Coming Home

One of the greatest joys that I have had in life has been the process involved in becoming a scientist. In a sense, the process continues after the exams and graduation, when mastery of methodology yields the bumper crop of discovery. And it is the discovery of God’s creation that fills one with a sense of awe and wonder, the sense of smallness one feels when walking along the seashore, or gazing into a star-filled sky, contemplating that some of those stars are actually entire galaxies. And for all the smallness one feels when standing aside such enormity, one feels even smaller when contemplating the entire universe of complexity that is the inner working of the individual cell.

Tens of thousands of biochemical reactions occurring in any given instant, monorail systems built in for the transport and delivery of parts between neighborhoods within the cell, thousands of dish antenna-like receptors and transport machines built into the surface membrane, and the enormity of the complexity inherent in DNA.

We live in a time when so many of nature’s secrets are being revealed that giants such as Pasteur, Jenner, and Anton van Leeuwenhoek would have sold their souls to be a part of it all. It is beautiful, breathtaking and humbling, all at the same time. We are truly fearfully and wonderfully made by God.

Perhaps the most breathtaking of all have been the contributions of sonogram technology and embryoscopy over the past decade to our understanding of how it is that we come to be in our mother’s womb. The Endowment for Human Development has a stunning website, filled with brief 3D and embryoscopy videos from every stage of development. I link to their movie menu here. It is simply impossible not to be drawn in by the beauty of our complexity and the intricate choreography in the dance of life which directs that development.

The embryoscopy videos are narrated and leave one wanting more. This is where we must begin to instill a love affair with the embryo and fetus. These are family-friendly videos from a site that remains ethically neutral and simply invites all to take a peek behind the veil.

Go make a cup of coffee or tea and sit down for a scientific education that is simply riveting.