Stochastic fluctuations in the expression of genes allow a cell to exhibit a kind of free will. H/T Sergio Tarrero Bacteria are single-celled organisms that make decisions all the time about where to swim, what to eat, and when to divide. They are also micron-sized containers filled with a million proteins and a few million base pairs of DNA, as well as RNA molecules, lipids, sugars, inorganic salts, and water. The question of how that bag of chemicals makes seemingly complex decisions has been the focus of biology for more than 50 years. Recently, experiments have begun to yield quantitative data that have led to models of the molecular-scale processes involved. Physicists have taken the new developments as an invitation to join the party and are helping figure out how cells make decisions in many different contexts. They are bringing to molecular biology the interplay of quantitative models and experiments that has been so critical to the success of physics over the centuries. That interplay is pushing the field in unexpected new directions, and hopes are high that the general principles behind cellular decision making will soon reveal themselves.
Posted on: Sun, 02 Feb 2014 15:29:57 +0000
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