Biological complexity: differing cell responses (Introduction)

by David Turell , Tuesday, September 01, 2020, 17:45 (1332 days ago) @ David Turell

This article expresses surprise at cells variable responses. I don't know why. Any biologist knows feedback loops control output. Why shouldn't muscle cells vary in their output also, tailored to need?:

https://phys.org/news/2020-09-responses-individual-cells-muscles.html

"Minute differences in individual muscle cell contractions allow the entire muscle to flex with greater control and accuracy. Long dismissed as "noise" or error, experts now suspect that biological systems may have evolved to include unavoidable variation as a form of information in their communication channels.

"'The differences between cells' responses to stimulation is actually another form of information," said Professor Shinya Kuroda

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"Reliable and accurate responses to all levels of stimulation ensure that cells' differences remain consistent and therefore meaningful, rather than unpredictable and chaotic. The variation between cells means that, as a whole, the muscle tissue can detect a wider range of stimulation intensities and can respond with a corresponding wider range of control. If all cells responded identically, the whole muscle tissue could only perform on/off binary responses.

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"This concept of individual cell variability communicating essential information through biological systems may also be relevant to other processes where life requires a wide spectrum of responses, like hormone secretion. For example, the pancreas may be able to release different amounts of insulin hormone due to individual beta cells of the pancreas responding differently to blood sugar levels."

Comment: The bold is something I was taught in Med school!!! What was known as an old idea is now new!