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| The RNA molecule is not alive. |
Microbial communication is a primary discovery of Microbiology (Weekend Rebel Science Excursion - 35).
It is also a concern of the scientific discipline which I envision as "Abiology or Micro-Abiology" (Weekend Rebel Science Excursion - 27).
More specifically, today's post concerns evolutionary Abiology, a.k.a. "abiotic evolution" (ibid) via abiotic signalling.
Another valid way of describing evolutionary Abiology would be "the evolution of quanta into atoms, then atoms into molecules of various and sundry shapes and sizes" (ibid).
Previously n this series (On the Origin of the Genes of Viruses, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10) the Big Bang cosmological model was shown to theorize that molecules are a foundation of very diverse and complicated evolutionary developments:
Molecule, the smallest identifiable unit into which a pure substance can be divided and still retain the composition and chemical properties of that substance ... from a structural point of view, a molecule may consist of a single atom, as in a molecule of a noble gas such as helium (He), or it may consist of an aggregation of atoms held together by valence forces.(Encyclopedia Britannica, "Molecules", emphasis added). RNA and DNA are complex molecules that are not alive, rather, they are structures composed of different atoms bound together to form a unique entity.
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| The DNA molecule is not alive. |
In previous posts in this series we started with the premise that RNA preceded the more complex DNA:
Most biologists now agree that the very first replicating molecules consisted of RNA, not DNA.(Nature Education 3(9):37, "The Origins of Viruses"). Then let's also isolate and focus on the very next sentence in that paper:
We also know that some RNA molecules, ribozymes, exhibit enzymatic properties; they can catalyze chemical reactions.(ibid, emphasis added). RNA is of three types: Messenger (mRNA), Transfer (tRNA), and Ribosomal (rRNA).
Like a copy machine or a 3-D printer machine that is not alive, the rRNA molecule is instrumental in replication functions (Encyclopedia Britannica, "Ribosomal RNA").
In previous posts in this series I also hypothesized that RNA viruses of an ancient RNA type were the first self-replicating abiotic entities.
I think signalling or messaging or communication would have had to be in existence prior to the functional evolution of such ancient molecular machines into more complex molecular machines (such as current DNA, RNA, and ribosomes).
I brought up the notion of a primitive macro-level "robosome" as the cosmic copy machine at the macro level of solar systems (On the Origin of the Genes of Viruses - 6).
In addition to that, a primitive or prototype microcosm, a primitive rRNA robozyme, is a further necessary hypothetical entity, but one that would require almost instant signalling.
That entity would be able to work through a form of electromagnetic signalling, which is no longer considered science fiction:
It is well accepted that all objects, whether living or nonliving, are continuously generating electromagnetic fields (EMFs) due to the thermal agitation of their particles that possess charges. Interest in EMFs as alternative forms of cell-to-cell communication can be traced back to at least the second decade of the 20th century. Interactions between EMFs and biosystems have been intensively studied for over a century and a quantitative understanding of many interaction mechanisms exists, There is much evidence that biological processes can be induced or modulated by induction of light of characteristic frequencies.(HCV Electromagnetic Signalling, emphasis added). The subsequent primitive rRNA virus entity would use simple, yet related, signalling.
Recently, distant interactions between mammalian cells through EMF coupling have been shown. Distant (non-chemical) interaction in biosystems is not limited to interactions at the cellular level. Biosystem interaction has been reported at the level of plants, insects and other biosystems.
In 1997 Cosic proposed that there is a resonant interaction between macromolecules that plays an essential role in their bioactivity. The key point of Cosic's finding is the assignment of specific spectral electromagnetic (EM) characteristics of proteins to their specific biological function. Proteins with common biological functionality are known to share one significant peak, called the Consensus Frequency, which is acknowledged to represent the region responsible for the biological functionality. Bio-molecules with the same biological characteristics recognize and bio-attach to themselves when their valence electrons oscillate and then reverberate in an electromagnetic field. Protein interactions can be considered as resonant energy transfer between the interacting molecules. In simple words each protein and biomolecule has its fingerprint electromagnetic characteristics that can be used for its identification. In living systems long-range electromagnetic fields exchange messages across a distance because of matching emissions and absorption spectra. Non-resonating, unwanted random signals are excluded simply because they do not resonate.
Eventually it would have to evolve into messaging and communication of more focused sorts, before more complex signalling, DNA, and then primitive carbon-based organisms could develop.
This post is long enough ... more next time ... have a good weekend.
The previous post in this series is here.