From: Simon Berkovich <berkov@seas.gwu.edu> Date: Fri, 9 Nov 2001 22:31:54 GMT (252kb)
Authors:
S.Y. Berkovich
Comments: 52 pages, 2 textual figures, 1 bitmap figure
Report-no: GWU-IIST-2001-01
Subj-class: Biological Physics; Computational Physics
The information contained in the genome is insufficient for the control of organism development. Thus, the whereabouts of actual operational directives and workings of the genome remain obscure. In this work, it is suggested that the genome information plays a role of a "barcode". The DNA structure presents a pseudo-random number(PRN)with classification tags, so organisms are characterized by DNA as library books are characterized by catalogue numbers. Elaboration of the "barcode" interpretation of DNA implicates the infrastructure of the physical Universe as a seat of biological information processing. Thanks to the PRNs provided by DNA, biological objects can share these facilities in the Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) mode, similarly to cellular phone communications. Figuratively speaking, populations of biological objects in the physical Universe can be seen as a community of users on the Internet with a wireless CDMA connection. The phenomenon of Life as a collective information processing activity has little to do with physics and is to be treated with the methodology of engineering design. The concept of the "barcode" functionality of DNA confronts the descriptive scientific doctrines with a unique operational scheme of biological information control. Recognition of this concept would require sacrificing the worldview of contemporary cosmology.