Live Longer World Denis Noble & Michael Levin | What Biology needs to Advance Longevity
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Oct 24, 2024 Denis Noble, a renowned systems biologist known for his pioneering work on heart electrical activity, teams up with Michael Levin, a leading expert in bioelectricity. They challenge traditional views, arguing that DNA is not the sole blueprint of life and critique the reductionist approach of Neo-Darwinism. Their discussion dives into epigenetic inheritance and the need for a holistic understanding of biology. They advocate for integrating functional networks to better tackle diseases, pushing for greater funding and focus on complex biological interactions.
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From Reductionism to Systems Biology
- Denis Noble started in a reductionist camp studying ion channels but later realized cell membrane voltage represents a global, higher-level property.
- This led him to view causation in biology as top-down, integrating both molecular and system-wide perspectives.
Combine Reductionism and Systems View
- Combine reductionist and systems approaches by studying molecular components within global cellular constraints.
- Understanding complex phenomena like cardiac arrhythmias requires analysis beyond single cells, at tissue and organ levels.
Neo-Darwinism's flawed DNA replication
- Neo-Darwinism falsely assumes DNA self-replicates like a crystal; in reality, living cells orchestrate error correction.
- DNA alone cannot recreate an organism; life requires whole cellular context for replication and function.
