Clever bacteria

[Teleological]

Thinking Ahead: Bacteria Anticipate Coming Changes In Their Environment

Microbes may be smarter than we think. A new study by Princeton University researchers shows for the first time that bacteria don't just react to changes in their surroundings -- they anticipate and prepare for them. The findings, reported in the June 6 issue of Science, challenge the prevailing notion that only organisms with complex nervous systems have this ability.

 

[Teleological]

More machines.

Researchers Witness Assembly Of Molecules Critical To Protein Function

A Virginia Tech research group lead by two biochemistry graduate students has isolated proteins responsible for the iron-sulfur cluster assembly process and witnessed the necessary protein interactions in vivo -- within a cell. They have captured pathway intermediates and observed protein interactions between the two major players in iron-sulfur cluster assembly.

Iron-sulfur clusters are critical to life on earth. They are necessary for protein function in cellular processes, such as respiration in humans and other organisms and photosynthesis by plants. "But we do not understand how Fe-S molecules are made or the specifics of how they bond," said Callie Raulfs of Christiansburg, Va. "It does not happen spontaneously. It has to be regulated."

Diseases such as Friedrich's ataxia and several types of anemia are a result of iron-sulfur cluster (ISC) assembly malfunctions.

Using genetic and biochemical techniques, Ph.D. students Raulfs and Ina P. O'Carroll, of Tirana, Albania, have isolated components of the ISC machinery in the process of making iron-sulfur clusters. "This work provides insight into the sequential steps of the iron-sulfur cluster assembly process, helping to explain how molecules of iron and sulfur are synthesized and distributed in cells," said O'Carroll.

 

[w1z4rd]

Not to sure why you bolded the bits you did, but I am sure you had your reasons. Interesting read anyways.

 

[pos(t)er]

oh that's only to ensure us he read it.

 

[Teleological]

Some more machines.
Quantum computing and the clutch are old nanotechnologies for plants and bacteria. A lot can be learned from these technologies .

Quantum Secrets Of Photosynthesis Revealed (Old but still interesting)

Through photosynthesis, green plants and cyanobacteria are able to transfer sunlight energy to molecular reaction centers for conversion into chemical energy with nearly 100-percent efficiency. Speed is the key – the transfer of the solar energy takes place almost instantaneously so little energy is wasted as heat. How photosynthesis achieves this near instantaneous energy transfer is a long-standing mystery that may have finally been solved.

The photosynthetic technique for transferring energy from one molecular system to another should make any short-list of Mother Nature’s spectacular accomplishments. If we can learn enough to emulate this process, we might be able to create artificial versions of photosynthesis that would help us effectively tap into the sun as a clean, efficient, sustainable and carbon-neutral source of energy.

Microscopic 'Clutch' Puts Flagellum In Neutral

A tiny but powerful engine that propels the bacterium Bacillus subtilis through liquids is disengaged from the corkscrew-like flagellum by a protein clutch, Indiana University Bloomington and Harvard University scientists have learned. Their report appears in Science on June 20.

"We think it's pretty cool that evolving bacteria and human engineers arrived at a similar solution to the same problem," said IU Bloomington biologist Daniel Kearns, who led the project. "How do you temporarily stop a motor once it gets going?"

Describing life and biology in terms of analogies to our own technologies is inevitable. Studying cellular and molecular biology is more akin to the study of engineering than the brute, stochastic yet deterministic nature of physics and chemistry. It is like looking at the future of our own designs .

 

[Teleological]

Transformers: Reloaded

When Threatened, A Few African Frogs Can Morph Toes Into Claws

Biologists at Harvard University have determined that some African frogs carry concealed weapons: When threatened, these species puncture their own skin with sharp bones in their toes, using the bones as claws capable of wounding predators.

 

[alloytoo]

Transformers: Reloaded

When Threatened, A Few African Frogs Can Morph Toes Into Claws

An interesting evolution.

 

[alloytoo]

Describing life and biology in terms of analogies to our own technologies is inevitable. Studying cellular and molecular biology is more akin to the study of engineering than the brute, stochastic yet deterministic nature of physics and chemistry. It is like looking at the future of our own designs .

There's a certain inevitability to describing biology in terms of engineering, given how much engineering sometimes copies evolution, or indeed how some obstensibly designed projects end up evolving in ways unforseen.

 

[cyghost]

Nuclear fusion in the Sun? zomg! Its like a giant nuclear power reactor, almost as if it was designed to give us POWER. wow!

give it a rest, alloytoo's signature must give you a headache the way it hammers the point home every single time you see it. Oh, wait, you don't gettit do you? *sigh*

Talk science if you want to but keep your arguments from incredulity to the PD section. Don't sully this space like this.

 

[alloytoo]

Nuclear fusion in the Sun? zomg! Its like a giant nuclear power reactor, almost as if it was designed to give us POWER. wow!

Or burn us crispy.

Don't worry the plan is to land on the nuclear reactor......er sun at night time.

 

[Teleological]

Oh my, what is all this kerfuffle about? I merely point out the similarities of the biological engineering/design of nature, (which is far superior than our own manufacturing capabilities) and our own, and cyghost decides to talk about the sun and nuclear fusion? Uhm... why?

There's a certain inevitability to describing biology in terms of engineering, given how much engineering sometimes copies evolution, or indeed how some obstensibly designed projects end up evolving in ways unforseen.

Funny how engineering terms and evolution are able to describe the processes of life. Design and evolution are not diametrically opposed, but intertwined. Cells and the molecular machinery within them are the designers of their own evolution . They don't control the direction of evolution you can argue, that is just plain silly to think that cells can have foresight right? But without the molecular machinery (all living things posses them) there is no evolution and it can't even react to the environment to make it look like cells can look ahead (post #1).

give it a rest, alloytoo's signature must give you a headache the way it hammers the point home every single time you see it. Oh, wait, you don't gettit do you? *sigh*

I hope alloytoo has learned to check if the sword he is wielding to make sure it wasn't double-edged.



Welcome to the Molecular Machines Gotta love the music (Pink Floyd) .

 

[w1z4rd]

Tele.. how would you describe a virus in terms of design?

 

[Devill]

Tele.. how would you describe a virus in terms of design?

Pooky.

J/J

If i might give my definition?

Loose, layman's definition anyway

Virus:
Something(for lack of a better word ) that is not self-sustaining and can only grow/reproduce/expand inside a host.

 

[Teleological]

Donno.
In terms of engineering, sure. Some viruses incorporate into a host genome and hijack a cell's machinery to assemble its own parts and thus propagates. What do you think the origins of viruses are? They do not have their own machinery to replicate, they use their machinery to hijack the replication machinery of self-replicating cells. Do you think they are perhaps the result of reductive evolution, just like the simplest organisms are in each domain of life?

 

[w1z4rd]

Not sure where I put a virus. They are pretty unlike any other life forms and some scientists dont even believe they fit the criteria for life. Either a very interesting adaption, or a very interesting design.

They seem very alien to the the rest of life.

 

[alloytoo]

Funny how engineering terms and evolution are able to describe the processes of life.

Not really, language is evolved too.

Design and evolution are not diametrically opposed, but intertwined.

Design, as I said before, tends to copy, or emulate the evolved. The reverse is not true.

Cells and the molecular machinery within them are the designers of their own evolution . They don't control the direction of evolution you can argue, that is just plain silly to think that cells can have foresight right?

But without the molecular machinery (all living things posses them) there is no evolution and it can't even react to the environment to make it look like cells can look ahead (post #1).

But the so called 'Molecular Machinery' are evolved organic processes. Their ability to respond to the enviroment is a successful survival trait.

While the use of the term "Machinery" hints at a irreducibly complex "Design", the specified complexity remains a prediction of evolutionary scientists.

I hope alloytoo has learned to check if the sword he is wielding to make sure it wasn't double-edged.

Oh I can't say I don't occassionaly get a nick from it, but generally if I leave it lying around long enough you'll stumble into it "..."

 

[Teleological]

Not really, language is evolved too.

Sure, languages evolve over time. But the "abiogenesis" of language? It-just-happened-by-natural-selection?

Design, as I said before, tends to copy, or emulate the evolved. The reverse is not true.

The car clutch was designed (a true human design) without the knowledge of nature's clutch. Humans designed it and nature designed it. Humans designed the rocket engine. Why can't evolution design a similar mechanism? Given enough constraints, evolution can be used to sample the given environment and end up with an even improved mechanism (do you think evolution is capable of this?). Intelligent evolution/evolutionary computing. What are all the constraints of biological evolution? Are some intrinsic and embedded in life and the molecular machinery controlling it? These answers can only come if the origin of life is solved.

But the so called 'Molecular Machinery' are evolved organic processes. Their ability to respond to the enviroment is a successful survival trait.

We need to understand the origins of life and the circumstances to understand how molecular machinery come into place (in the first place), and to understand and get a fuller picture of how evolution happens.

While the use of the term "Machinery" hints at a irreducibly complex "Design", the specified complexity remains a prediction of evolutionary scientists.

Design as well. Especially if you have trillions of small "designers"/cells hopping around on the planet.

 

[alloytoo]

Sure, languages evolve over time. But the "abiogenesis" of language? It-just-happened-by-natural-selection?

The evolution of language would begin at the same time as life. As soon as life began to interact with one another language began to evolve.

The car clutch was designed (a true human design) without the knowledge of nature's clutch. Humans designed it and nature designed it.

Man may have designed it, nature evolved it.

Humans designed the rocket engine. Why can't evolution design a similar mechanism?

It has.

Given enough constraints, evolution can be used to sample the given environment and end up with an even improved mechanism. Intelligent evolution/evolutionary computing. What are all the constraints of biological evolution? Are some intrinsic and embedded in life and the molecular machinery controlling it? These answers can only come if the origin of life is solved.

There may be intrinsic constraints, but using the term embedded emplies an embedder.....which brings us back to your evidence of said entity?

We need to understand the origins of life and the circumstances to understand how molecular machinery come into place (in the first place), and to understand and get a fuller picture of how evolution happens.
Design as well. Especially if you have trillions of small "designers"/cells hopping around on the planet.

We need to understand the origins of life and the circumstances to understand how so called molecular machinery evolved in the first place, which is of course what some scientists are doing.

 

[Teleological]

The evolution of language would begin at the same time as life. As soon as life began to interact with one another language began to evolve.

So, nothing concrete as to the origin of any spoken language's alphabet? It-just-happened-when-life-began-and-natural-selection-did-it?

Man may have designed it, nature evolved it.

Through the use of intelligent machinery wouldn't you say?

It has.

The rocket engine? I shouldv'e been more specific, my apologies. I was referring to something like this, burning of gases to produce propulsion. Please don't reply with your usual snotty remarks like "mmm you shouldv'e been more specific now shouldn't you" and leave the original question alone.
Here:
Given enough constraints (or none), evolution can be used to sample the given environment and end up with an even improved mechanism. Do you think evolution is capable of this?. Why? If yes, then this is false:

Design, as I said before, tends to copy, or emulate the evolved. The reverse is not true.

If no. Why, is evolution under intrinsic control?

There may be intrinsic constraints, but using the term embedded emplies an embedder.....which brings us back to your evidence of said entity?

What are these intrinsic constraints if chance can sample an infinite space and natural selection is blind? If the constraints are found to be embedded, irrespective of the embedder, what then?

We need to understand the origins of life and the circumstances to understand how so called molecular machinery evolved in the first place, which is of course what some scientists are doing.

Science also has to show evolution is possible without an intelligent system. Cells have intelligent machinery and evolutionary computer programming has intelligent software.

 

[alloytoo]

So, nothing concrete as to the origin of any spoken language's alphabet? It-just-happened-when-life-began-and-natural-selection-did-it?

Spoken language is a subset of language per se.

We are not the only species that communicates, we are not even the only species that communicates verbally.

The oldest human proto language is believed to survive in India where ancient chants passed on orally, generation by generation, appear to have little association with any of today's languages

I'm not a linguist, but as I understand it many human languages bear very little ressemblance to one another, in either structure or sound. (indeed some languages are literally impossible to pronounce properly unless you grew up learning them.

Historically Languages have evolved, some have died, some have transformed, superceded by their "offspring", & some have become increasingly isolated.

English is perhaps the most robust human language, it's larger by far than any other, spoken (as first or second language) by more people across the globe than any other. English is however also a very splintered tongue, with some dialects almost classed as being languages on their own.

There are to my knowledge two languages which have been designed. Esperanto and Klingon, though even Klingon can be said to have evolved to meet a changing need.

Through the use of intelligent machinery wouldn't you say?

No.

The rocket engine? I shouldv'e been more specific, my apologies. I was referring to something like this, burning of gases to produce propulsion. Please don't reply with your usual snotty remarks like "mmm you shouldv'e been more specific now shouldn't you" and leave the original question alone.

So you exclude all other types of man made rockets?

In principal a rocket is something propelled by exhausting internally stored propellant rearwards. (throwing mass behind yourself)

You can do this by farting in a swimming pool.

Here:
Given enough constraints, evolution can be used to sample the given environment and end up with an even improved mechanism. Do you think evolution is capable of this?. Why? If yes, then this is false:

Evolution happens, it's not a featured to be plugged in or switched off. I suggest you be specific about the mechanisms of evolution you're talking about here.

If no. Why, is evolution under intrinsic control?

It's not, that's your baseless supposition.

What are these intrinsic constraints if chance can sample an infinite space and natural selection is blind?

In an infinite multiverse with infinite time anything is posible.

If the constraints are found to be embedded, irrespective of the embedder, what then?

It can't be irrespective of the embedder. If you can't identify and examine the supposed embeddor then the conclusion of embedding must be in error.

Science also has to show evolution is possible without an intelligent system. Cells have intelligent machinery and evolutionary computer programming has intelligent software.

It's "machinery" and "software" which shows clear signs of having evolved.