Introduction: Part I – Design And Information In
Biological Systems
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[main]
Author(s)
J. Bryant
Abstract
Chapter 1
Introduction: Part I – Design and information in
biological systems
J. Bryant
School of Biosciences, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK.
Abstract
The term ‘design’ in biology usually refers to fitness for purpose: is the particular structure or
mechanism effective in carrying out its function? This must be seen in the light of evolution by
natural selection. Organisms which function better in a given environment than their close relatives
and therefore have a greater reproductive success will become more abundant at the expense of
less successful individuals. The millions of species of living organisms, from the most simple to
the most complex, now present on earth have arisen by this process. Natural selection can only
work if a particular advantage exhibited by particular individuals is heritable, i.e. embedded in
the ‘genetic machinery’. That genetic machinery is based on DNA, whose structure is elegantly
fitted to its two functions: (a) carrying the genetic information that regulates the development,
growth and functioning of the organism; (b) passing on that information to subsequent generations.
Genetic information is carried in the order of deoxyribonucleotides in aDNAmolecule. The double
helical structure of DNA, coupled with the way that the bases within the deoxyribonucleotides
pair specifically between the two chains of the double helix, provides a template mechanism for
passing on the information. DNA’s role as the regulator of minute-by-minute function is achieved
by the copying of specific tracts of DNA (genes) into mRNA and the translation of the code in
mRNAto make proteins. In evolution, it is the subtle changes in the order of deoxyribonucleotides
(mutations) that generate the heritable variation based on which natural selection works. We are
ignorant as to how these mechanisms originated, but it is thought that early in the development of
life, the genetic material was RNA, which in addition to carrying genetic information could also
mediate a limited range of the functions now performed by proteins.
1 Design, function and elegance
When design is spoken of in the day-to-day world we can discern two separate strands of meaning.
The first of these is fitness for purpose. Does the object perform effectively the functions that it
is meant for?Will a bridge support appropriate loads under all weather conditions?Will a toaster
Keywords
Related Book
Other papers in this volume
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