Friday, November 4, 2011

Come to papa!

One of the most elegant mechanisms that the body has evolved to maximize the efficiency and effectiveness of its processes is the RECEPTOR.
Effective homeostasis requires cell differentiation on many levels. By using the same basic equipment, cells with identical DNA can develop a vast array of specialized functions in part due to receptors that are specific to very defined signal proteins, and in addition can be turned off and on in a myriad of ways.
The result is essentially an infinite number of "lock and key" arrangements that allow specialization based on "generic" structures.
This principle, that the body has a few basic features that are maximally variable, determined by the DNA code, which is itself universal, is one of the most subtle yet powerful arguments, in my view, for the existence of rational order--design--in the universe.

No comments:

Post a Comment