Zinc Flash and The Imputation of a Soul Part 2

Light as Life

Returning to the command to “be fruitful and multiply” may be mentioned right after creation and before dominion because procreation represents a divinely sanctioned act of UC, where a new soul and body are brought into existence. This command reflects the sacred role of humanity in participating in God’s creative work, bridging the physical and spiritual realms through procreation. Outside of materialist perspectives, many traditions and philosophies recognize that a person encompasses more than just their physical presence. In the West, this is often expressed as the union of body and soul or body, soul, and spirit. The physical process of conception, observed in the unification of egg and sperm, marks the genesis of human life. Aristotle’s concept of “final cause” refers to the ultimate purpose of something—in this case, the creation of a human being, which unites body, soul, and spirit. This sacred process underscores the divine significance of humanity’s role in fulfilling this command.”[1]

How is procreation a UC, you might ask? The question is at the heart of my argument. When a sperm and an egg come together, the physical process begins, but a curious phenomenon called a zinc flash or spark begins early in that process. The zinc spark is an inorganic signature of human egg activation paper states:

Egg activation refers to events required for the transition of a gamete into an embryo, including the establishment of the polyspermy block, completion of meiosis, entry into mitosis, selective recruitment, and degradation of maternal mRNA and pronuclear development. Here, we show that zinc fluxes accompany human egg activation. We monitored calcium and zinc dynamics in individual human eggs using selective fluorophores following activation with calcium-ionomycin, ionomycin, or hPLCζ cRNA microinjection. These egg activation methods, as expected, induced rise in intracellular calcium levels and triggered the coordinated release of zinc into the extracellular space in a prominent “zinc spark.” The ability of the gamete to mount a zinc spark response was meiotic-stage dependent. Moreover, chelation of intracellular zinc alone was sufficient to induce cell cycle resumption and transition of a meiotic cell into a mitotic one. Together, these results demonstrate critical functions for zinc dynamics and establish the zinc spark as an extracellular marker of early human development.[2]

The technical block above describes how, during the transition of a fertilized egg from a gamete into an embryo, there is an accompanying zinc flash. I hypothesize that this zinc flash could symbolically or metaphysically represent the beginning of life, possibly indicating the imputation of a soul into the physical being, though this connection remains speculative. The paper indicates that this zinc flash occurs in humans, rodents, porcine, and nonhuman primates. While the zinc flash signifies the beginning of biological life across species, its metaphysical implications may differ between humans and animals. In many theological and philosophical traditions, humans are considered unique due to their capacity for higher reasoning, moral awareness, and spiritual relationships, often associated with possessing an eternal soul. Animals, while imbued with life and often considered to have a form of consciousness or soul, are generally viewed within these traditions as having a different spiritual essence—one tied to physical existence. This distinction highlights the potential for the zinc flash to symbolize the inception of life universally while also inviting deeper contemplation about the varying spiritual significance attributed to humans and animals.

Another piece of anecdotal evidence is the Shroud of Turin. The Shroud is surrounded by mystery and controversy, but one fact remains indisputable: an image of a crucified man is embedded in the cloth.[3] Paolo Di Lazzaro and his team conducted UV light experiments on linen similar to the Shroud of Turin. One of their theories suggests that a short, high-intensity burst of UV light caused the image to form on the linen, specifically VUV, which is electromagnetic radiation with wavelengths between 120-240 nanometers (nm). The study concludes that such a burst of light could replicate the Shroud’s image’s characteristics, though the radiation’s source remains unknown. John Jackson proposes that the body emits UV radiation, which aligns with this hypothesis. The research paper concludes as a direct consequence:

The most interesting results were obtained with VUV light. Permanent coloring is a threshold effect, i.e., coloring is obtained only if the total laser intensity exceeds a certain value (we are talking about a few thousand megawatts per square centimeter). For intensities greater than the right “range of values, flax is vaporized; for intensities less than 1100 MW / cm2, linen is not colored at all. Even when the total intensity is above the threshold, not all irradiated fibrils are colored due to the spatial fluctuations in the intensity of the laser pulses.[4]

Whether or not the Shroud is authentic does not diminish the significance of the theory. The idea that an intense burst of light could produce such an image aligns symbolically with the theological narrative of Jesus as the “Light of the world.” If the Shroud were one day proven authentic, it would support the narrative that Jesus’s body was never found, that He rose from the grave, and that his burial cloth captured the moment of His resurrection. This resurrection, represented by a short, powerful burst of light, resonates with John 8:12: “Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, ‘I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness but will have the Light of life.”

Evidence has demonstrated that life produces light at the beginning and end of life. The idea of life as light is represented not only in Christianity but also in religions throughout the world. So, how does light tie into my theory of UC? The zinc flash, a chemical reaction marking the transition from gamete to embryo, may represent the imputation of the soul into the embryo. While this interpretation is unprovable scientifically at this time, it reflects a metaphysical probability rooted in the recurring symbolic relationship between light and life across natural processes and spiritual traditions. In this context, the zinc flash may be seen as a biological reflection of the unique act of creation, a transition from potential to actual life, consistent with the metaphysical idea of creation as a divine act.

[1] S. Marc Cohen “The Four Causes,” Philosophy 320, University of Washington, 2006, accessed November 10, 2024, from https://faculty.washington.edu/smcohen/320/4causes.htm.

[2] Francesca E. Duncan, Emily L. Que, Nan Zhang, Eve C. Feinberg, Thomas V. O’Halloran & Teresa K. Woodruff, “The zinc spark is an inorganic signature of human egg activation,” Scientific Reports, April 26, 2016, accessed November 10, 2024, from https://www.nature.com/articles/srep24737.

[3] “A Summary of STURP’s Conclusions,” Shroud of Turin Website, Copyright 1996 – 2023, accessed December 6, 2024, from https://www.shroud.com/78conclu.htm, https://www.shroud.com/.

[4] Paolo Di Lazzaro, “A Scientific Approach to the Formation of the Image of the Shroud Part 2,” Union Cristiani Cattolici Razionali (UCCR), October 30, 2011, accessed November 10, 2024, from https://www.uccronline.it/2011/10/30/un-approccio-scientifico-alla-formazione-dell%E2%80%99immagine-della-sindone-ii%C2%B0-parte/.