Eye of newt, toe of gecko

According to a report by scientists in the national journal Nature, geckos are small tropical reptiles whose ability to walk up walls and across ceilings has previously defied all attempts to explain how they could stick to any surface with no sign of any glue or suction mechanism to hold them on. A group of biologists and engineers studied the microscopic hairs on gecko toes and found the ends of the hairs directly attach to molecules in the walking surface by van der Waals force, a type of attraction between atoms. The report concludes that engineering a structure like a gecko foot is “beyond the limits of human technology,” but scientists express the hope that the “natural technology of gecko foot-hairs can provide biological inspiration for future design of a remarkably effective adhesive.”

If understanding how to [design] gecko foot-hairs is beyond intelligent human engineers, it is certainly beyond blind, mindless chance. The more we look into the precision engineering found in living things, the more we are reminded of the apostle Paul’s warning that human beings who study the created world are without excuse for ignoring the creator.

As Michael Denton points out: “The conclusion may have religious implications, but it does not depend on religious suppositions.”

Dennis R. Petersen, Unlocking the Mysteries of Creation, Master Books, 2002, p. 113