416
9 Bioenergetics
We see that driven systems naturally develop into ones with more and more
ordered quasi-stable states, with the most likely primary states being those that are
effective in utilizing the incoming energy and then those states that can be reached
through catalytic or tertiary channels facilitated by the primary states.
This is a form of evolution, applied to any open macrosystem with a flow of
energy from an external source to an external sink. The system’s ‘exploration’,
‘discovery’, and utilization of all those quasi-stable substates and reactions that
enhance the energy flow is an ongoing process applicable to both inorganic as well
as life systems. This process may be called the ‘Principle of Natural Adaptability’,
and was formalized mathematically by Jeremy England. 75 Steadily driven systems
will evolve to utilize the available incoming energy more effectively, and become
more structured in this evolution, adapting to the nature of the energy flow. England
and his research group explored the theory and practice of this principle, both in
computer simulations, in inorganic solutions, and in biological systems. It is clear
that driven systems that make up life can display adaptation in addition to Darwin’s
‘Principle of Natural Selection’. Darwinian evolution occurs when lifeforms with
genetic variability are put under stress, thereby giving preference to the genetic
variants that can survive, perform, and reproduce more effectively, under new
conditions.
These ideas also suggest that biological evolution occurs along a sequence of
possible and successful paths. Bacterium flagellar motors will not suddenly pop
into existence on the bacterium’s cell wall where there was none. They are too
complex to be constructed by a single or even a few mutations of a DNA molecule.
But they can evolve in small steps if, at each stage, there was a viable purpose to
each precursor structure. This kind of evolutionary by re-adaption is now called
‘exaptation’. Good examples include the evolution of bird feathers, the eye, and the
behavioral trait of laughing.
9.26 Some Applications in Medical Treatment
Thermodynamics can be used to understand much of the microscopic dynamics of
life systems, including biochemistry and order building. Given the importance of
these processes, any breakdown is serious. Medical applications involve the full
spectrum of monitoring, evaluation, diagnostics, and therapy.
Here are a few of the many applications not yet introduced:
• Cryotherapy: The use of cold to kill cancer cells by freezing, such as melanoma
of the skin. Liquid nitrogen (which boils at −195.8 ◦ C) is often used in a probe
design. Damage to cells occurs principally by water crystal growth severing cell
membranes. Slow freezing also causes denaturalization of lipo-proteins.
75 See, for example, Jeremy L. England, Statistical physics of self-replication, J Chem Phys 139,
121923 (2013).
9 Bioenergetics
We see that driven systems naturally develop into ones with more and more
ordered quasi-stable states, with the most likely primary states being those that are
effective in utilizing the incoming energy and then those states that can be reached
through catalytic or tertiary channels facilitated by the primary states.
This is a form of evolution, applied to any open macrosystem with a flow of
energy from an external source to an external sink. The system’s ‘exploration’,
‘discovery’, and utilization of all those quasi-stable substates and reactions that
enhance the energy flow is an ongoing process applicable to both inorganic as well
as life systems. This process may be called the ‘Principle of Natural Adaptability’,
and was formalized mathematically by Jeremy England. 75 Steadily driven systems
will evolve to utilize the available incoming energy more effectively, and become
more structured in this evolution, adapting to the nature of the energy flow. England
and his research group explored the theory and practice of this principle, both in
computer simulations, in inorganic solutions, and in biological systems. It is clear
that driven systems that make up life can display adaptation in addition to Darwin’s
‘Principle of Natural Selection’. Darwinian evolution occurs when lifeforms with
genetic variability are put under stress, thereby giving preference to the genetic
variants that can survive, perform, and reproduce more effectively, under new
conditions.
These ideas also suggest that biological evolution occurs along a sequence of
possible and successful paths. Bacterium flagellar motors will not suddenly pop
into existence on the bacterium’s cell wall where there was none. They are too
complex to be constructed by a single or even a few mutations of a DNA molecule.
But they can evolve in small steps if, at each stage, there was a viable purpose to
each precursor structure. This kind of evolutionary by re-adaption is now called
‘exaptation’. Good examples include the evolution of bird feathers, the eye, and the
behavioral trait of laughing.
9.26 Some Applications in Medical Treatment
Thermodynamics can be used to understand much of the microscopic dynamics of
life systems, including biochemistry and order building. Given the importance of
these processes, any breakdown is serious. Medical applications involve the full
spectrum of monitoring, evaluation, diagnostics, and therapy.
Here are a few of the many applications not yet introduced:
• Cryotherapy: The use of cold to kill cancer cells by freezing, such as melanoma
of the skin. Liquid nitrogen (which boils at −195.8 ◦ C) is often used in a probe
design. Damage to cells occurs principally by water crystal growth severing cell
membranes. Slow freezing also causes denaturalization of lipo-proteins.
75 See, for example, Jeremy L. England, Statistical physics of self-replication, J Chem Phys 139,
121923 (2013).