SLIDE 1
Intrinsic Biochemical Intelligence (IBI) and Design
Sy Garte
SLIDE 2 Are single cells intelligent?
“…cells are essentially autonomous, sentient and ingenious. …they create and regulate activity, respond to current conditions and, crucially, take decisions to deal with unforeseen difficulties.”
Ford BJ. 2010
“Cells are cognitive entities possessing great computational power.”
Shapiro JA. 2006
“…slime molds… are capable of… behaviors like problem-solving skills and the ability to learn.”
Pagan O. 2014
SLIDE 3 Isn’t intelligence a function of brains?
- Animals use neural-based intelligence with sensory
feedback.
- Single-cell intelligence is based on complex
biochemical pathways.
- Cells communicate using binding of signals to receptors.
- Cells evolve using the protein synthesis machinery and
environmental feedback.
SLIDE 4
SIGNAL-INDUCED CELLULAR RESPONSE
SLIDE 5
THE EVOLUTIONARY MECHANISTIC CYCLE
DNA/GENOTYPE Heredity
Biochemistry Natural Selection
PROTEINS PHENOTYPE ENVIRONMENT
SLIDE 6
Biochemistry of evolution is DNA-directed protein synthesis (translation) DNA PROTEINS Nucleic Acid Chemistry Amino Acid Chemistry
1. mRNA (with codons from DNA) 2. tRNAs (with anti-codon & AA binding site) 3. Aminoacyl-tRNA Synthetases (with AA and tRNA binding sites) 4. Ribosome (with lots of stuff) 5. Etc.
SLIDE 7
SLIDE 8
Aminoacyl-tRNA Synthetase (aaRS)
SLIDE 9
Putting the right amino acid on the right tRNA
SLIDE 10
AA tRNA Synthetases have an editing site
SLIDE 11 Evolution is based on changes in proteins
- Protein sequences, determined by the genetic code and the
translation machinery, result in specific protein functions.
- Mutations in DNA ultimately produce changes in protein
function.
- Such changes may be harmful, neutral, or beneficial to the cell.
- Natural selection, based on the fitness of new protein
functionality, determines which cells survive in an environment.
- The interaction of the biochemical system with the environment
produces IBI.
SLIDE 12
Evolution of Proteins by Intelligent (Human) Design
SLIDE 13
Evolution is a product of Intrinsic Biochemical Intelligence & natural selection
Cellular protein synthesis with environmental feedback from natural selection results in the evolution of proteins and cells with increasing fitness. This process resembles an intelligent system, in the same way that signaling evokes comparisons with higher-level intelligence. If we think of evolution as a process of intelligent design, then the designer might be the cell itself.
