Cell complexity: they 'think' through chemical processes (Introduction)

by David Turell , Saturday, May 05, 2018, 22:09 (2183 days ago) @ David Turell

The method used to analyze these chemical processes is through mathematics:

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/05/180502094636.htm

"'I studied all the possible ways a network can be constructed and found that to be capable of this perfect adaptation in a robust way, a network has to satisfy an extremely rigid set of mathematical principles. There are a surprisingly limited number of ways a network could be constructed to perform perfect adaptation. (my bold)

"'Essentially we are now discovering the needles in the haystack in terms of the network constructions that can actually exist in nature.

"'Proteins form unfathomably complex networks of chemical reactions that allow cells to communicate and to 'think' -- essentially giving the cell a 'cognitive' ability, or a 'brain'," she said. "It has been a longstanding mystery in science how this cellular 'brain' works.

"'We could never hope to measure the full complexity of cellular networks -- the networks are simply too large and interconnected and their component proteins are too variable.

"'But mathematics provides a tool that allows us to explore how these networks might be constructed in order to perform as they do.

***

"An example of perfect adaptation is our sense of smell," she said. "When exposed to an odour we will smell it initially but after a while it seems to us that the odour has disappeared, even though the chemical, the stimulus, is still present.

"'Our sense of smell has exhibited perfect adaptation. This process allows it to remain sensitive to further changes in our environment so that we can detect both very feint and very strong odours.

"'This kind of adaptation is essentially what takes place inside living cells all the time. Cells are exposed to signals -- hormones, growth factors, and other chemicals -- and their proteins will tend to react and respond initially, but then settle down to pre-stimulus levels of activity even though the stimulus is still there.

"'I studied all the possible ways a network can be constructed and found that to be capable of this perfect adaptation in a robust way, a network has to satisfy an extremely rigid set of mathematical principles. There are a surprisingly limited number of ways a network could be constructed to perform perfect adaptation.

"'Essentially we are now discovering the needles in the haystack in terms of the network constructions that can actually exist in nature.'"

Comment: this study fits exactly my concept of automatic molecular activity. The limited number of a 'rigid set of mathematical principles' describes this to a 'T'. this is like a cellular brain, as the author states, but because of superior design it becomes a brain equivalent. This is an answer to the Shapiro approach, and fits my knowledge of biochemistry.