The Glue That Holds Us Together
Ever wonder how our body stays neatly contained within the confines of our cells and organs? Well, you can thank Laminins for that little piece of biological magic!
Laminins are large molecular weight glycoproteins constituted by the assembly of three disulfide-linked polypeptides, the α, β and γ chains. The human genome encodes 11 genetically distinct laminin chains. Structurally, laminin chains differ by the number, size and organization of a few constitutive domains, endowing the various members of the laminin family with common and unique important functions. In particular, laminins are indispensable building blocks for cellular networks physically bridging the intracellular and extracellular compartments and relaying signals critical for cellular behavior, and for extracellular polymers determining the architecture and the physiology of basement membranes.
Basement membranes are specialized extracellular matrices holding cells and tissues together, a property largely due to their content in laminins.
In short, laminims are what scientists refer to as "adhesion" molecules. They are the molecular glue which hold our very beings together.
Molecular biologists call laminin “the glue of the body,” because without it, our bodies would fall apart. With that said, note the specific appearance of this critical molecule.
Some have suggested that it is no coincidence that laminin molecules arrange themselves into the shape of a cross.
The truth is, without Jesus and what he did for us on the cross, our whole lives would fall apart. Colossians 1:17 says that Jesus “is before all things, and in him all things hold together.”
"For in him we live and move and have our being" (Acts 17:28, NIV).
Jesus is the one who holds all things together!
You Must Be Born Again, AGAIN
Twenty-three year old Jaiden Ashlea gave birth to her son, Levi James, last week, only to have him tucked safely back into her womb to be born again in approximately eleven weeks.
You see, it was discovered through an in utero exam that Levi suffered from a life threatening, congenital condition known as spina bifida — a rare condition in which the spine is fatally malformed. So doctors removed tiny Levi from his mama’s womb to perform life saving and life altering surgery to reconstruct his spine. But Levi needs the safety and protection of the womb to continue healing from his operation and to continue growing to full term, so doctors deposited him back inside his mama’s uterus and stitched her up pending his full term delivery once he reaches at least 37 weeks gestation.
Each year, out of roughly 1500 babies diagnosed with spina bifida, only a handful of mothers and babies around the world are deemed approved for this kind of surgery.
The NY Post reports, “Ashlea originally shared her story in a viral TikTok video captioned: “Birthing my baby for him to be put back in and 11 weeks later be born again,” which now boasts over 2 million views.
“I’m excited for him to realize how many people were rooting for him, and how loved and special he is,” said Ashlea. “Not everyone gets the chance to have this surgery. And I want him to know that God was on his side.”
Little Levi is already showing signs of improved brain activity. And though he'll need physical therapy once born, he's expected to live a healthy, normal life.
As Jesus sat explaining salvation to Nicodemus, the Lord said to him, “Truly, truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.”
The Pharisee paused to ponder his comments, and incredulously questioned, “How can someone be born when they are old? Surely they cannot enter a second time into their mother’s womb to be born [again]!”
Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit” (John 3:3-6, NIV).
It turns out that someone CAN go back into their mother’s womb to be born a second time. But as radical and lifesaving as this surgery might be, one still needs to be born AGAIN if they are ever to truly live, not just via the waters of the womb, but by the power and regeneration of the Holy Spirit!
No surgery, no matter how rare or how skilled can impart eternal life. Only God can do that; only God can fix what really ails us.
Yet thankfully, this life-giving regeneration of our souls isn’t only offered to a select few deemed approved to receive it. It is offered to all for the asking.
As for little Levi, God is indeed on his side! And He’s on YOUR side, as well.
Won’t you ask God to heal your heart and make you born again?
The Mystery of Mystery Hill
Want to see water flow uphill, balls roll up a ramp, or watch a swing sway in perpetual motion? Well come on down to Mystery Hill in Blowing Rock, NC. It claims to be the only site in NC, and one of a handful in the entire USA, that sits atop a bona fide “natural gravitational anomaly.”
Discovered in the 1920s in the Historic Hudson Apple Orchards the only known gravitational anomaly in the state has been amazing visitors from around the world since it was opened to the public in 1948. On a fun and educational guided tour, your family will learn the history of the discovery of this natural wonder and get to try their hand with many demonstrations of how gravity behaves differently in this one section of the historic orchards. Tours start several times an hour and guests get time to explore and experiment on their own after the tour. -- from "About" Mystery Hill
Visitors enter a room that appears to be level, but immediately upon entering, are propelled seemingly “downhill” toward the opposite wall. Balls placed on a track with an apparent 20-30 degree upward grade appear to roll up the track. Water poured into a bucket at the lower base of a pipe running 20-30 degrees below a faucet appears to flow up the pipe and out the faucet above. Children can sit upon a swing and push back only to have it swing forward and stop at a right angle to the ground, before swinging back again with no effort.
Visitors listen in amazement as the tour guide explains that the room they are in sits atop a gravitational vortex – an area of highly dense metal ore buried deep in the heart of the mountain beneath them, which causes gravity to work in contradiction to the laws of nature.
It’s all quite impressive, quite fascinating, mesmerizing, and honestly, utterly disorienting.
But is it real? Well, it’s certainly rooted, in some measure, to a known geological phenomenon of high-density metal ore buried deep beneath the site of the old orchard.
Simply using the level app on your iPhone will reveal that the ascending track on which the balls roled up is actually running a few, subtle degrees below level. In other words, both the track and the pipe were actually slanted just very slightly downhill. Fixtures, furnishing, trims, etc. were all meticulously designed to use optical illusion to disorient and deceive.
Visitors to Mystery Hill are asked to believe a story that contradicts an established law of science. The lesson is that when given a choice between a law of nature and a story that contradicts a law of nature, we should always choose the law of nature.
The theory of evolution presents us with a similar dilemma. As the story goes, for millions of years, early humans have evolved to become an increasingly more advanced species. The problem with this story is that it contradicts an established law of science, namely, the second law of thermodynamics, which tells us that entropy (our current trajectory toward total disorder) will never decrease. Given the choice between a law of nature and a story, which will you choose?