[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":88},["ShallowReactive",2],{"\u002Farticles\u002Fbeyond-conception":3,"\u002Farticles\u002Fbeyond-conception-surround":77},{"id":4,"title":5,"author":6,"bibleBooks":8,"body":10,"columnName":60,"date":61,"description":5,"extension":62,"image":63,"meta":64,"minRead":65,"navigation":66,"path":67,"postType":68,"publication":69,"publicationUrl":63,"seo":70,"stem":71,"topics":72,"__hash__":76},"blog\u002Farticles\u002Fbeyond-conception.md","Beyond Conception",{"name":7},"Dave Faust",[9],"",{"type":11,"value":12,"toc":57},"minimark",[13,16,19,22,25,28,31,34,37,45,48,51,54],[14,15,5],"p",{},[14,17,18],{},"Publication: The Lookout",[14,20,21],{},"Date: January 20, 2008",[14,23,24],{},"Column: First Look",[14,26,27],{},"Category: Sanctity of Life; Baby; DNA",[14,29,30],{},"The beginning of a human life is more complex than we can fully comprehend.",[14,32,33],{},"In the mother's body, one ovum reaches maturity each month, propelled into position by fine, hair-like structures that line the fallopian tube. During sexual intercourse, the male produces an average 400 million spermatozoa, some of which cluster together and release an enzyme to dissolve the protective layer of corona cells surrounding the ovum. As soon as one sperm penetrates the ovum, the protective layer immediately re-asserts itself, preventing any more sperm from penetrating the cell membrane. In a moment filled with profound significance, the chromosomal material of the ovum and sperm fuse together, resulting in a structure called a zygote.",[14,35,36],{},"In this moment the gender of the child already has been determined, and a vast amount of genetic information is represented by the 46 chromosomes now woven together in the mother's womb—all contained in a space far smaller than the period at the end of this sentence. The DNA in one tiny fertilized human egg contains more carefully-coded information than a stack of encyclopedias; and yet, the DNA filaments necessary to specify every unique human being alive today would only weigh about one-fifteenth the weight of a postage stamp.",[14,38,39,40,44],{},"The tiny zygote migrates toward the uterus, a journey that takes three or four days. During this time, the fertilized egg undergoes cell division or cleavage, adding a cell approximately every 22 hours. When the zygote reaches the uterus, it contains about 16 to 50 cells. Because of its bumpy, berry-like appearance, at this stage it is called a morula (from the Latin ",[41,42,43],"em",{},"morus",", \"mulberry\"). After about a week of floating freely, the structure (now called a blastocyst) attaches itself to the wall of the uterus. Once implanted, it is called an embryo.",[14,46,47],{},"Soon this bit of tissue gives rise to the placenta, which will serve as the baby's lungs, kidneys, and gastrointestinal tract throughout pregnancy. Three weeks from conception, the placenta is already transporting oxygen, glucose, amino acids, minerals, and vitamins from the blood of the mother to the developing embryo. An umbilical cord (normally containing one vein and two arteries) forms the highway for this exchange of nutrients. Eventually the placenta will mature into as many as 30 separate segments, forming a complex network of communication between the body of the mother and her baby.",[14,49,50],{},"Cushioned comfortably in a private pool of amniotic fluid, the tiny body continues to grow at a rapid pace. By the third week the backbone, spinal column, and nervous system are forming. Within four weeks, the embryo is 10,000 times larger than it was a month earlier when the egg was fertilized. By the eighth week, the heart is beating rhythmically and facial features are discernible. So are legs, arms, fingers, toes, elbows, and knees. Tiny ears can hear, muscle cells move into position, and the baby can feel pain.",[14,52,53],{},"In the third month, the embryo (now weighing about one ounce) already contains unique fingerprints unlike those of any other person. By the sixteenth week, the liver and pancreas are functioning and the baby is able to swallow. Finally, about 38 weeks after conception the baby makes his official appearance, astonishing his parents with a body and a personality all his own.",[14,55,56],{},"Some call the product of conception a random act of nature, but it's hard to think of a person you love in such impersonal terms. Proud parents don't call their little loved one a zygote, morula, blastocyst, embryo, or fetus; they give their tiny child a name like Josh, Emily, Aaron, or Sarah. How can we see human life as anything less than a gift from the hand of God?",{"title":9,"searchDepth":58,"depth":58,"links":59},2,[],"First Look","2008-01-20","md",null,{},4,true,"\u002Farticles\u002Fbeyond-conception","column","The Lookout",{"title":5,"description":5},"articles\u002Fbeyond-conception",[73,74,75],"Christian Unity","Intergenerational Ministry","Spiritual Formation","18pVvi8-G5JQ6qcLUI5AiC9Dpr0dZ0ql84BZ_zqiaCU",[78,83],{"title":79,"path":80,"stem":81,"description":82,"children":-1},"Bend a Bow of Bronze","\u002Farticles\u002Fbend-a-bow-of-bronze","articles\u002Fbend-a-bow-of-bronze","*You, O LORD, keep my lamp burning; my God turns my darkness into light. With your help I can advance against a troop; with my God I can scale a wall. . . . He trains my hands for battle; my arms can bend a bow of bronze (Psalm 18:28, 29, 34).*",{"title":84,"path":85,"stem":86,"description":87,"children":-1},"Beyond Our Reach?","\u002Farticles\u002Fbeyond-our-reach","articles\u002Fbeyond-our-reach","Does God ever seem far away? Do you find it hard to understand parts of the Bible? Truth is, all of us have some unanswered questions about the Lord. All of us struggle at times to discern God's will and obey it.",1790466139202]