A Ribosome at the Biology/Matter Boundary

See cosmic creation process.

The twenty amino acids move about randomly in a cell, the consequence of thermal and quantum noise. Attached to them are tiny bits of transfer RNA, each with three letters of the genetic code that identify them. They bump randomly into the ribosome, which may be moving along a sequence of the genetic code written in the messenger RNA sent from the cell nucleus, signaling that more of a specific protein or enzyme is needed. The random motion shows us that no organized or coherent information is present in the unattached tRNAs that could cause something from the bottom up to control the higher level.

Notice the absurdity of the idea that the random motions of the transfer RNA molecules (green in the video), each holding a single amino acid (red), are carrying the pre-determined information about where they belong in the protein. Reductionism is nonsense.

It is the information processing of the higher-level ribosome that is in control. As the ribosome moves along the string of mRNA, it reads the next three-letter codon and waits for a tRNA with the matching anti-codon to collide randomly. With over 60 codons for the 20 amino acids, it might be some time before the desired amino acid shows up. Note that it is the high speed of the random thermal motions that allows this process to proceed rapidly.

Downward Causation Contents Ion Channels at the Mind-Brain Boundary

From Information to Semiosis | U C Berkeley, 19-21 June 2015 | Bob Doyle | The Information Philosopher