"Who linked the atoms and made the perfect molecules and joined them?"

Why does it have to be "who" ... maybe no "one" did it. Maybe it's just a lot of biology and chemistry. Why do we have to know?

Richard Dawkins addresses the question of how the first genes formed and how they progressed into more sophisticated structures in his book The Selfish Gene. Read my review here. I highly recommend it.

Also, here is an interesting op-ed piece from a Republican Senator from Kansas who does not "believe" in evolution. I do not share his opinion, but I respect that he acknowledges the role of science and doesn't outright reject it.