Transition from Chemistry to Biology
- Emphasis on electrochemistry (borderline physics) as crucial, not just chemistry. The transition is a gradual *process*, not a single event.
- Hydrothermal systems have cell-like structures (charge on barriers) which provide a starting point for life, templating cell growth.
- The membrane charge is key: It defines the cell from the environment and coordinates internal activity.
Observer-Relative Perspectives (Physics vs. Chemistry vs. Biology)
- The categorization (physics, chemistry, biology, psychology) is relative to an observer and their chosen tools/lens.
- “Just physics” argument: Showing a mechanism doesn’t invalidate higher-level phenomena (cognition, memory, etc.). It’s a choice of perspective.
- Bringing different conceptual tools (recognizing agency, virtual governors, decision-making) can reveal different aspects of the same system.
- Origin of life research exemplifies this: researchers from distinct backgrounds need an holistic viewpoint to have an effective outcome from studying origins of life.
Resting Potential as a Key Innovation
- Resting potential is a higher-level, coarse-grained entity. It’s not simply the sum of individual ion concentrations.
- Different combinations of ions (sodium, potassium, chloride) produce equivalent effects to maintaining equilibrium, highlighting “many-to-one” mapping of detail to behavior.
- It represents a step towards large-scale control elements, a departure from purely micro-reductionist views.
- Resting potential exemplifies a “bow-tie” architecture: many inputs converge on a functional node (resting potential), which then influences many outputs.
- The genome’s view is partial as DNA are instructions for building parts, but it does not capture whole level systems working with unified physiology.
Genome vs. Context and Software
- The genome is not the *only* factor. The context (existing cell structure, membrane) is crucial for the genome to have meaning.
- Higher-level integration (like resting potential) is needed for gene interactions.
- Membranes arise from other membranes and context is not encoded in genes; evolution began in “cell shaped” and “cell-like” holes in the environment.
- Analogy to computer hardware and software: The genome specifies the “hardware” (proteins), but the “software” (physiology, bioelectricity) determines large-scale behavior.
- Limitations of genome-only approaches in evolutionary biology: We can’t predict phenotype (e.g., dinosaur appearance) from genome alone without contextual examples.
- Example: Frog/axolotl hybrid (Frog-a-lotl): Can’t predict leg presence/absence from genomes alone, demonstrating the importance of physiological software.
Bioelectricity and Information Processing
- It is not “only” about bioelectricity. Pathways (even in cells) can themselves show plasticitiy and habituation.
- Resting potential: Generated by ion channels and pumps in cell membranes.
- Gap junctions: Allow cells to share their electrical state (voltage) with neighbors.
- Voltage-gated ion conductance: Functions like a transistor, enabling feedback loops and memory.
- Cells connected by gap junctions form electrical networks capable of information processing (slower than brains, but similar phenomena).
- Evolutionary context: Bioelectric and metabolic spaces are early problem-solving arenas; later, anatomical (morphospace) and behavioral spaces emerge.
Mitochondria and Electrical Signaling
- Mitochondria have two membranes; the inner membrane has a high potential, but its accurate measurement is challenging.
- Possibility of electrical signaling between the inner and outer mitochondrial membranes, and over longer distances (via electromagnetic fields).
- Local electrostatic charges clearly influence ATP synthase function (short distances).
- Mitochondrial “Christie” structure allows for diverse membrane potentials within a single mitochondrion, adding complexity.
Metabolism and Bioelectricity Integration
- Metabolism and bioelectricity are interconnected from the very beginning.
- Electrical membrane potential is used to drive reactions (e.g., CO2 + H2) that would not occur spontaneously.
- Early cells use the charge to make organic molecules inside themselves; and self-organizes further and the new content expands (growing), as early pre-cursor to “proto-genes.”
- The “free gift” of charge imbalance after injury provides immediate location information for repair, preceding complex pathways.
Evolution and Constraints
- A bacterial membrane integrates a multitude of simultaneous metabolic operations (tens of thousands), offering a basic model for a rudimentary awareness that distinguishes it from mere inanimate chemistry.
- Membrane as a “Markov blanket”: Translates between the external environment and internal biochemistry, helping maintain homeostasis.
- Bacterial cells may exhibit an early form of metacognition by monitoring their internal metabolic state, a coarse-grained assessment.
- Metabolic constraints and the need for rapid decisions likely drove the evolution of intelligence by forcing coarse-graining of information.
- An agential stance (modeling large-scale variables) may have originated early, later scaling up to more complex organisms.
- Evolution builds general problem solvers for the “wide” and complex challenges, and the “narrow” ones are rare (as conditions are variable and it may require to be a specialist).
Multicellularity, Biofilms, and Genomic Integrity
- Multicellular organisms (animals, plants) are generally clonal (genetically identical cells).
- Bacteria themselves already use biofilms for signaling (to co-ordinate nourishment and behaviors); in multicellulars, individual members typically possess uniformity in genomes.
- Biofilms are usually cooperative but *genetically diverse*, leading to “cheating” issues. Clonality restricts such conflicts.
- However, cells within organisms can compete, despite shared genetics (e.g., organ competition during development).
- Significant genetic variability exists even within a single organism (mutations in skin, brain, etc.).
- Planaria exemplify extreme genomic messiness *despite* exceptional regenerative abilities, challenging genome-centric views.
Error correction, Physiological Software, and Competency
- Physiological system between the “Genotype” and the “Phenotype” allow evolution to continue despite errors.
- A simulation demonstrates “competency”: Cells with a small ability to reduce “stress” (mismatched neighbors) cause a runaway effect.
- Evolution prioritizes improving *competency* (problem-solving) over cleaning up the genome, resulting in “genomically messy” but functionally robust organisms like planaria.
Electrical Overriding of Genetics
- Gap junctions can potentiate cooperativity and override genetic differences (by equalizing the electrical fields), conceptually.
- Example: Oncogenic mutation (K-ras) in tadpoles can be *suppressed* by forcing cells into electrical connection (gap junctions), preventing tumor formation despite the mutation.
Developmental Plasticity and the “Anatomical Compiler”
- Plasticity is determined by threshold that relies on the capacity of cells to maintain electrical coherence; a breakdown in this cellular connectivity often leads to uncoordinated behaviors, resembling cancers that fail to respond to the collective.
- Hypothesis: Evolution produces problem-solving *machines*, not just fixed solutions. Organisms adapt to a wide range of circumstances.
- Example: Planaria regrow heads despite barium poisoning (a novel stressor) by rapidly navigating the gene expression space. This represents adaptation and general problem-solving ability.
- An “anatomical compiler”: A future tool to translate desired anatomical shapes into stimuli that guide cell collectives, allowing for building almost any biologically plausible structure.
- There may be unknown limitations (thresholds); if cell network is corrupted to extreme level.
Ploidy and Developmental Robustness
- Salamanders exemplify robustness: Different ploidy levels (amount of genetic material) don’t significantly alter the overall organism.
- Cell size increases with ploidy, but the *number* of cells making up an organ adjusts to maintain overall structure (top-down causation).
- Example: A single large cell can bend to form a kidney tubule in high-ploidy newts, switching to a *different molecular mechanism* than cell-cell communication.
Anesthesia and Consciousness
- Anesthetics affect single-celled organisms and simpler animals, not just complex nervous systems.
- Anesthetics may influence mitochondrial function (oxygen consumption, membrane potential), impacting energy production.
- Possible direct effects on electromagnetic fields, a more complex (and challenging to study) mechanism. The integration provided by the membrane links basic metabolism in single cells; it has been posited, and tested that the emergence of higher organisms represents an amplification of this integration, coordinating increasingly complex behaviors.
Synthetic Life and Information
- Metabolic circuits (pre-genetic components) are “re-discovered” via chemical interactions that favor production.
- Self-organizing metabolism can emerge from basic components (CO2, H2) in the absence of genes.
- Genes add *plasticity* to otherwise hard-wired, thermodynamically driven processes. Information allows for changing and inheriting variations.
- While a certain minimum level of genetics is required for specialized biological function, in some species (like plariana) genomes are more about defining the building block rather than being instructions for “constructing” anatomy, because software rules and has higher-level control.
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