03.10.06

This is it, This is Love

Posted in Uncategorized at 4:35 pm by Perry

There are certain milestones that every human, and some animals, anticipates; an infants first step, riding a bike, a first kiss, and going to college.  And then there are milestones which only certain groups of people eagerly await such as women planning their weddings and an athlete winning a championship.  There is one milestone that every aspiring scientist strives for, one which is almost a rite of passage into the scientific field; the first time a student isolates and holds in their own hands “living” deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA).

I can proudly say that I have taken that step.  I approached the threshold today and crossed it with amazement and awe.  In my biology lab we isolated DNA from a sample of green onion through an elaborate process (which will not be discussed because no one really cares) as a precipitate in a solution of ethanol.  The procedure took about an hour to complete and the anticipation was almost too much to bear.  To know that I was only a few minutes away from visualizing this all too vague polymer of nucleotides that I have so extensively studied was like climbing the hill of a rollercoaster knowing that it would plummet hundreds of feet vertically down any second. 

As a science major I have studied and analyzed the structure, bonding nature, and functioning of DNA for so long that it was nothing more than a picture in a textbook; words on a page.  But now, sitting at my desk with a sample at my side I can’t help but think I can see the hydrogen bonding between the secondary structure and that A-T and G-C nucleotide base pairing.  It is silly and irrational, I know, but this simple strand of material codes for EVERY function within and across my body.  This almost microscopic sample spans billions of base pairs containing enough genetic material to code for every cell, protein, tissue, organ, and trait that defines my physical personhood.  This is creation, too marvelous to ever comprehend but yet beautiful enough to know that God is real, really love, truly graceful, and fully good. 

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