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<div class="moz-cite-prefix">Dear Soeren and Colleagues,<br>
<br>
The symbiogenesis theme (Margulis' endosymbiotic theory) is one of
the aspects to reconsider/reenter into the basically evo-info (if
I may say) novissima synthesis. Margulis views were received in
the 70's and 80's with tremendous hostility from the Neo-Darwinian
orthodoxy. After a long series of turmoils it was accepted in many
realms, particularly in popular science and textbooks industry,
and even by the always reluctant Neo-Darwinians. Paradoxically in
recent times the bioinformatic and omic research on the origins of
eukaryotes has put into question basic tenets of that theory. The
"deep sequencing" research on protein families has also be
problematic for symbiogenesis. It does not mean that it is wrong,
but that it is more complicated than previously thought... That is
my opinion at least. In the present discussion, however, there are
very knowledgeable parties that can give more specific arguments
about that.<br>
<br>
Talking about Neo-Darwinians, the paragraph from John Torday that
I highlighted (see at the bottom) reminds me strongly from that
other from Richard Dawkins' (in The Selfish Gene): <br>
<h1 class="quoteText"><i><font face="Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif"><font
size="-1">“We are survival machines – robot vehicles
blindly programmed to preserve the selfish molecules known
as genes. This is a truth which still fills me with
astonishment.”</font></font></i></h1>
If we compare both paragraphs, the essential difference relies on
information. Torday's unicells develop not really multicell
robots, but info agents that collect information about the
environment, including the whole elements of the niche (i.e.,
including in the human case from the "microbiome" to the
"sociotype"). And fortunately the emphasis on "selfishness" has
disappeared. Perhaps one of the consequences of Margulis work has
been ideological, implying some general opening of views. Besides
that, we should pay close attention to some "invisible threads"
inside/outside those robots, like puppet strings: let me emphasize
the enormous evolutionary importance of viruses in eukaryotic
origins and evolution, and in epigenetic phenomena. Really
masterminding the whole topological/architectural molecular
processes.<br>
<br>
In any event, for the purpose of the discussion, I bet that the
new synthesis, the "novissimima", has to be evo-info... or it
won't be! <br>
(spoonful of salt, please)<br>
All the best--Pedro<br>
<br>
<br>
El 06/01/2018 a las 18:05, Søren Brier escribió:<br>
</div>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-US">Dear
Pedro<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-US"
lang="EN-US">I am wondering why no one seems to think that
Lynn Margulis’
</span><span
style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;background:white"
lang="EN-US">theory that cell organelles such
as mitochondria and chloroplasts were once
independent bacteria is a crucial contribution to
</span><span lang="EN-US">cell biology in evolution theory ?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"
lang="EN-US">Best wishes<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:#1F497D"
lang="EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:#1F497D"
lang="EN-US">Søren Brier<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto"><span
style="font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#1F497D;background:#FFD966"
lang="EN-US"><a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/00796107/131"
target="_blank">2017 JPBMB Focused Issue on Integral
Biomathics: The Necessary Conjunction of Western and
Eastern Thought Traditions for Exploring the Nature of
Mind and Life</a> </span><span
style="color:#1F497D;background:#FFD966" lang="EN-US"> *</span><span
style="color:#1F497D" lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto"><span
style="color:#1F497D;background:#FFD966" lang="EN-US">* free
promotional access to all focused issue articles until June
20th 2018 </span><span style="color:#1F497D" lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:#1F497D"
lang="EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:#1F497D"
lang="EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:#1F497D"
lang="EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:#1F497D;mso-fareast-language:EN-US"
lang="EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span
style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"
lang="EN-US">From:</span></b><span
style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"
lang="EN-US"> Fis [<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="mailto:fis-bounces@listas.unizar.es">mailto:fis-bounces@listas.unizar.es</a>]
<b>On Behalf Of </b>PEDRO CLEMENTE MARIJUAN FERNANDEZ<br>
<b>Sent:</b> 5. januar 2018 14:40<br>
<b>To:</b> JOHN TORDAY <a class="moz-txt-link-rfc2396E" href="mailto:jtorday@ucla.edu"><jtorday@ucla.edu></a>;
<a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:fis@listas.unizar.es">fis@listas.unizar.es</a><br>
<b>Subject:</b> Re: [Fis] New Year Lecture<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">head><o:p></o:p></p>
<p>Dear John and FIS Colleagues,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p>Many thanks for this opening text of the NY Lecture. Indeed
you have presented us an intricate panorama on one of the most
obscure scientific problems of our time: the central theory of
biology. As you say, we find with astonishment that there is
literally no cell biology in evolution theory. And I would ad
that there is no "information biology" either. A central
theory becomes sort of a big Hall, where plenty of
disciplinary corridors converge and later criss-cross among
themselves. Darwinian theory is not that common hall for the
really big, big science domain of biology. What are or where
are the elements to rebuild the common Hall of the biological
domain? I quote from your opening text:
<o:p></o:p></p>
<p><font size="+1"><b><em>"It is as if the unicellular state
delegates its progeny to interact with the environment
as agents, collecting data to inform the recapitulating
unicell of ecological changes that are occurring.
Through the acquisition and filtering of epigenetic
marks via meiosis, fertilization, and embryogenesis,
even on into adulthood, where the endocrine system
dictates the length and depth of the stages of the life
cycle, now known to be under epigenetic control, the
unicell remains in effective synchrony with
environmental changes."</em></b></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p>It is really brilliant: a heads up reversal perspective. I
think out of these ideas there are plenty of disciplinary
excursions to make. One is "informational", another
"topological". Putting together two different algorithmic
descriptions and making them to build a torus (i.e.,
gastrula") as a universal departure for multicellularity also
reminds the ideas of Stuart Pivart ("Omnia Ex Torus") about
the primordials of multicellularity and the role of mechanical
forces in the patterning of developmental processes.
<o:p></o:p></p>
<p>Echoing the ideas discussed in the Royal Society meeting
(November 2016), there is a pretty long list of elements to
take into account together with epigenetic inheritance
(symbiogenesis, viruses and mobile elements, multilevel
selection, niche construction, genomic evolution...). As I
have suggested above, essential informational ideas are
missing too, and this absence of the informational perspective
in the ongoing evo discussions is not a good thing. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p>i any case, it is such a great theme to ponder... <o:p></o:p></p>
<p>Best wishes to all<o:p></o:p></p>
<p>--Pedro<o:p></o:p></p>
<p><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p> On Wed, 3 Jan 2018 07:15:43 -0800 JOHN TORDAY wrote:<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">blockquote><o:p></o:p></p>
<p>Dear FIS Colleagues, I have attached my New Year Lecture at
the invitation of Professor Pedro Clemente Marijuan Fernandez.
The content relates a novel perspective on the mechanism of
evolution from a cellular-molecular vantage-point. I welcome
any and all comments and criticisms in the spirit of sharing
ideas openly and constructively. Best Wishes,<o:p></o:p></p>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p>John S. Torday PhD<o:p></o:p></p>
<p>Professor<o:p></o:p></p>
<p>Evolutionary Medicine<o:p></o:p></p>
<p>UCLA<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">/div><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<p> <o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
</blockquote>
<br>
<p><br>
</p>
<pre class="moz-signature" cols="72">--
-------------------------------------------------
Pedro C. Marijuán
Grupo de Bioinformación / Bioinformation Group
Instituto Aragonés de Ciencias de la Salud
Centro de Investigación Biomédica de Aragón (CIBA)
Avda. San Juan Bosco, 13, planta 0
50009 Zaragoza, Spain
Tfno. +34 976 71 3526 (& 6818)
<a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:pcmarijuan.iacs@aragon.es">pcmarijuan.iacs@aragon.es</a>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://sites.google.com/site/pedrocmarijuan/">http://sites.google.com/site/pedrocmarijuan/</a>
------------------------------------------------- </pre>
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