We have written before in this space (here, for instance: http://www.augustarx.com/news/?p=3224) about the apparently runaway success of evolution. It isn’t just that man has evolved, as the story goes, it’s that teeth evolved, and so did the brain; so did the tremendously complex system of jointed bones and ligaments in our hands and feet; the eyes, the lungs, the kidneys, and other organs and their dependent systems developed bilaterally. Knees and ankles, amazing feats of structural engineering also evolved, as did the ears and all the incredibly sophisticated communications hardware and circuitry that allows them to relay information to the brain. We haven’t even scratched the surface of systems and structures we take for granted that enable the lives we enjoy. The odds that any one of them would individually develop by a series of random accidents and mutations is one of those numbers with lots of zeroes. Add together the odds of them all developing to the state of amazing complexity that we see, and you would truly have an astronomical number. It would stretch the bounds of believability for all but evolution’s most faithful believers.
Here’s a example that is probably the last thing you would expect: not brain chemistry; not the heart; not DNA. No. None of those. Let’s go with saliva. Plain old spit.
There are people who have devoted their illustrious scientific careers entirely to the study of spit. I am not making this up. Science writer Mary Roach devotes an entire chapter of her fascinating book “Gulp – Adventures On The Alimentary Canal” to the subject. Here are a few pertinent sentences from “Gulp” about saliva:
• “As a germ killer, saliva puts mouthwash to shame.”
• “Saliva is…an antimicrobial miracle.”
• “Saliva forms a protective film that clings to the surface of teeth. Proteins in this film bind to calcium and phosphate and serve to remineralize the enamel.”
• “Human saliva contains histatins, which speed wound closure independent of their antibacterial action.”
Amazingly, saliva produced by the parotid glands in response to eating and drinking (“stimulated” saliva) is different from what is called “unstimulated” saliva, the stuff that’s in our mouth all the time, when food and drink aren’t in the mix. Stimulated saliva contains a small army of complex digestive enzymes; it also restores the pH balance in the mouth in response to whatever we’ve ingested, whether acid or alkali. Unstimulated saliva does an astounding job of delicately balancing two jobs: protecting friendly oral bacteria and ferociously attacking unfriendly bacteria. As cited above, scientific analysis confirms that your mouthwash and its claim to kill 99% of oral bacteria doesn’t hold a candle to the antibacterial properties of saliva. And it strengthens our teeth between meals too.
We could go on, but time and space are limited for us all. This portrait of spit has been brief. More of snapshot, actually. Even at that it might have been more than some people would care to swallow. But it does raise a pertinent question: given the surprisingly complex composition and functions of saliva and the glands that produce it, what do you think? Is it reasonable to conclude it’s the product of random events over eons of time? Or does reason suggest a pattern among living things that shows evidence of a wise designer?
NEW HERE?
WANT TO READ MORE? FOR PREVIOUS POSTS JUST CLICK BELOW WHERE IT SAYS
“Categories: Church of the Infinite Chasm”