Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in
Book cover

Molecular Basis of Resilience pp 19–44Cite as

Social Entropy

  • Chapter
  • First Online:

  • 472 Accesses

Abstract

We find ourselves in the “information age” with immediate access to limitless information but almost no reliable filter to distill quality from the contaminated volume. We are compelled to probe the limits of our existence often engaging in activities that threaten our health and survival. Central to the theme of this chapter an overview of health boundaries and the phenomenal biological adaptability rooted in the core of molecular biology. Genes are not digital switches in either zero or one position but are dynamic structures capable of responding to the smallest molecules in the environment. This instant genetic adaptability leads to cell physiology that is an ordered chaos leading to multiple possible outcomes following exposure to both subtle and extreme environments. Individuals are unintelligent, thoughtless creatures entrenched in a daily random walk but are capable of genius when taken together as populations. We are the collective result of interacting gene expression events, each of which adapts to a complex matrix of chemical signals, both endogenous and from the environs. Life is often threatened but is not that fragile.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.

Chapter
USD   29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD   129.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD   169.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD   169.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Learn about institutional subscriptions

Notes

  1. 1.

    http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.DYN.LE00.IN

  2. 2.

    https://www.nei.org/Knowledge-Center/Nuclear-Statistics/World-Statistics

  3. 3.

    www.cnn.com/2017/09/23/politics/nuclear-weapons-over-time-y.../index.html

  4. 4.

    www.foodaidfoundation.org/world-hunger-statistics.html

  5. 5.

    www.thp.org/issues/hunger [the hunger project]

  6. 6.

    cdc.gov

  7. 7.

    Personal communication with CalBiochem, a company involved in sales of the oligomer.

References

  • Abdel-Ghaffar TY, et al. Hepatitis C genotype 4: the past, present and future. World J Hepatol. 2015;7:2792–810.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Anderson M, Shanmuganayagam D, Weindruch R. Caloric restriction and aging studies in mice and monkeys. Toxicol Pathol. 2009;37(1):47–51.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bessaud et al. Molecular characterization of human Enterovirus in the Central African Republic: Uncovering wide diversity and identification of a new human enterovirus A71 genogroup. J Clin Micro. 2012;50(5):1650–1658.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bierut LJ, Stitzel JA, Wang JC, et al. Nicotine dependence and the a5-a3-b4 nicotinic receptor gene cluster: variants in the nicotinic receptors alter the risk for nicotine dependence. Am J Psychiatry. 2008;9(185):1163–71.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Black RE, Allen LH, Bhutta ZA, Caulfield LE, do Onis M, Ezzati M, Mathers C, Rivera J. Maternal and child undernutrition: global and regional exposures and helath consequences. Lancet. 2008;371(9608):243–60.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Blasco MA. Telomeres and human disease: aging, cancer and beyond. Nat Rev Genet. 2005;6(8):611–22.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Blotkin DB. Myth 4: the balance of nature exists and dominates all life and all environments. In: 25 Myths that are destroying the environment. Guilford: Taylor Trade Publishing; 2017. p. 35–48.

    Google Scholar 

  • Borella E, Nesher G, Israeli E, Shoenfeld Y. Vitamin D: a new anti-infective agent? Ann N Y Acad Sci. 2014;1317:76–83.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Borger J. Feed the world? We are fighting a losing battle, UN admits. London: The Guardian; 2008, Feb 26.

    Google Scholar 

  • Buchanan E. Assessing the global food crisis. BBC News. 2008, April 22.

    Google Scholar 

  • Burchett KM, Yan Y, Ouellette MM. Telomerase inhibitor Imetelstat (GRN163L) limits the lifespan of human pancreatic cancer cells. PLoS One. 2014;9(1):e85155.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Buseman CM, Wright WE, Shay JW. Is telomerase a viable target in cancer? Mutat Res. 2012;730:90–7.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Chaabna K, et al. Hepatitis C virus epidemiology in Djibouti, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen: systematic review and meta-analysis. PLoS One. 2016;11:e0149966.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chancey C, et al. The global ecology and epidemiology of west Nile virus. BioMed Res Int. 2015;2015:1–20.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chen LS, Hung RJ, Baker T, et al. CHRNA5 risk variant predicts delayed smoking cessation and earlier lung cancer diagnosis- a meta-analysis. J Natl Cancer Inst. 2015;107(5) https://doi.org/10.1093/jnci/djv100.

  • Chiappori AA, Kolevska T, Spigel DR, Hager S, Rager S, Rarick M, Gadgeel S, Blais N, Von Pawel J, Hart L, Reck M, Bassett E, Burington E, Burington B, Schiller JH. A randomized phase II study of the telomerase inhibitor imetelstat as maintenance therapy for advanced non-small-cell lung cancer. Ann Oncol. 2015;26(2):354–62.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Christi MJ, Tebruegge M, La Vincente S, Graham SM, Duke T. Pneumonia in severly malnourished children in developing countries- mortality risk, aetiology, and validity of WHO clinical signs: a systemic review. Trop Med Int Health TM IH. 2009;14:1173–89.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Christian Science Monitor. The global grain bubble. 2008, January 18. clinicaltrials.gov NCT00594126.

  • Clop A, Marcq F, Takeda H, Pirottin D, Tordoir X, Bibe B, Bouix J, Caiment F, Elsen JM, Eychenne F, Larzul C, Aville E, Meish F, Milenkovic D, Tobin J, Charlier C, Georges M. A mutation creating a potential illegitimate micro RNA target site in the myostatin gene affects muscularity in sheep. Nat Genet. 2006;38(7):813–8.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • CNN Money. Oil stock could push world food prices higher. 2011, March 3.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cusanelli E, Chartrand P. Telomeric repeat-containing RNA TERRA: a noncoding RNA connecting telomere biology to genome integrity. Front Genet. 2015;6:143.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Damm K, Hemmann U, Garin-Chesa P, Hauel N, Kauffmann I, Priepke H, Niestroj C, Daiber C, Lauritsch I, Muller E, Pascolo E, Sauter G, Pantic M, Martens UM, Wenz C, Lingner J, Kraut N, Rettig WJ, Schnapp A. A highly selective telomerase inhibitor limiting human cancer cell proliferation. EMBO J. 2001;20:6958–68.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Dikmen AG, Gellert GC, Jackson S, Gryaznov S, Tressler R, Dogan P, Wright WE, Shay JW. In vivo inhibition of lung cancer by GRN163L: a novel human telomerase inhibitor. Cancer Res. 2005;65(17):7866–73.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Dunn R. In retrospect: silent spring. Nature. 2012;485:578–9. https://doi.org/10.1038/485578a.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • El-Daly H, Kull M, Zimmermann S, Pantic M, Waller CF, Martens UM. Selective cytotoxicity and telomere damage in leukemia cells using the telomerase inhibitor BIBR1532. Blood. 2006;105:1742–9.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fallah MP, Skrip LA, Gertler S, Yamin D, Galvani AP. Quantifying poverty as a driver of ebola transmission. PLoS Negl Trop Dis. 2015;9(12):e0004260. Pub Med PMID: 26720278

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Farber S, Diamond LK, Mercer RD, Sylvester RF, Wolff JA. Temporary remissions in acute leukemia in children produced by falic acid antagonist, 4-aminopteroyl-glutamic acid (Aminopterin). N Engl J Med. 1948;238(787):787–93.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Gilford H, Shepherd RC. Ateleiosis and progeria continuous youth and premature old age. Br Med J. 1904;2(5157):914–8.

    Google Scholar 

  • Global prevalence of vitamin A deficiency in populations at risk 1995–2005. WHO global database on vitamin A deficiency. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2009.

    Google Scholar 

  • Goldblatt EM, Gentry ER, Fox MJ, Gryaznov SM, Shen C, Herbert BS. The telomerase template antagonist GRN163L alters MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cell morphology, inhibits growth, and augments effects of paclitaxel. Mol Cancer Ther. 2009;8(7):2027–35.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Gomez D, Lemarteleur T, Lacroix L, Mailliet P, Mergny JL, Riou JF. Telomerase downregulation induced by the G-quadruplex ligand 12459 in A549 cells is mediated by hTERT RNA alternative splicing. Nucleic Acids Res. 2004;32(1):371–9.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Greider CW, Blackburn EH. Identification of a specific telomere terminal transferase activity in Tetrahymena extracts. Cell. 1985;43(2 pt 1):405–13.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hall EJ, Giaccia AJ. Radiobiology for the radiologist. 7th ed. Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams & Wilins; 2012. p. 120–1.

    Google Scholar 

  • Harrison DE, Strong R, Sharp ZD, et al. Rapamycin fed late in life etends lifespan in genetically heterogenous mice. Nature. 2009;460:392–5.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hashimoto T, Kunieda T. DNA protection protein, a novel mechanism of radiation tolerance: lessons from tardigrades. Life. 2017;26 https://doi.org/10.3390/life7020026.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hayflick L, Moorehead PS. The limited in vitro lifetime of human diploid cell strains. Exp Aging Res. 1961;25:585–621.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hengherr S, Worland MR, Reuner A, Brummer F, Schill RO. High-temperature tolerance in anhydrobiotic tardigrades is limited by glass transition. Physiol Biochem Zool. 2009;82:749–55.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hennekam RC. Hutchinson-Gilford progeria syndrome review of the phenotype. Am J Med Genet A. 2006;140(23):2603–24.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Herbert BS, Gellert GC, Hochreiter A, Pongracz K, Wright WE, Zielinska D, Chin AC, Harley CB, Shay JW, Gryaznov SM. Lipid modification of GRN163, an N3’-P5’ thio-phosphoramidate oligonucleotide, enhances the potency of telomerase inhibition. Oncogene. 2005;24(33):5262–8.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hewison M. Vitamin D and innate and adaptive immunity. Vitam Horm. 2011;86:23–62.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Heylen, et al. Rotavirus surveillance in Kisangani, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, reveals a high number of unusual genotypes and gene segments of animal origin in non-vaccinated symptomatic children. PLoS One. 2014;9:e100953.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Horikawa DD, Sakashita T, Katagiti C, Watanabe M, Kikawada T, Nakahara Y, Hamada N, Wada S, et al. Radiation tolerance in the tardigrade Milnesium tardigradum. Int J Radiat Biol. 2006;82:843–8.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Huether S, McCance K. “20” Understanding pathophysiology. 3rd ed. Mosby; 2004. p 543.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hutchinson J. Case of congenital absence of hair, with atrophic condition of the skin and its appendages, in a boy whose mother had been almost wholly bald from alopecia from the age of six. Lancet. 1986;1(3272):923.

    Google Scholar 

  • Iversen PR. The Centennial of a great idea. Kalispell: Scott Company Publishing; 2016.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jackson AC, Johannsen EC. Harrison’s infectious disease (Kasper DL, Fauci AS(eds)) Ch 98. 2010. pp. 959–965.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kaeberlin M. Resveratrol, pterostilbene and rapamycin: are they anti-aging drugs? BioEssays. 2010;32(2):96–9.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kambadur R, Sharma M, Smith TP, Bass JJ. Mutations in myostatin (GDF8) in double-muscled Belgian blue and Piedmontese cattle. Genome Res. 1997;7(9):910–6.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kearns MD, Alvarez JA, Seidel N, Tangpricha V. Impact of vitamin D on infectious disease. Am J Med Sci. 2015;349(3):245–62. Review. Pub Med PMID: 25334038

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kim MY, Gleason-Guzman M, Izbicka E, Nishioka D, Hurley LH. The different biological effects of Telomestatin and TMPyP4 can be attributed to their selectivity for interaction with intramolecular or intermolecular G-quadruplex structures. Cancer Res. 2003;63:3247–56.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kota J, Handy CR, Haidet AM, Montgomery CL, Eagle A, Radino-Klapac LR, Tucker D, Schilling CJ, Therlfall WR, Walker CM, Weisbrode SE, Janssen PM, Clark KR, Sahenk Z, Mendell JP, Kaspar BK. Follistatin gen delivery enhances muscle growth and strength in nonhuman primates. Sci Transl Med. 2009;1(6):6ra15.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • L’Huillier AG, et al. Moleculr epidemiology of human rhinoviruses and enteroviruses highlights their diversity in sub-Saharan Africa. Viruses. 2015;7:6412–23.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Listerman I, Sun J, Gazzaniga FS, Lukas JL, Blackburn EH. The major reverse transcriptase-incompetent splice variant of human telomerase protein inhibits telomerase activity but protects from apoptosis. Cancer Res. 2013;73:2817–1828.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Lwande et al. Infec Ecol Epidemiol. 2015; 5:29853.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mahaffey J. The military almost never lost a nuclear weapon. New York: Atomic Accidents Pegasus Books; 2014. p. 286–324.

    Google Scholar 

  • Marshall AL, Christiani DC. Genetic susceptibility to lung cancer- light at the end of the tunnel? Carcinogenesis. 2013;34(3):487–502.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Mata JE, Joshi SS, Palen B, Pirruccello SJ, Jackson JD, Elias N, Page TJ, Medlin KL, Iversen PL. A hexameric phosphorothioate oligonucleotide telomerase inhibitor arrests growth of Burkitt’s lymphoma cells in vitro and in vivo. Toxicol Appl Pharmacol. 1997;144:189–97.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • McPherron AC, Lawler AM, Lee SJ. Regulation of skeletal muscle mass in mice by a new TGF-beta superfamily member. Nature. 1997;387(6628):83–90.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Miragliotta G, Miragliotta L. Vitamin D and infectious diseases. Endocr Metab Immune Disord Drug Targets. 2014;14(4):267–71. Review

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Mora JR, Iwata M, von Andrian UH. Vitamin effects on the immune system: vitamins A and D take center stage. Nat Rev Immunol. 2008;8(9):685–98. https://doi.org/10.1038/nri2378.Review. Pub Med PMID: 19172691; Pub Med Central PMCID: PMC2906676

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Mosher DS, Auignon P, Bustamante CD, Sutter NB, Mellersh CS, Parker HG, Ostrander EA. A mutation in the myostatin gene increases muscle mass and enhances racing performance in heterozygote dogs. PLoS Genet. 2007;3(5):e79.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Muller H. The remaking of chromosomes. The collecting net. Woods Hole. 1938;13:181–98.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nair MK, Augustine LF, Konapur A. Food-based interventions to modify diet quality and diversity to address multiple micronutrient deficiency. Front Public Health. 2016;3:277. Review. PMID: 26779472

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Olovnikov AM. A theory of marginotomy. The incomplete copying of template margin in enzymatic synthesis of polynucleotides and biological significance of the phenomenon. J Theor Biol. 1973;41:181–90.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ono F, Saigusa M, Uozumi T, Matsushima Y, Ikeda H, Saini NL, Yamashita M. Effect of high hydrostatic pressure on to life of the tiny animal tardigrade. J Phys Chem Solids. 2008;69:2297–300.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Page TJ, Mata JE, Bridge JA, Siebler JC, Neff JR, Iversen PL. The cytotoxic effects of single-stranded telomere mimics on MOA-BL1 cells. Exp Cell Res. 1999;252:41–9.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Parpia AS, et al. Effects of response to 2014-2015 Ebola outbreak on deaths from Malaria, HIV/AIDS, and Tuberculosis, West Africa. Emerg Infect Dis. 2016;22:433–41.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Pascolo E, Wenz C, Lingner J, Hauel N, Priepke H, Kauffman I, Garin-Chesa P, Rettig WJ, Damm K, Schnapp A. Mechanism of human telomerase inhibition by BIBR 1532, a synthetic, non-nucleosidic drug candidate. J Biol Chem. 2002;277:15566–72.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Pelletier DL, Frongillo EA, Schroeder DG, Habicht JP. The effects of malnutrition on child mortality in developing countries. Bull World Health Organ. 1995;73:443–8.

    CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Pruzan R, Pongracz K, Gietzen K, Wallweber G, Gryaznov S. Allosteric inhibitors of telomerase: oligonucleotide N3’-P5’ phosphoramidates. Nucleic Acids Res. 2002;30(2):559–68.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Reitsma MB, Fullman N, Ng M, Salama JS, Abajobir A. Smoking prevalence and attributable disease burden in 195 countries and territories, 1990-2015: a systemic analysis from the global burden of disease study 2015. Lancet. 2017, April;389:1885–906. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(17)30819-X.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Robinson MC. An epidemic of virus disease in Southern Province, Tanganyika territory, in 1952–1953. Trans R Soc Trop Med Hyg. 1955;49:28–32.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ross CA. Vitamin a and retinoic acid in T cell-related immunity. Am J Clin Nutr. 2012;96(suppl):1166S–72S.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Rudan I, et al. Reducing mortality from childhood pneumonia: The leading priority is also the greatest opportunity. J Glob Health. 2013;3(1): 010101

    Google Scholar 

  • Rytter MJH, Kolte L, Briend A, Friis H, Christensen VB. The immune system in children with malnutrition-A systematic review. PLoS One. 2014;9(8):e105017.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Scaffidi P, Misteli T. Reversal of the cellular phenotype in the premature aging disease Hutchinson-Gilford progeria syndrome. Nat Med. 2005;11(4):440–5.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Scaffidi P, Misteli T, Misteli. Lamin A-dependent nuclear defects in human aging. Science. 2006;312(5776):1059–63.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Schuelke M, Wagner KR, Stolz LE, Hubner C, Reibel T, Komen W, Braun T, Tobin JF, Lee SJ. Myostatin mutation associated with gross muscle hypertrophy in a child. N Engl J Med. 2004;350(26):2682–8.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Shea-Herbert B, Pongracz K, Shay JW, Gryaznov SM. Oligonucleotide N3’→P5’ phophoramidates as efficient telomerase inhibitors. Oncogene. 2002;21:638–42.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Slaughter E, Gersberg RM, Watanabe K, Rudolph J, Stransky C, Novotny TE. Toxicity of cigarette butts, and their chemical components, to marine and freshwater fish. Tob Control. 2011;20:25–9.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Soenen S, Mariman EC, Vogels N, Bouman FG, den Hoed M, Brown L, Westerterp-Plantenga MS. Relationship between perilipin gen polymorphisms and body weight and body composition during weight loss and water maintenance. Physiol Behav. 2009;96(4–5):723–8.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • The world litters 4.5 trillion cigarette butts a year. Can we stop this? The Houston Chronicle 2014.

    Google Scholar 

  • Thompson PA, Drissi R, Muscal JA, Panditharatna E, Fouladi M, Ingle AM, Ahern CH, Reid JM, Lin T, Weigel BJ, Blaney SM. A phase I trial of Imetelstat in children with refractory or recurrent solid tumors: a children’s oncology group phase I consortium study (ADVL1112). Clin Cancer Res. 2013;19(23):6578–84.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • UNSCEAR. Sources and effects of ionizing radiation. Report of the United Nations Scientific Committee on the effects of atomic radiation. New York: United Nations; 2000.

    Google Scholar 

  • Vitamin A deficiency. UNICEF. 2015.

    Google Scholar 

  • Watson JD. Origin of concatameric T7 DNA. Nat New Biol. 1972;239:197–201.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Will G. We don’t need government to remind us that smoking kills. Editorial in the Grand Junction Daily Sentinal. 2017, December 28.

    Google Scholar 

  • Witkowske DH, et al. Lassa Virus in multimammate rats, Cote d’Ivoire. Emerg Infect Dis. 2015;21(8):1481–1483.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wolf G. Discovery of vitamin A. Enc Life Sci. 2001; https://doi.org/10.1038/npg.els.0003419.

  • Wong SM, Chen L, Foster C, Kainthla R, Shay JW, Wright WE. Regulation of telomerase alternate splicing: a new target for chemotherapy. Cell Rep. 2013;3:1028–35.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. LS Pharma, Oregon State University, Grand Jct, CO, USA

    Patrick L. Iversen

Authors
  1. Patrick L. Iversen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2018 Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Iversen, P.L. (2018). Social Entropy. In: Molecular Basis of Resilience. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-98164-2_2

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation