Series: ‘Beyond Evolution – Rethinking The Human Existence’
This article is part of a series that challenges the view of biological evolution as an unguided process. By examining biological systems that require simultaneous coordination and functional coherence, the series explores key examples where evolutionary explanations appear scientifically weak or logically insufficient—particularly in addressing the origins of life, biological complexity, and human uniqueness.
Chemistry Alone Is Not Life
When people hear that life is made of chemicals, they often imagine that if enough chemicals come together, life will naturally appear. But when scientists study living cells closely, they find something very different. The chemicals of life must not only exist; they must be assembled correctly, shaped correctly, and coordinated precisely. If this coordination fails, life fails, even though the chemicals are still present.
To understand this, we must look carefully at what happens when things go wrong—and also why things normally do not go wrong inside living cells.
When a Molecule Breaks Down or Reacts Incorrectly
Inside cells, molecules are constantly exposed to water, heat, oxygen, and natural radiation. These conditions make chemical reactions unavoidable. Because of this, molecules can sometimes break down, meaning parts of them are chemically altered or lost. They can also react incorrectly, meaning they form bonds in places where they should not.
The sugar used in DNA and RNA, called ribose or deoxyribose, is especially sensitive. Scientists know that ribose can easily degrade in water and heat. A “damaged sugar” is not an imaginary idea; it is a known chemical problem. Damage can mean that one of the oxygen or hydrogen groups on the sugar changes position or breaks off. When this happens, the sugar still exists, but it is no longer suitable for building genetic material.
Why a Damaged Sugar Cannot Hold a Base or Phosphate
Each sugar molecule has specific points where other components must attach. One side must hold a nitrogen base, and another side must hold a phosphate group. These attachment points must be in exact locations.
When the sugar is damaged, those points may shift slightly or disappear altogether. Even a very small change makes a big difference. The base may attach at the wrong angle, or the phosphate may fail to attach completely. The result is a building block that looks complete but cannot connect properly to others.
In living cells, such faulty units are useless. They cannot form stable DNA or RNA chains. This shows that life requires not just chemical presence, but precise molecular geometry.
How Cells Use Enzymes to Prevent Damage
Cells do not allow these processes to happen randomly. They rely on enzymes. Enzymes are proteins made from long chains of amino acids folded into specific shapes. Chemically, enzymes are built from the same basic elements found everywhere in life—carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, and sometimes sulfur—but their power comes from their shape.
There are thousands of different enzymes in a single cell. Each enzyme has a specific role. Some help build DNA, some help copy it, some repair damage, and others destroy faulty molecules. For example, DNA polymerase helps copy DNA, RNA polymerase helps make RNA, and ligase helps join broken DNA strands.
Enzymes guide reactions by holding molecules in the correct position. They speed up correct reactions and block incorrect ones. Without enzymes, chemical reactions would still happen, but they would be slow, random, and mostly destructive. This raises a deep issue: enzymes themselves are produced by living cells, using DNA and RNA instructions. They cannot exist before life, yet life cannot function without them.
How Damaged Bases Cause Mismatches During DNA Copying
The nitrogen bases in DNA store information. Each base has a specific shape that allows it to pair with only one partner. This pairing depends on tiny chemical features called hydrogen bonds.
Bases can be damaged by several natural causes. Oxygen can react with them. Natural background radiation can alter them. Even normal metabolic processes inside the cell can produce reactive chemicals that damage bases. When a base is damaged, one or more of its bonding points changes.
This damage slightly alters the base’s shape. It may still look similar, but it no longer fits perfectly with its correct partner. During DNA copying, the copying machinery may insert the wrong base. This creates an error in the genetic code.
Such errors are not rare events. Cells must constantly repair them. If they are not repaired, the mistakes accumulate and lead to malfunctioning proteins or uncontrolled cell growth.
What Happens When Phosphates Attach in the Wrong Place
Phosphate groups form the backbone of DNA and RNA. They link one sugar to the next, creating long chains. In uncontrolled chemistry, phosphates can attach at multiple positions on a sugar molecule.
Yes, incorrect attachment does happen in laboratory experiments when enzymes are absent. The phosphate may attach at the wrong carbon atom on the sugar. When this happens, the chain bends incorrectly or cannot be extended further.
Living cells prevent this by using enzymes that force the phosphate to attach only at the correct position. Without this control, stable genetic chains would not exist.
Why Random RNA Chains Do Nothing
RNA is a chain of nucleotides, but its function depends entirely on how it folds. RNA can fold into loops, hairpins, spirals, and complex three-dimensional shapes. Each shape has a specific use.
Some RNA molecules carry messages from DNA. Others help assemble proteins. Some regulate which genes are turned on or off. These functions depend on precise folding patterns.
Random RNA chains may form chemically, but without the correct sequence, they cannot fold into useful shapes. They remain loose, unstable strands. Such RNA cannot interact with proteins or ribosomes and is quickly broken down by the cell.
RNA folding happens automatically based on sequence, but the sequence itself must already be correct. This again shows that information and structure must appear together.
Severe Structural Damage and Misfolded Proteins
Proteins are chains of amino acids that fold into specific shapes. A healthy protein folds into a stable structure that allows it to perform its task. Some proteins act as enzymes. Others form structural support. Others send signals.
Misfolded proteins are proteins that fail to reach their correct shape. This can happen due to genetic errors, copying mistakes, or environmental stress. Well-known examples include beta-amyloid and tau proteins in Alzheimer’s disease, and alpha-synuclein in Parkinson’s disease.
In their healthy form, these proteins are soluble and harmless. When misfolded, they stick together, forming clumps. These clumps interfere with cell function and eventually kill cells. In the brain, this leads to memory loss, confusion, and loss of movement.
The chemical substance of the protein remains unchanged. What changes is the shape. This shows that structure, not chemistry alone, determines whether a molecule is helpful or harmful.
What All These Examples Show
Across sugars, bases, nucleotides, RNA, DNA, and proteins, the same lesson appears again and again. Chemical substances may exist naturally, but life depends on precise structure, correct assembly, and constant regulation.
Living cells invest enormous effort in preventing damage, correcting mistakes, and maintaining order. Without this control, chemistry quickly becomes destructive.
A Deeper Question
If life depends on so many molecules being not only present but also correctly shaped, positioned, protected, and coordinated, how did this system arise at the very beginning?
This question goes beyond chemistry alone. It points to the deeper foundations of life—foundations that evolution, by itself, struggles to explain.
