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biology is wondrous
2022-Feb-22, Tuesday 07:24 pmThe universe is deliciously complex and offers wonders aplenty, from the small to the large.
The biochemical processes in our bodies are immensely intricate and "look" like robotic machinery in operation. Those atomic-level structures can be captured only in still images of dead tissue by electron microscope imaging. This weekend, I happened across a great video that shows both the complexity and the sheer speed of these processes. It offers what we would see if we could use electron scanning on live cells in motion. Sure, the video is a scripted animation (and the added sound track is annoying), but this visualization of what we know about biology is still amazing. The 3-minute marker is where we get to see some of the folding and interaction of complex molecules on a dna strand. This is what happens in every cell of our body in every moment.
It doesn't feel like any great leap of metaphor to see "life" at both the tiniest scale of unliving molecules and a vastly larger scale. The Gaia theory continues to gain acceptance, as with a new paper by astrobiologists who offer the idea of planetary-scale intelligence. It reminds me of the technologically-instantiated personality of our planet in David Brin's sci-fi book, "Earth". I believe that our planet will get there, if humans don't destroy our ecosystems (and ourselves) first.
The biochemical processes in our bodies are immensely intricate and "look" like robotic machinery in operation. Those atomic-level structures can be captured only in still images of dead tissue by electron microscope imaging. This weekend, I happened across a great video that shows both the complexity and the sheer speed of these processes. It offers what we would see if we could use electron scanning on live cells in motion. Sure, the video is a scripted animation (and the added sound track is annoying), but this visualization of what we know about biology is still amazing. The 3-minute marker is where we get to see some of the folding and interaction of complex molecules on a dna strand. This is what happens in every cell of our body in every moment.
It doesn't feel like any great leap of metaphor to see "life" at both the tiniest scale of unliving molecules and a vastly larger scale. The Gaia theory continues to gain acceptance, as with a new paper by astrobiologists who offer the idea of planetary-scale intelligence. It reminds me of the technologically-instantiated personality of our planet in David Brin's sci-fi book, "Earth". I believe that our planet will get there, if humans don't destroy our ecosystems (and ourselves) first.