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The baffling intelligence of a single cell: The story of E. coli chemotaxis

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Re: The baffling intelligence of a single cell: The story of E. coli chemotaxis

#5
There is a section at the end "How did we figure all this stuff out?". Really amazing.

And the scale invariance of nature is clearly visible here. The cell is "small" compared to human scale but it is as complicated as any machine existing in human scale. There is no absolute small or big in nature.

Re: The baffling intelligence of a single cell: The story of E. coli chemotaxis

#8

Incredible to think how something this intricate with so many interdependent parts and integrated systems could have evolved.

I know. But this is very well understood and researched.

All it requires is mutations, time and selection pressure.

The Blind Watchmaker is still a good read.

Re: The baffling intelligence of a single cell: The story of E. coli chemotaxis

#9
post #6

I would love to understand how individual cells come together to form functioning organs with clear boundaries.

elemental cells also have clear boundaries ie the cell membrane, which evolved as a way to catalyze a chemical reaction by containing all the ingredients in one place. imagine a fatty globule that randomly happens to enclose a set of chemical ingredients that react; that reaction is now far more likely to occur

Re: The baffling intelligence of a single cell: The story of E. coli chemotaxis

#10
post #8

Incredible to think how something this intricate with so many interdependent parts and integrated systems could have evolved.

I know. But this is very well understood and researched. All it requires is mutations, time and selection pressure. The Blind Watchmaker is still a good read.

It's still incredible despite all that. Not in the sense that one chooses not to believe it, but in the sense that it's hard to fathom that it actually happened.
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