Bruce Lipton & the cell (Introduction)

by David Turell , Tuesday, December 22, 2015, 19:20 (3258 days ago) @ dhw

dhw: I came across this very long article and interview, -> 
> QUOTE: Dr. Lipton conducted a series of experiments that reveal that the cell membrane, the outer layer of a cell, is the organic equivalent of a computer chip, and the cell's equivalent of a brain. Although this view conflicts with the widely held scientific dogma that genes control behavior, papers by other researchers have validated his iconoclastic thinking.-What other papers? I agree the cell membrane picks up stimuli and transmits them for the genome to m ake resopnses.
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> dhw: Dr. Lipton has also been a pioneer in applying the principles of quantum physics to the field of cellular biology. Traditional cell biology focuses on physical molecules that control biology. Dr. Lipton on the other hand focuses on the mechanisms through which energy in the form of our beliefs can affect our biology, including our genetic code.-Back to panpsycism
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>> dhw: A: Our source, "identity," is not from within the body, and it is immortal; We are not victims of life we are creators of life; a human organism is not an singular individual, it is in reality, a "community" of sentient cells.-Back to universal consciousness at a cellular level.
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> dhw: Q: Do cells have a "brain"?
> A: The cell membrane [ie, its skin] reads environmental stimuli, transduces the information into a biochemical "awareness" which is then used to regulate cell behavior and gene activity.-True. Automatically.-
> dhw: A: The cell's I/O's are receptor and effector protein complexes; they provide awareness of the environment [receptors] and send stimuli [effectors] to engage the cell's systems. By definition, these membrane proteins provide the cell with an "awareness of the environment through physical sensation", this is the precise dictionary definition of the word perception. -True
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> dhw: A: Cells came together in community to share awareness and enhance their survival. The same thing applies as to individuals in a human community. In community, each individual gives up their own "control" of what they are going to do and instead conforms to the coordinating central voice's directives.-He is with you. He likes purposeful cell committees-> 
> dhw: Q: How is a cell community organized so that it survives. What/who is in "control"?
> A: The brain is the source of the "central voice." It has two subdivisions, the subconscious and the conscious mind. The subconscious is a million times more powerful than the conscious. But the subconscious is only "habitual," it will only play the programs with which it has been loaded. 95% of our daily activities are controlled by the subconscious mind. The less powerful conscious mind is unique for it is creative, it can "observe" the body's operations and manually control the mechanism, overriding the read-only subconscious programs.-He is confusing human consciousness with cellular activity. He wants cells with a subconscious. Just a stupid comparison
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> dhw: Much food for thought, though this can only be ingested through an open mind.-I accept some of his direct reasonable biochemical cellular reaction comments. As or the rest:-https://www.metabunk.org/debunked-bruce-lipton-and-the-biology-of-belief.t1003/-His first claim of mutations not being random has no evidence whatsoever to support it. In his Spontaneous Evolution book, he points to a paper published in Nature in 1988 written by John Cairns. The paper describes an experiment where E. coli with a defective mutant gene for breaking down lactose are placed in a medium containing nothing but lactose. Results were that the bacteria had mutated and were able to break down the lactose and grow. Cairns concluded that the mutation was not random and Lipton claims that we can do similar things when our health is compromised. This idea has huge problems because not only was the experiment flawed but there are perfectly good explanations. All of it is discussed rather thoroughly on Wiki.- Lipton's second claim is where the bulk of his ideas come from. He asserts that since proteins control gene expression that we somehow have power over that mechanism with our consciousness and proceeds to tell stories of miracle cures via hypnosis and meditation that can most likely be explained by cases of misdiagnosis or a very lucky recovery. The problem here is that proteins are made with instruction from DNA and specific proteins regulate the expression of certain genes. No gene, no regulatory protein, so genes indirectly control their own expression. As discussed in the previous point, changes in DNA are random, so we cannot control which gene is going to change to produce which protein unless we use genetic engineering. The misconception comes with epigenetics. The most dramatic epigenetic changes are permanent and happen early in development. Epigenetic changes in mature individuals are usually superficial, such as eye color changes, hormone levels, sleep cycle, and other processes that are already very self-regulated. More can be read on that topic here and here. Lipton claims that these processes can somehow be controlled with our beliefs and be used to unlock DNA that can help us live healthy and peacefully without the help from government or pharmaceutical companies. A classic snake-oil salesman who sells false hope to sick patients.