Cell sensing and movement (Introduction)

by David Turell , Thursday, March 01, 2018, 00:50 (2459 days ago) @ dhw

DAVID’s comment: My interpretation is that these fat cells are programmed to act in this purposeful manner and how they 'know' where to go is from a still to be discovered molecular signal which hey the swim and follow. I can predict dhw's answer to this.

dhw: Your own hypothesis that 3.8 billion years ago your God preprogrammed fat cells to come into existence and automatically act purposefully and cooperatively in obedience to some unknown preprogrammed molecular signal is, I’m afraid, equally predictable. But I don’t want to disappoint you. Such behaviour is astonishingly reminiscent of the way ants cooperate in dealing with threats. Funnily enough, many of our fellow animals and even we humans cooperate in similar ways. Anyone would think they and we were intelligent. But maybe they and we only appear to be intelligent.

I know only they only appear intelligent and we are. See today's entry on homeostasis and automaticity in bacteria.

Under “Biomimetics”:
DAVID: A very brief excerpt with a picture of the way the beetles look like the leaf injury from their bites:
https://www.newscientist.com/article/2162276-beetles-hide-by-looking-like-the-bite-mark...

DAVID’s comment: I'm too cheap to buy the article, but look at the picture to make the point. How does an evolutionary process do this? Not by chance.

dhw: Agreed. Presumably you think your God preprogrammed this 3.8 billion years ago, or did a quick dabble. Or do you think he might have given the beetle the autonomous intelligence to work it out? Anyway, thanks for another lovely “natural wonder”.

The beetles didn't find the mutations to do it. And a hunt and peck attempt would not have meant survival.