Resilience : Theory: Optimisation of Energy and Structure

A systems view of biological health

Section 2: Theory

11 : Optimisation of Energy and Structure

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The body contains innumerable examples of evolutionary optimisation that are far beyond our current technology to match or duplicate.

Parts of the workings of living organisms are so efficient that human-made devices will probably never equal them. To give just a verysmall number of examples[1]:

Rotational flagella are powered by a motor that is almost 100% efficient, whose structure contains just a dozen protein building-blocks; and which is literally a rotary engine with a clutch that allows for two different directions of motion. The clutch plates drive the motor, and so the number of plates can also be varied to produce more torque.
The universal use of twisted proteins in biology allows for the almost 100% efficient transfer of high energy electrons. Chirality [2] of organic molecules allows energy transfer efficiency of 100% (!) [3] due to quantum effects and is – so far as we know – universal across all forms of life.
Symbiosis is also based on efficiency. It is costly to carry round, check and maintain DNA, so what tends to happen across the entire swathe of Life (with some interesting exceptions) is that superfluous DNA is discarded. The human microbiome (that has accompanied us for tens of millions of years) produces on our behalf : Vitamin K, most water-soluble B Vitamins, a range of anti-inflammatory compounds and short-chain fatty acids and about 70% of endogenous serotonin.
Nothing is ever wasted, and most (if not all) biological structures have at least 2 or 3 functions – a principle exemplified by neural synapses, which allow nerves to communicate simultaneously in several complementary ways at different frequencies – and so participate in multiple parallel layers of communication. Mainstream biophysics (and even neurology) recognises most of these processes, but fails to grasp the implications of multiplexed communication in living systems, and so remains stuck in a "one component, one mechanism" model of the body. The body is therefore mistakenly viewed in the same way as one-component-one-function human-made devices – which actually operate on a simplified and limited subset of the rules that sustain and govern living organisms.

References & Notes

1 A nice example of self-referential optimisation is the road system in a pre-industrial landscape. Unused footpaths and roads rapidly become overgrown,. So keeping a road open requires both a lot of footfall and a certain amount of regular scrub clearance. The number and size of roads and footpaths is therefore dependent on the size of community it is serving the amount of traffic and trade, the wealth that trade generates (because people generally have to be paid to keep several tens or even hundreds of miles of road free of annual vegetation growth). The active and therefore open routes will therefore self-optimise over time. For smaller traffic, it would be custom to just walk across the fields and through woods, following farmers tracks and animal paths. All that organic self-organisation disappeared and became fossilised when we put tar surfaces down and started trimming hedges with lawnmowers wielded by tractors.. Humans (and animals) and landscape have always interacted in this synergistic manner, and many features of the modern landscape we live in are a result of tens of thousands of years of interaction. Water (springs, streams and rivers, marshes) and soil types (mechanical properties and fertility) are particular drivers that affect all vegetation, animal behaviour and human habitation. Reliable sources of fresh water from springs were particularly important. Rivers also formed both boundaries and trade routes.

2 Keith Cowing (February 21, 2024) Homochirality Of Life: Magnetic Effects At The Origin Of Life? https://astrobiology.com/2024/02/homochirality-of-life-magnetic-effects-at-the-origin-of-life.html

3 The spiral shape of proteins creates a pathway for electron transport that will carry electrons with one spin direction more easily than electrons with the opposite spin, so maybe there are biological functions for spin polarisation (chirality): "The photosynthetic machinery produces high energy electrons that should quickly react with other atoms within the complex. However, because of the unique [spiral] molecular structure and quantum properties of biomolecules within the living system, the high energy electrons are transferred with 100% efficiency within the photosynthetic core. This is the opposite result of what was expected from physicists, who generally regards the cell as a disorganized, chaotic environment that should be wholly inhospitable to maintaining quantum states. However, because of the unique structure of biomolecules ... the cellular machinery is observed to be able to transmit high energy electrons with 100% efficiency---a level of efficiency usually only seen in superconductors." Olivier Alirol (2019) Nature’s effective way of conducting electrons. Resonance Science Foundation. https://resonance.is/natures-effective-way-of-conducting-electrons/