The Cell: A Very Short Introduction (Very Short Introductions) by Allen Terence & Cowling Graham

Author:Allen, Terence & Cowling, Graham [Allen, Terence]
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Published: 2011-09-28T16:00:00+00:00

Movement, an emergent property?

René Dutrochet, one of the pioneers of cell biology, remarked in 1824 that ‘life, as far as physical order is concerned, is nothing more than movement; and death is simply the cessation of this movement’. Nearly 200 years later, just how cells combine the various components of the cytoskeleton to function as a single moving entity is still a bit of a mystery. Cell movement requires biochemical cues (signals), an energy supply, and the reorganization of structural elements. Cytoskeletal elements need to grow and shrink and to arrange themselves for action, but when, with how much force, and when to stop? Acccording to Guenter Albrecht-Buehler from Northwestern University in Chicago, a cell biologist studying the behaviour of cells in culture, ‘the functions of the organism initiate and control the interactions between its molecules’—which is a way of saying the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. Something that happens as a result of the interaction of many complex systems is called an emergent property. In nature, the classic examples come from social insects, such as the massive cathedral-like structures produced by termite colonies, or even the production of a honeycomb. The movement of a cell could be considered an emergent property of the molecules of the cytoskeleton, supported by energy production from mitochondria, and information stored in DNA. Thus it seems feasible that the millions of cells within a tissue produce emergent properties to fulfil the purpose of the tissue, and then add another level as tissues form organs, and yet further levels as an entire organism. This view may go some way to accounting for (if not exactly explaining) the complexities of our own existence.

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