Genome complexity: stem cell controls (Introduction)

by David Turell , Friday, November 06, 2015, 01:02 (3094 days ago) @ dhw

DAVID: Not' many' scientists. You just name a very few. And the 50/50 is because there are only two possibilities. In my biologist eyes it is 90/10 in my favor.
> 
> dhw: I am in no position to conduct a roll call, but a quick google offers the following as evidence that this is not such a way-out concept as you would like to believe:
> 1.	Microbial intelligence - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
> en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microbial_intelligence
> 
> "Microbial intelligence (popularly known as bacterial intelligence) is the intelligence shown by microorganisms. The concept encompasses complex adaptive behaviour shown by single cells, and altruistic and/or cooperative behavior in populations of like or unlike cells mediated by chemical signalling that induces physiological or behavioral changes in cells and influences colony structures.
> Complex cells, like protozoa or algae, show remarkable abilities to organise themselves in changing circumstances.[1] Shell-building by amoebae reveals complex discrimination and manipulative skills that are ordinarily thought to occur only in multicellular organisms.
> Even bacteria, which show primitive behavior as isolated cells, can display more sophisticated behavior as a population. These behaviors occur in single species populations, or mixed species populations. Examples are colonies of Myxobacteria, quorum sensing, and biofilms.
> It has been suggested that a bacterial colony loosely mimics a biological neural network. The bacteria can take inputs in form of chemical signals, process them and then produce output chemicals to signal other bacteria in the colony.
> The mechanisms that enable single celled organisms to coordinate in populations presumably carried over in those lines that evolved multicellularity, and were co-opted as mechanisms to coordinate multicellular organisms.
> Bacteria communication and self-organization in the context of Network theory has been investigated by Eshel Ben-Jacob research group at Tel Aviv University which developed a fractal model of bacterial colony and identified linguistic and social patterns in colony lifecycle [1] (also see Ben-Jacob's bacteria)."-Wikipedia is produced by individuals with an interest in a subject. Their credentials are not presented, and expertise level not available. That said I agree that each example is well-known and all can be automatic in my opinion. Their DNAs only need contain the proper instructions.