 2002.

Saat itu "Negeri Ginseng" mengejutkan dunia saat berturut-turut mampu menundukkan Italia dan Spanyol di babak perdelapan dan perempatfinal. Sang tuan rumah akhirnya terhenti pada babak semifinal -- raihan yang rasanya akan sulit diulang -- saat ditaklukkan Jerman 0-1.

Tapi perjalanan yang akan dilalui Rusia di Piala Eropa nanti adalah trek menanjak, bukan hanya karena lawan yang mereka hadapi di Grup D yang terdiri dari Spanyol, Yunani dan Swedia. Hiddink juga terkendala keterbatasan striker menyusul cedera yang menghinggapi Pavel Pogrebnyak, sementara di dua laga perdana mereka juga tak akan bisa memainkan Andrei Arshavin yang masih terkena sanksi larangan bermain.

Di babak kualifikasi Russia sudah membuktikan kalau mereka menciptakan kejutan saat mengangkangi Inggris yang kemudian memaksa John Terry cs gagal lolos ke final. Dengan rentetan kemenangan yang didapat jelang kick-off Euro 2008, Hiddink bisa saja tengah berhadapan dengan keajaiban lain. ( din / krs )