Some Molecules Get It Right

In the beginning there was nothing. We all know that, don’t we? Then allegedly there was a Big Bang. The impact of that Bang apparently released unimaginable amount of energy and somewhere down in the Space Time matrix that energy gave birth to the Matter. Secondary school science tells us that this Matter in turn is comprised on 118 elements. So for those who bunked the science class or who have simply forgotten, each element is a unique atom with a certain atomic number which in turn represents the number of protons in its nucleus. So, for instance the first element Hydrogen, has atomic number of 1 and the last element Ununoctium, has atomic number of 118.

When two or more such atoms – of the same or different elements – come together through a chemical bond, they form a molecule. In fact some elements like Hydrogen exist only as molecules. There are practically infinite permutations and combinations in which these elements come together and form molecules. I am particularly intrigued with a handful of these elements and the molecules they form. The heroes (or heroines) of our interest are Carbon, Hydrogen, Nitrogen, Sulfur and Phosphorous. This quintet teams up to form very special categories of molecules. Proteins, Lipids, Carbohydrates and Nucleic Acids.

Proteins are the basic building blocks and are made of Amino acids which in turn contain Nitrogen.  Carbohydrate provide energy for growth and sustenance and are made up of atoms of Carbon, Hydrogen and Oxygen. Lipids are the main constituent of a cell membrane. Their primary role is storage of energy and intercellular communication. Chains of Carbon and Hydrogen together make Lipids. There are two nucleic acids namely, the flamboyant DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) and the publicity shy RNA (ribonucleic acid). DNA is responsible for carrying all the information an organism needs to survive, grow and reproduce. While RNA molecules do the grunt work of actually translating the information stored in DNA molecules and using the information to help build proteins. 

These Proteins, Lipids, Carbohydrates and Nucleic Acids who are as inanimate individually as a rock come together and become a living organism. Because living beings at their core are made up of the same elements which form inanimate matter, both have to obey the same laws of physics. 

Then what’s the difference between inanimate matter and a living organism? I know we studied this in the elementary school. But I will go ahead and say it anyway. At least a couple of key differences. First, living organisms procreate. And second the living beings exchange both matter & energy with their surroundings and are not at equilibrium with these.  How do I put it? Only the dead livings beings can do that by the way. Death restores the equilibrium and squares up. To avoid being dead the living organisms must derive, process and consume energy from their environment all the time. There are several other differences but listing all will be a digression.

The story gets more and more quirky from here on. Consider the grandest and the most complex of all living organisms the Homo Sapiens. That’s you and me. What distinguishes sapiens from every other living organism is possession of consciousness.  The very mention of CONSCIOUSNESS evokes a great deal of excitement amongst scientists, mathematicians, physicians, philosophers, religious gurus and practically everybody else who is conscious. Hence I won’t venture farther into this territory. The only reason I even mentioned this is to quickly glance at the seat of the consciousness, the Brain. It may be a matter of debate even amongst the neuroscientists but consciousness is said to be somewhere in a small area of the brainstem - known as the rostral dorsolateral. The entire brain is composed of neurons and glial cells.

Did you ever wonder when a human embryo forms, how does it get decided that this cell becomes skin, some other forms a liver and some privileged cell gets to be the mighty brain?

I am sure we didn’t learn this bit in the school though. At least not me. But a quick search on Wikipedia enlightened me to the possibility of a mysterious process whereby some signaling molecules turn on certain genes and turn off others and thus settle who grows up to be a liver and who gets to be brain. 

If you recall, we started by saying that all the matter is made up of atomic elements which form molecules.  All the elements and all the molecules on their own are inanimate. The Famous Five of Carbon, Hydrogen, Nitrogen, Sulfur and Phosphorous form the Molecules of Life, the Proteins, the Lipids, the Carbohydrates and the Nucleic Acids. These four together somehow become animate. Furthermore, some luckier amongst them get to be rostral dorsolateral and suddenly become conscious of their own existence. And finally, whether a molecule is a Lipid or a Protein or a tungsten carbide, they all obey the same laws of physics. No, we are not now going to study any laws of physics in this post.

The real question of this article is how come these inanimate molecules first form life and then somehow make a living being conscious of itself? How come they get properties which are bigger than themselves? In fact they get properties which they never possessed individually.

Is it also true for sapiens species as a whole what is true for organisms? Can individuals come together and form larger groups and organizations which are bigger than sum of the parts? Can we acquire properties and characteristics which individually no one possessed?

Take a look around us. Environment is degrading fast. Fossil fuels will disappear in a century or two. Race played havoc in the 20^th century and religious fervor is debasing humanity in the 21^st century. It is assumed that the nature wiped out the Dinosaurs.  But with exploding populations, depleting resources and access to deadly weapons we won’t need nature to that job for us. Humans always waged wars over wealth and territory but the weapons of mass destruction in the hands of Sapiens today can make the whole species extinct.

To the best of our knowledge the Earth is the only celestial body which supports life. Can we – seven billion humans - wake up collectively and come together to form a common race of Homo Sapiens which has qualities far superior than individually any of us possesses? Will this race figure out a way to preserve itself and allow the nature to continue to support Life as long as the Earth rotates?

The choice is ours. Like those Molecules of Life, some of us might just get it right.

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