3 Responses to “High Precision Development”

1. Mike Godfrey Says:
   July 22nd, 2007 at 8:29 am

   I'm not well versed in evo-devo concepts,so excuse my meanderings.
   Considering the extreme fidelity and sensitivity of cell differentiation even at the relatively 'simple' point in evolutionary history represented by a fly,how did this fundamental and ubiquitous process evolve?
   After all, other multicellular organisms must perform the same function with the same fidelity, so less complexity can't be an option can it ?
   This level of complexity must be there from the begining.

Comment by Mike Godfrey — July 22, 2007 @ 8:29 am

2. Bradford Says:
   July 22nd, 2007 at 8:49 am

   Mike Godfrey:

   After all, other multicellular organisms must perform the same function with the same fidelity, so less complexity can't be an option can it ? This level of complexity must be there from the begining.

   Good question. What results would correlate to other eukaryotic organisms?

Comment by Bradford — July 22, 2007 @ 8:49 am

3. Thought Provoker Says:
   July 22nd, 2007 at 12:21 pm

   Mike Godfrey wrote…

   This level of complexity must be there from the begining.

   A paper by Stuart Hameroff and Jack Tuszynski is titled Quantum states in proteins and protein assemblies: The essence of life? (the link to a Word document). It includes…

   "To account for communication and organization in living systems, physicist Herbert Fröhlich23-25 suggested that a membrane or large chain of macromolecules possessing longitudinal dipole vibrations could act like a Bose-Einstein condensate. Fröhlich's proposal was based on the notion that biological systems are far from equilibrium, and have considerable amounts of available energy which lead to non-linear behaviors. The concept that many body systems far from equilibrium and governed by nonlinear kinetic laws may display macroscopic self-organized order is consistent with approaches such as Prigogine's dissipative structures and Haken's synergetics."

   You will have to excuse the bombastic-sounding nature of this but the target audience is obviously wasn't your average blogger. This scientific paper is ten pages long complete with an abstract, conclusion and 60 references.

   While I won't claim intimate comprehension of every thing here, the phrase "large chain of macromolecules" is directly applicable to DNA and "non-linear behaviors" is mathspeak for a likelihood of being non-deterministic which makes "governed by nonlinear kinetic laws" the equivalent of saying "magic-looking". However, rather than simply stating "macroscopic self-organized order" is due to the magic-like properties of quantum mechanics, Hameroff and Tuszynski reference "Prigogine's dissipative structures and Haken's synergetics" and let other scientists say it for them.

   To hammer home the point, here is something from a web accessible Hameroff paper titled SEARCH FOR QUANTUM AND CLASSICAL MODES OF INFORMATION PROCESSING IN MICROTUBULES: IMPLICATIONS FOR "THE LIVING STATE"

   Pondering seemingly intelligent activities of single cell protozoa, famed neuroscientist C.S. Sherrington 5 conjectured in 1951 that "of nerve there is no trace, but the cytoskeleton might serve". The shape and structure of cells is determined by the cytoskeleton, scaffoldings of filamentous protein polymers which include microtubules, actin and intermediate filaments. Traditionally considered as merely "bone-like" structural support, the cytoskeleton is now thought to be involved in intracellular signaling, information processing and cognition 6,7. Rigid microtubules interconnected by microtubule-associated proteins ("MAPs") are bound into a self-supporting dynamic tensegrity network, intertwined by actin filaments. The cytoskeleton also includes microtubule-based organelles called centrioles, membrane-bound microtubule-based cilia which protrude from the cell, and other proteins.

   In the conclusion of this paper, Hameroff explains the concept of "quantum vitalist"…

   If microtubules utilize quantum information, cell interiors must be conducive to mesoscopic and macroscopic quantum states, implying that such states are an important and perhaps essential feature of life. The living state is a process generally described in terms of its properties and functions such as self-organization, metabolism (energyutilization), adaptive behavior, reproduction, and evolution. Whether or not this functional description is complete is a matter of contention. Two broad types of approaches have attempted to characterize the essential nature of the life process: (1) functionalism and (2) vitalism85.

   Functionalism implies that life is independent of its material substrate. For example, certain types of self-organizing computer programs can exhibit life-like functions, and "artificial life" proponents view such systems as "alive." Functionalists also point out that life's material substrate doesn't distinguish biological matter. Proteins, DNA, carbohydrates, fats, and other biomolecular components are made of the same atoms and elements that make up inanimate substances. Bolstered by the success of genetic engineering, functional/reductive approaches dominate molecular biology. "Life" is ascribed to an emergent property of biochemical processes. Any vitalistic life force or energy field is deemed unnecessary and unacceptable.

   Nonetheless, a commonly held contrary viewpoint is that functional descriptions fail to capture an essential self-organizing "unitary oneness" present in living systems. To nineteenth-century biologists this quality was ascribed to a "life force," "elan vital," or energy field. Then, as molecular and cell biology began to reveal the biochemical and physical processes involved in cellular activities, the apparent need for a life force waned, and "vitalists" (or "animists") were vilified. In modern reductionist science the notion of a life force, energy or information field has remained almost taboo.

   However, whereas nineteenth-century vitalism was based either completely on electromagnetics or on forces outside the realm of science, a "quantum vitalist" perspective may be taken in which life derives from quantum states in cytoplasm, organized by microtubules and other cytoskeletal structures. This paper proposes several likely candidates in the search for quantum modes and pathways of information transfer and processing at a subcellular level. The living statee may be a state of quantum coherent unity organized in cytoplasm and cytoskeletal proteins.

Comment by Thought Provoker — July 22, 2007 @ 12:21 pm

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