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Molecular Mechanism of Coding and Autonomous Decision-Making in Biological Systems

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Molecular Mechanisms of Autonomy in Biological Systems

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Abstract

Biological systems are recognizable from inanimate materials through their cognition and computation capacity. Cells are the main subunits of a biological system and function as highly advanced computers by executing thousands of operations per second for different biological purposes to dynamically adapt with the environment. Unlike current electronic-based computers, biological systems utilize a molecular-based coding system in which information is stored in molecules. Information storage in molecules provides massive operation capacity for the cells. Deep understanding of mechanisms of coding and data processing in the cells could have several technology applications and trigger an industrial revolution. However, this level of progress requires the establishment of a different scientific viewpoint for life sciences – a paradigm that puts life sciences in a category that is much closer to the other experimental branches of natural sciences including chemistry, physics, and mathematics.

In this chapter, first we provide a detailed description of different aspects of molecular coding and data operation in biological systems applying new concepts of cognitive chemistry and the relativity of code, energy, and mass. We will discuss how information is stored in the patterns of molecular interactions and how real-time interactions between molecules and atoms generate a dynamic coding and operation capacity in biological systems. In the second part, we will discuss how we can leverage the cognitive chemistry knowledge in designing synthetic systems with similar autonomous properties of biological systems. In the third part of this chapter, we will discuss how basic principles of cognitive chemistry can be applied to mimic the extensive computation capacity of biomolecules in solving complex decision making problem.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Tulane Medical Center, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA, USA

    Tara Karimi

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  1. Tara Karimi
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Karimi, T. (2018). Molecular Mechanism of Coding and Autonomous Decision-Making in Biological Systems. In: Molecular Mechanisms of Autonomy in Biological Systems. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-91824-2_2

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