Cell Language Theory, The: Connecting Mind And Matter

54 The Cell Language Theory: Connecting Mind and Matter

b2861 The Cell Language Theory: Connecting Mind and Matter “6x9”

3.2 The Principles and Major Concepts Embedded in the

Bhopalator Model of the Living Cell

The Bhopalator [15, 16, 133] (Figure 3.2) is a molecular model of the liv-

ing cell constructed on the basis of a set of physical, chemical, linguistic,

and semiotic principles that constitute biocybernetics [7]. It may be the

first comprehensive molecular–theoretical model of the living cell pro-

posed [25]. The Bhopalator was presented in an international meeting

held in Bhopal, India, in 1983 (hence the name), and the first full-length

paper on it was published in 1985 [15, 16, 136].

The idea that cells are the structural and functional units of all living

things was first proposed by the German biologist Theodor Schwann in 1839

and is known as the cell theory. But Schwann’s cell theory was devoid of any

physical principles underlying cell structure and function. In contrast, the

Bhopalator model of the cell proposes a set of physical, chemical, and semi-

otics (study of signs) principles that are deemed necessary to understand how

the cell works on the molecular level. The relation between the Bhopalator

and Schwann’s cell theory may be comparable to the relation between the

model of the atom proposed by N. Bohr in 1913 and the idea proposed by

Democritus in the 5th century BC that all things are made out of atoms:

The Bhopalator Cell Model (1985) ~ Schwann’s Cell Theory (1839)

Bohr’s Atomic Model (1913) ~ Democritus’ Atomic Theory (5th

Century BC) (3.1)

Two features are novel in the Bhopalator model of the cell:

a) Dissipative structures of Prigogine (also called intracellular dissipa-

tive structures, IDSs) which serve a dual role — the final form of

gene expression, and the immediate driving force for all cell func-

tions (see arrow 20).

b) The concept of conformons as the carrier of both mechanical energy

and genetic information. Conformons serve as the source of the

molecular forces for all purposive (or goal-directed) actions of

molecular machines inside the cell. (For a detailed explanation for

the concept of the conformon, see Section 3.4.)

The dotted arrows indicate the feedback interactions between IDSs

and all other cellular components including DNA, RNA, and proteins.

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