Abstract
Countless informational proposals and models have explored the singular characteristics of biological systems: from the initial choice of information terms in the early days of molecular biology to the current bioinformatic avalanche in this “omic” era. However, this was conducted, most often, within partial, specialized scopes or just metaphorically. In this paper, we attempt a consistent informational discourse, initially based on the molecular recognition paradigm, which addresses the main stages of biological organization in a new way. It considers the interconnection between signaling systems and information flows, between informational architectures and biomolecular codes, between controlled cell cycles and multicellular complexity. It also addresses, in a new way, a central issue: how new evolutionary paths are opened by the cumulated action of multiple variation engines or mutational ‘vehicles’ evolved for the genomic exploration of DNA sequence space. Rather than discussing the possible replacement, extension, or maintenance of traditional neo-Darwinian tenets, a genuine informational approach to evolutionary phenomena is advocated, in which systemic variation in the informational architectures may induce differential survival (self-construction, self-maintenance, and reproduction) of biological agents within their open ended environment.
Highlights
Opting for information to re-discuss evolutionary theory is not new
Protein synthesis, which is the central activity of life, is at the same time the central fabric of meaning for the received signals in every tissue
We attempted a bottom up panoramic that started in molecular recognition and progressed towards informational architectures, information flows, and the coupling of signaling systems and gene expression, with everything converging on a central element, the life cycle
Summary
Opting for information to re-discuss evolutionary theory is not new. In the decades that followed the discovery of the DNA structure and the genetic code, information and communication terms were the metaphors of choice and Shannon’s was the exciting new theory to apply. After the human genome sequencing, the connection with the informational apparently becomes tighter In these recent decades, biology, directly, has been seen as an “information science” [5] for “the living is digital” [6], and bioinformatics, the “omic” disciplines, and systems biology, are part of the new “Big Science” [7] (see further references in [8]). We will consider how the different variation ‘vehicles’ might be lawfully interrelated, and how a plurality of selective and cooperative events might result in the differential survival of biological agents Our aim is not to solve sophisticated evolutionary problems, but to advance a new way of thinking, a general vision capable of reconciling artificially distant positions and narrowly focused approaches
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
