Cells are the smallest, most basic unit of life. Do they also hold memories?

Globe and Mail

4 days ago

Thomas Verny is a clinical psychiatrist, academic, award-winning author, public speaker, poet and podcaster. He is the author of eight books, including the global bestseller The Secret Life of the Unborn Child and 2021'sThe Embodied Mind: Understanding the Mysteries of Cellular Memory, Consciousness and Our Bodies.
Joshua Bongard, professor of computer science at the University of Vermont, believes that as humans and animals evolved and adapted to their surroundings, so did their tissues and cells. 'What we are is intelligent machines made of intelligent machines made of intelligent machines, all the way down,' he said, referring to cells. [1]
Cells are the smallest, basic unit of life responsible for all of life's processes. A typical human cell has a membrane filled with a jellylike fluid called the cytoplasm. The cytoplasm contains structures called organelles that perform functions similar to major organs. For example, the mitochondria are the lungs of the cell. The nucleus, another organelle, contains the genetic material as DNA. Another important organelle is the cytoskeleton which consists of a cellular scaffolding or skeleton within a cell's cytoplasm. It is made up of microtubules, assembled from the protein tubulin into tube-shaped networks. Some studies support the view that it is the microtubules within the cytoskeleton that store memories. [2]. In addition to 37 organelles, each human cell contains about 12,000 proteins that amount to 42 million protein molecules.
A human adult's body contains 50 trillion to 100 trillion cells. These cells are constantly in a state of flux. About 300 million die every minute, while an equal number are freshly minted. The only cell visible to the naked eye is the ovum. About 10,000 average-sized human cells can fit on the head of a pin. Despite their minuscule size, these biological machines are surprisingly efficient, intelligent and possess remarkable memory.
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We do not generally think of the cells in our bodies as intelligent or capable of storing data other than those relevant to their function. However, as you will see, our cells process information and engage in purposeful behaviour. They are comparable to, but a lot smarter and more caring than, computer chips that power artificial intelligence. Like AI, cells change and learn from experience, while unlike computer chips they arrive naturally preprogrammed.
Textbooks often depict the cell as a factory, with genes providing instructions to produce proteins that carry out the body's daily functions. Considerable biological research indicates that 'control' and 'information' are distributed throughout the cell rather than concentrated in the nucleus. Cellular organelles do not operate like assembly lines; instead, they engage in intricate interactions with one another. Moreover, the cell's primary role isn't solely focused on 'production' as the common factory metaphor suggests. Rather, a significant portion of its activity is devoted to self-maintenance and supporting the well-being of neighbouring cells. [3].
Cell communication plays a vital role in maintaining tissue balance, co-ordinating specific cellular activities, and responding to environmental signals. During both development and repair, tissues must continually adjust to shifting biological conditions to achieve physiological stability. To do so, cells within these tissues engage in ongoing interactions – either with nearby target cells or, in some cases, with distant cells – without always involving the surrounding local cells.
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Cells can talk and help one another by way of the recently discovered tiny tube networks (TNTs). When a stressed or ailing cell releases a chemical distress signal, nearby cells extend hollow tubes through which they pass needed resources such as RNA, proteins or even whole organelles to the sick cell. [4]
Anne-Marie Rodriguez, a researcher at the Mondor Institute of Biomedical Research in Paris, has discovered that TNTs help injured heart cells recover from heart attacks. [5] In addition to TNTs, cells have other options for exchanging molecules, most notably the structures called gap junctions and exosomes.
New research from The Dana-Farber Cancer Institute has revealed that adult tissues retain a memory, inscribed on their DNA, of the embryonic cells from which they arose. [6] This discovery led to an even more fascinating finding that memory is entirely recoverable: 'Beyond the sheer existence of this archive, we were surprised to find that it doesn't remain permanently locked away but can be accessed under certain conditions. The implications of this discovery for how we think about cells' capabilities, and for the future treatment of degenerative and other diseases, are potentially profound,' said Ramesh A. Shivdasani, the senior author of the new study.
In other words, under specific conditions, patient-derived cells could be reverted to a more primitive developmental stage and then guided to grow into mature healthy tissues suitable for replacing damaged or diseased ones. This approach also shows potential in cancer research, especially in understanding how healthy cells 'catch' cancer.
Near-death experiences suggest that our consciousness may not die when our bodies do
Biologists, adapting principles from cybernetics and dynamic systems theory, have argued that the cell is an autopoietic system that continually recreates itself. [7] The word autopoiesis is derived from the Greek words for self and production, and refers to a system that can enact, reproduce, and maintain itself.
To support renewal, human tissues routinely eliminate millions of cells without compromising their overall structure, integrity, or intercellular connections. Researchers at the Institut Pasteur have identified a novel process that helps achieve this: dying cells temporarily shield nearby cells from undergoing cell death, thereby preserving tissue stability.
Using fluorescent markers sensitive to protein activity, the scientists discovered that when a cell dies, it triggers a short-term activation – lasting about an hour – of the EGFR-ERK signalling pathway in surrounding cells. This pathway, already known for its role in promoting cell survival, acts to prevent the simultaneous death of neighbouring cells. 'We were aware of the pathway's significance in epithelial cell survival, but witnessing this protective interaction between cells was unexpected,' said Romain Levayer, head of the Cell Death and Epithelial Homeostasis Unit at the Institut Pasteur and the study's lead author. [8]
Their findings also demonstrate that disrupting this local protective mechanism severely impacts epithelial tissues. Without it, adjacent cells would also die, causing major breakdowns in tissue and organs.
'These results highlight the remarkable self-regulation abilities of biological tissues,' Mr. Levayer explains. 'There's no central control directing when and where cells should die – it all comes down to direct, localized communication between neighbouring cells.'
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The crucial contribution of the entire single living cell to our health is conventionally overlooked. We humans place extra stress on our cells that they are not really programmed to deal with. Smoking, drinking and sun tanning, if continued for long periods, can cause permanent damage. The same goes for noise, pollution, radiation and the new threat to our health – microplastics. The cells that constitute your skin and the linings of your mouth, lungs and gut are particularly vulnerable. They deserve to be treated with respect.
Unpacking all the above, please note that individual cells are not just building blocks, like bricks in a wall; they have extra competences that enable them to construct larger structures and repair tissues. Cells need not understand, nor have minds, but by possessing information to perform tasks, beginning with the fundamental task of self-preservation, they provide themselves with the energy needed to adjust to their local environments in ways that advance their prospects. As cells form ever larger and more complex networks, their aggregate intelligence and wisdom grows.
One more thing. What I find especially intriguing about cells is the recent revelation by wildlife scientists that all living organisms shed small amounts of genetic material known as environmental DNA, or eDNA. This eDNA is present everywhere, drifting through the air, lingering in water, snow, milk, over grass, on the steps of your house or the chair in your living room. Thanks to recent advances in technology, researchers can now extract increasingly detailed information from ever tinier eDNA samples. In fact, scientists at the Whitney Laboratory for Marine Bioscience and Sea Turtle Hospital at the University of Florida in St. Augustine, have managed to retrieve both medical and ancestral data from trace human DNA fragments found in the environment. [9]
A friend of mine, a very sane person, I assure you, told me of an experience last year while going house hunting in a small Northern Ontario town. After checking out several houses he and his wife were led to a lovely old building. His wife and their real estate agent marched right in. But he froze in terror at the sound of crying and screaming children. He turned around and fled to the other side of the street. When his wife and the agent emerged from the house, they asked him why he did not follow them in. He explained what happened. The agent told them that a hundred years ago this house was an orphanage. Neither my friend nor his wife had any prior knowledge of the history of this house.
So, I am wondering whether this incident and many similar ones as well as seances, occult writings and hundreds of ghost stories, are in some way connected to certain people having a special ability to tune in to persons who had experienced strong negative emotions like fear or suffering by 'reading' their eDNA? Could it be that all of these fragments of DNA that have been piling up for millennia on this planet are responsible for what Carl Jung called 'the collective unconscious?' [10]
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