Biophysics Week 1: Life and Living Systems
What is it that distinguishes humans as living systems?
On the most basic level, we are comprised of cells, tissues, organs and organ systems. Our cells house an individualized code and allows for potential reproduction. We engage with and respond to our environment, absorbing gases and nutrients to make energy. We identify and eliminate non-self invaders and eject waste products. Our innate understanding of 'self' propels us into a series of negative feedback loops that help us survive. When the environment shifts and changes, our bodies tap into their resources to maintain homeostasis. According to Maturana, Varela and Uribe, living things are autopoietic and in a constant state of self-referral so that any environmental adaptation is a relentless effort of remain uniquely ourselves.
Despite the determination of the living system's to hold onto it's identity, his or her survival is at the mercy of specific environmental conditions. Water, for example, is required for all life to flourish. This may be what distinguishes us from computers and robots. To keep our systems moving, water is required to transport gases, nutrients and wastes throughout the body. It is the universal solvent, allowing all life bearing substances to immerse themselves and flow in and out of the body. Water lubricates our rough surfaces and protects the delicate structures. Water helps us regulate temperature and stay safe when the weather shifts.
While we have this inherent and ceaseless autonomic order, living things also seem to require environmental instability to thrive. NASA is searching for water on mars, to prove there are signs of life. However, John lovelock explains that the chemical equilibrium on Mars has made life an impossibility. It is the constant instability that keeps life moving. The animate world maintains order as it engages in an elaborate dance with a disordered universe, all the while carving beautiful patterns within the inanimate landscape. Fractals are imprints of this dance, of instability vs stability, flowing life into every rock, cloud and bead of grass.
Qi seems to be the force that binds animate and inanimate objects, opening the debate for what it really means to be alive. If the Qi is free from blockages, it moves in a continuous fashion throughout the universe. Biophysics helps bridge the gap between eastern and western views of living things. Humans for instance, exist within their own electromagnetic field, which responds dramatically to the energetic pulses of the environment. This is the part of life that is unseen, and therefor difficult to conceptualize by Western Medicine. In other words, unless the energetic vibrations are banging on the tymphanic membrane of the ear, moving the bones of the inner ear, it is hard to accept that such forces exist. Western medicine focuses almost exclusively on our physicality, which is only a fraction of the full picture.
On the most basic level, we are comprised of cells, tissues, organs and organ systems. Our cells house an individualized code and allows for potential reproduction. We engage with and respond to our environment, absorbing gases and nutrients to make energy. We identify and eliminate non-self invaders and eject waste products. Our innate understanding of 'self' propels us into a series of negative feedback loops that help us survive. When the environment shifts and changes, our bodies tap into their resources to maintain homeostasis. According to Maturana, Varela and Uribe, living things are autopoietic and in a constant state of self-referral so that any environmental adaptation is a relentless effort of remain uniquely ourselves.
Despite the determination of the living system's to hold onto it's identity, his or her survival is at the mercy of specific environmental conditions. Water, for example, is required for all life to flourish. This may be what distinguishes us from computers and robots. To keep our systems moving, water is required to transport gases, nutrients and wastes throughout the body. It is the universal solvent, allowing all life bearing substances to immerse themselves and flow in and out of the body. Water lubricates our rough surfaces and protects the delicate structures. Water helps us regulate temperature and stay safe when the weather shifts.
While we have this inherent and ceaseless autonomic order, living things also seem to require environmental instability to thrive. NASA is searching for water on mars, to prove there are signs of life. However, John lovelock explains that the chemical equilibrium on Mars has made life an impossibility. It is the constant instability that keeps life moving. The animate world maintains order as it engages in an elaborate dance with a disordered universe, all the while carving beautiful patterns within the inanimate landscape. Fractals are imprints of this dance, of instability vs stability, flowing life into every rock, cloud and bead of grass.
Qi seems to be the force that binds animate and inanimate objects, opening the debate for what it really means to be alive. If the Qi is free from blockages, it moves in a continuous fashion throughout the universe. Biophysics helps bridge the gap between eastern and western views of living things. Humans for instance, exist within their own electromagnetic field, which responds dramatically to the energetic pulses of the environment. This is the part of life that is unseen, and therefor difficult to conceptualize by Western Medicine. In other words, unless the energetic vibrations are banging on the tymphanic membrane of the ear, moving the bones of the inner ear, it is hard to accept that such forces exist. Western medicine focuses almost exclusively on our physicality, which is only a fraction of the full picture.
I like how you described qi as the "force that binds animate and inanimate objects" and it's bringing up in my mind this beautiful image of the movement of qi bringing life all around. I appreciate how you wrote this post. The imagery is helping me better reinforce and further integrate the information into my system.
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