Fine tuning specifics: applied to biological systems (Introduction)

by David Turell , Tuesday, September 21, 2021, 14:47 (1159 days ago) @ David Turell

From a discussion as to why life is so fine-tuned:

https://mindmatters.ai/2021/09/life-is-so-wonderfully-finely-tuned-that-its-frightening/

"We can say that something is fine tuned if it’s complex, unlikely to occur by chance. Secondly, if there’s an independent description or specification of the thing that is fine tuned.

"Now there are a number of features within the cells that satisfy these two requirements. The first are proteins. In order for the cell to manufacture proteins, there is an amino acid sequence written in a 20-letter alphabet of amino acids.

"Amino acids form the building blocks of the protein. In order for a protein to work, when these amino acids are manufactured in the ribosomes of the cell, this amino acid string has to be folding in a complicated three-dimensional structure that is specific for each protein. That is necessary for the protein to work. This is a complex structure because, if we look at all possible amino acid sequences of a certain length, there could be a few thousand amino acids that comprise a protein.

"It turns out that [only] a very small fraction of amino acids sequences give us a functioning protein. That is the first definition of fine tuning. It’s complex. It is unlikely to happen by chance, to get a functioning protein. The second part: We should have an independent specification. In this case, the specification is that the protein works. For that reason, a protein is an example of a fine tuned structure in biology.

"Then we could get up to the next hierarchical level and look at complexes of proteins, like molecular machines. The ribosome that manufactures proteins in the cell is itself a molecular machine that consists of many proteins that have to be arranged in a certain structure in order to work.

"Another example is mitochondria in the cell plasma. These are the power stations of the cell that generate ATP. This is also an example of a molecular machine where all parts have to be structured in a certain way. One could say — we talked about this during the first episode — a specific case or a special case of fine tuning are irreducibly complex systems: It consists of many small parts, and all parts must function in order for the whole system to work.

***

"Ola Hössjer: Yes. And another, you could view the whole cell as a cellular city. It has a network of roads, or factories and power stations.

"Robert J. Marks: These are things which display irreducible complexity. You take away one piece, the whole thing falls apart.

"Ola Hössjer: Yes. Because it’s one layer above above the protein complexes. If the parts themselves are the protein complexes, the molecular machines that we talked about are irreducibly complex. Then that will be the case also on the next level. Not by definition, but typically, that is the case.

Comment: A single cell is so fine-tuned its origin requires a designer. At what point of demonstrated complexity of design does one have to accept a designer exists? It is a logical next step in reasoning.