Month: September 2022

ANTICIPATORY DATA IN TREES. "The dropping of leaves from a tree in autumn is a process that has been in preparation for the entire previous year. In fact, it is a cycle that is tweaked by information gathered from previous years, and changes in global weather gradually influence its timing." https://lnkd.in/e7kcPri View in LinkedIn

ENTRAINMENT OF BIOLOGICAL OSCILLATORS. "The rhythm of autonomous biological oscillators can be markedly affected by periodic perturbation. Studies of the effects of periodic electrical stimulation of neural and cardiac oscillators have revealed that the intrinsic rhythm may become entrained or phase locked to the periodic stimulus." https://lnkd.in/eyD4MFn View in LinkedIn

CYCLE SYNCHRONIZATION. "Entrainment of biological oscillators is a compelling example of the management and timing of periodic, seemingly isolated, biological functions." https://lnkd.in/e7kcPri View in LinkedIn

IN SYNCH. "Profoundly, it has been shown that the precise rhythm of the heartbeat can regulate a large number of cycles in the body, and optimal function is achieved in the presence of perfectly coherent beats." https://lnkd.in/e7kcPri View in LinkedIn

FRAGMENT FROM NATURE this weekend focuses on ATP, another mega-blockbuster biomolecule. Complex molecules organized into living things need to capture and harness energy to function, and without it, a cell is bankrupt. All life energy is a cascade from the sun, stored in chemical bonds, and released to do work. View in LinkedIn

DESPITE ITS IMPORTANCE, most of the literature on ATP is very narrow and descriptive. There are few, if any, eulogies to this brilliantly constructed molecule: none celebrating its remarkable efficiency (never stored, used as needed); its ubiquity for absolutely all life forms; and its clever energy dose, suitable for thousands of types of biochemical reactions. View in LinkedIn

"ALL ENERGY ON EARTH originates from the sun." https://lnkd.in/e2Q2XzK View in LinkedIn

PLANTS convert sunlight into chemical energy by photosynthesis in chloroplasts. Animals burn molecules made by plants and animal foods by respiration to make chemical energy in mitochondria. In both diverse systems, energy is stored in ATP and is released when it converts to ADP. View in LinkedIn

OBLIGATE CONSUMERS. "About 95% of the energy used by our body comes from ATP." https://lnkd.in/erbsHTb View in LinkedIn

ANCIENT SYMBIONTS. Both chloroplasts and mitochondria are of symbiotic bacterial origin, generating all cellular energy in plants and animals, and dictating cell suicide. These semi-independent organelles thus play a pivotal role in most of earth's life forms. Think again whose hand is on the steering wheel. View in LinkedIn