Laminin

From Wikipedia: "Laminin is the major non-collagenous component of the basal lamina, such as those on which cells of an epithelium sit.[1] Basically, laminin is a protein found in the "extracellular matrix", the sheets of protein that form the substrate of all internal organs also called the "basement membrane". It has four arms that can bind to four other molecules. The three shorter arms are particularly good at binding to other laminin molecules, which is what makes it so great at forming sheets. The long arm is capable of binding to cells, which helps anchor the actual organs to the membrane... Laminin is vital to making sure overall body structures hold together."

Okay, pretty cool science that catches my attention. Basically, laminin is the thing that holds us together... literally. They're the proteins that hold all of our cells together; without laminin we would fall apart. Pretty nifty stuff.

But what's really amazing is what laminin looks like. My dad just sent me an e-mail with a picture of the stuff. Check it out (or go ahead and Google "laminin" and see a bunch of images of the thing from various sites):


Okay, I don't want to super-spiritualize the thing. And I know that the Roman cross on which Jesus died didn't look like the iconic Christian symbol (it was probably more of a "T" shape with the crossbeam hanging on a semi-permanent scaffolding). Still, I can't help but smile at the idea that the thing that holds all of us together is a cross.

Remember what Paul said to the Christians in Colossae in the 1st century?

"Christ is the visible image of the invisible God. He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation, for through him God created everything in the heavenly realms and on earth. He made the things we can see and the things we can’t see— such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities in the unseen world. Everything was created through him and for him. He existed before anything else, and he holds all creation together." (Colossians 1:15-17 NLT)