Ion-Based Cellular Signal Transmission, Principles of Minimum Information Loss, and Evolution by Natural Selection.
B Roy Frieden1, Robert Gatenby2
1College of Optical Sciences, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA.
International Journal of Molecular Sciences
|December 22, 2019
Summary
The Extreme Physical Information (EPI) principle, a fundamental law of nature, can explain biological evolution. This principle, which minimizes information loss, is key to understanding how life evolves and adapts to environmental changes.
Area of Science:
- Physics and Biology
- Information Theory
- Evolutionary Biology
Background:
- Living systems depend on information for survival and proliferation.
- Genome encodes fixed information, while cells need dynamic environmental information processing.
- The cell membrane acts as a primary site for external information reception and processing.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if the Extreme Physical Information (EPI) principle can explain the fundamental law of evolution.
- To link genomic information storage with dynamic environmental information acquisition.
- To propose a model for how cells process external signals and transmit information.
Main Methods:
- Modeling information dynamics based on ion flow through membrane channels and cytoskeleton.
- Analyzing signal transmission through cellular information conduits.
- Applying the EPI principle to information processing in living systems.
Main Results:
- Cellular information processing, from membrane detection to cytoplasmic signaling, aligns with the EPI principle.
- Minimizing signal loss in macromolecular conduits is governed by the EPI principle.
- Evolutionary natural selection is theoretically grounded in the universal EPI principle.
Conclusions:
- The EPI principle provides a universal framework for both physical laws and biological evolution.
- Minimizing information loss is crucial for overcoming energy constraints and driving complexity.
- Increasing information and complexity in life are linked to energy efficiency and substrate acquisition.
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