Genome complexity in embryology: neural crest cells (Introduction)

by dhw, Wednesday, May 06, 2015, 21:43 (3489 days ago) @ David Turell

DAVID: More and more complexity. Pluripotential neural crest cells:-http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/04/150430145125.htm
 
"'Neural crest cells never had their potential restricted at all," LaBonne said. "We believe a small population of early stem cells were set aside, so that when the time came, their immense developmental potential could be unleashed to create new features characteristic of vertebrates."-I like the sound of these. Cells of unlimited potential that can fit into new combinations, fulfilling new functions. Under "Hunter questions" you wrote: "An absolutely logical set of reasons why random mutation cannot work. So we are back to an IM or direct guidance. And I must insist with this set of reasons the IM must have guidance." I don't know why you must insist that your God is not clever enough to invent a mechanism that can work things out for itself. We have talked ad nauseam about how this "guidance" works: preplanned 3.7 billion years ago, or every single process and innovation specially supervised on the spot, presumably with several organisms at a time, since one wouldn't be enough. But you don't like to discuss that. Well, I "must insist" that an autonomous inventive mechanism that enables cells to create new combinations and functions remains a reasonable proposition. My little hypothesis extends a warm welcome to neural crest cells.