The Champion of Frozen Frogs

Job 38:29
“Out of whose womb came the ice? and the hoary frost of heaven, who hath gendered it?”

In previous Creation Moments programs we have told you about frogs that produce antifreeze in the winter. But the Wood Frog is the absolute champion at surviving below-freezing temperatures.

Most frogs that survive northern winters cannot withstand more than a few degrees below freezing before they begin to suffer cell damage. Researchers placed Wood Frogs into an industrial freezer where they became stiff and hard on the outside, and partially liquid on the inside. The frogs’ metabolism stopped, and they became brain-dead. When they were thawed out, however, they returned to life as if nothing had ever happened. Wood Frogs avoid cell damage caused by the formation of ice crystals by generating glucose – a highly effective antifreeze. Other species of frogs produce glycerol, a less-effective type of antifreeze. However, the levels of glucose generated by the Wood Frog would cause cell damage in most other frogs, but these frogs limit the damage by shutting off their metabolism. What’s more, should the Wood Frog suffer any cell damage by ice crystal formation, its blood contains a special fibrinogen that seals any leaks in its cell walls.

It is unlikely that all these different systems would evolve perfectly all at the same time. The Wood Frog is an example of a creature where everything had to work perfectly the first time – a testimony to our Creator.

Prayer:
I thank You, Lord, that You care for all Your creatures. Amen.

Notes:
Discover, 2/05, pp.20-21, Elizabeth Svoboda, “Waking From a Dead Sleep.”