Dr.
Bruce H. Lipton, Ph.D. © 2001

Reprinted
from Bridges, 2001 Vol 12(1):5

ISSEEM>(303) 425-4625

Though
a human is comprised of over fifty trillion cells, there are no physiologic
functions in our bodies that were not already pre-existing in the biology
of the single, nucleated (eukaryotic) cell. Single-celled organisms, such
as the amoeba or paramecium, possess the cytological equivalents of a digestive
system, an excretory system, a respiratory system, a musculoskeletal system,
an immune system, a reproductive system and a cardiovascular system, among
others.>In the humans, these physiologic functions are associated with the
activity of specific organs.>These
same physiologic processes are carried out in cells by diminutive organ systems
called organelles.>

Cellular
life is sustained by tightly regulating the functions of the cell’s physiologic
systems. The expression of predictable behavioral repertoires implies the
existence of a cellular "nervous system." This system reacts to environmental
stimuli by eliciting appropriate behavioral responses. The organelle that
coordinates the adjustments and reactions of a cell to its internal and external
environments would represent the cytoplasmic equivalent of the "brain."

Since
the breaking of the genetic code in the early 1950's, cell biologists have
favored the concept of genetic determinism,
the notion that genes "control" biology. Virtually all of the cell’s genes
are contained within the cell’s largest organelle, the nucleus. Conventional opinion considers
the nucleus to be the "command center" of the cell.>As such, the nucleus would represent the cellular equivalent of
the "brain."

Genetic
determinism infers that the expression and fate of an organism are primarily
"predetermined" in its genetic code. The genetic basis of organismal expression
is ingrained in the biological sciences as a consensual truth, a belief by
which we frame our reference for health and disease. Hence the notion that
susceptibility to certain illnesses or the expression of aberrant behavior
is generally linked to genetic lineage and, on occasions, spontaneous mutations.
By extension, it is also perceived by a majority of scientists that the human
mind and consciousness are "encoded" in the molecules of the nervous
system. This in turn promotes the concept that the emergence of consciousness
reflects the "ghost in the machine."

The
primacy of DNA in influencing and regulating biological behavior and evolution
is based upon an unfounded assumption. A seminal article by H. F. Nijhout
(BioEssays >1990, 12 (9):441-446) describes how concepts
concerning genetic "controls" and "programs" were originally conceived as
metaphors to help define and direct avenues of research. Widespread repetition
of this compelling hypothesis over fifty years has resulted in the "metaphor
of the model" becoming the "truth of the mechanism," in spite of the absence
of substantiative supporting evidence. Since the assumption emphasizes the
genetic program as the "top rung" on the biological control ladder, genes
have acquired the status of causal agents in eliciting biological expression
and behavior (e.g., genes causing cancer, alcoholism, even criminality).

The
notion that the nucleus and its genes are the "brain" of the cell is an untenable
and illogical hypothesis. If the brain is removed from an animal, disruption
of physiologic integration would immediately lead to the organism's death.
If the nucleus truly represented the brain of the cell, then removal of the
nucleus would result in the cessation of cell functions and immediate cell
death. However, experimentally enucleated cells may survive for two or more months with out genes,
and yet are capable of effecting complex responses to environmental and cytoplasmic
stimuli (Lipton, et al., Differentiation 1991, 46:117-133). Logic reveals
that the nucleus can not be the
brain of the cell!

Studies
on cloned human cells led me to the awareness that the cell’s plasmalemma,
commonly referred to as the cell membrane,
represents the cell’s "brain.">Cell membranes, the first biological
organelle to appear in evolution, are the only organelle common to
every living organism. Cell membranes compartmentalize the cytoplasm,
separating it from the vagaries of the external environment.>In its
barrier capacity, the membrane enables the cell to maintain tight
"control" over the cytoplasmic environment, a necessity in carrying out
biological reactions. Cell membranes are so thin that they can only be
observed using the electron microscope.>Consequently, the
existence>and universal expression of the membrane structure>was
only clearly established around 1950.>

In
electron micrographs, the cell membrane appears as a vanishingly thin (<10nm),
tri-layered (black-white-black) "skin" enveloping the cell. The fundamental
structural simplicity of the cell membrane, which is identical for all biological
organisms, beguiled cell biologists.>For most of the last fifty years, the membrane
was perceived as a "passive," semi-permeable barrier, resembling a breathable
"plastic wrap," whose function was to simply contain the cytoplasm.

The
membrane’s layered appearance reflects the organization of its phospholipid
building blocks.>These lollipop-shaped
molecules are amphipathic, they possess both a globular polar
phosphate head (Figure A) and two stick-like non-polar
legs (Figure B). When shaken in solution, the phospholipids self-assemble
into a stabilizing crystalline bilayer (Figure C).

The
lipid legs comprising the core of the membrane >provide a hydrophobic barrier (Figure D) that
partitions the cytoplasm from the ever-changing external environment.>While cytoplasmic integrity is maintained by
the lipid’s passive barrier function, life processes necessitate the active
exchange of metabolites and information between the cytoplasm and surrounding
environment. The physiologic activities of the plasmalemma are mediated by
the membrane’s proteins .

Each
of the approximately 100,000 different proteins providing for the human body
is comprised of a linear chain of linked amino acids. The "chains" are assembled
from a population of twenty different amino acids.>Each protein’s unique structure and function
is defined by the specific sequence of amino acids comprising its chain. Synthesized
as a linear string, the amino acid chains subsequently fold into unique three
dimensional globules.>The final conformation
(shape) of the protein reflects a balance of electrical charges among its
constituent amino acids.

>

The
three dimensional morphology of folded proteins endows their surfaces
with specifically shaped clefts and pockets.>Molecules and ions
possessing complementary physical shapes and electrical charges will
bind to a protein’s surface clefts and pockets with the specificity of
a lock-and-key. Binding of another molecule alters the protein’s
electrical charge distribution. In response, the protein’s amino acid
chain will spontaneously refold to rebalance the charge
distribution.>Refolding changes the protein’s conformation.>In
shifting from one conformation to the next, the protein expresses
movement. Protein conformational movements are harnessed by the cell to
carry out physiologic functions. The work generated by protein movement
is responsible for "life."

A
number of the twenty amino acids comprising the protein’s chain are non-polar
(hydrophobic, oil-loving). The hydrophobic portions of proteins seek stability
by inserting themselves into the membrane’s lipid core. The polar (water-loving)
portions of these proteins extend from either or both of the membrane’s water-covered
surfaces. Proteins incorporated within the membrane are called integral
membrane proteins (IMPs).

Membrane
IMPs can be functionally subdivided into two classes: receptors
and effectors. Receptors are input
devices that respond to environmental signals. Effectors are output devices that activate cellular processes.
A family of processor proteins,
located in the cytoplasm beneath the membrane, serve to link signal-receiving
receptors with action-producing effectors.

Receptors
are molecular "antennas" that recognize environmental signals. Some
receptor antennas extend inward from the membrane’s cytoplasmic
face.>These receptors "read" the internal milieu and provide
awareness of cytoplasmic conditions. Other receptors extending from the
cell’s outer surface provide awareness of external environmental
signals.

Conventional
biomedical sciences hold that environmental "information" can only
be carried by the substance of molecules (Science
1999, 284:79-109). According to this notion, receptors only recognize "signals"
that physically complement their
surface features. This materialistic belief is maintained even though it has
been amply demonstrated that protein receptors respond to vibrational frequencies.
Through a process known as electroconformational
coupling (Tsong, Trends in Biochem.
Sci. 1989, 14:89-92), resonant vibrational energy fields can alter the
balance of charges in a protein.>In
a harmonic energy field, receptors will change their conformation. Consequently,
membrane receptors respond to both physical and energetic environmental information.

A
receptor’s "activated" conformation informs the cell of a signal’s existence. Changes in receptor conformation
provide for cellular "awareness." In its "activated" conformation, a signal-receiving
receptor may bind to either a specific function-producing effector protein or to intermediary processor protein. Receptor proteins return
to their original "inactive" conformation and detach from other proteins when
the signal ceases.

The
family of effector proteins represent "output" devices.>There are three different types of effectors, transport
proteins, enzymes and cytoskeletal proteins.>Transporters,
which include the extensive family of channels, serve to transport molecules and information from one side
of the membrane barrier to the other.>Enzymes
are responsible for metabolic synthesis and degradation.>Cytoskeletal proteins regulate the shape and
motility of cells.>

Effector
proteins generally possess two conformations: an active configuration
in which the protein expresses its function; and a "resting"
conformation in which the protein is inactive.>For example, a
channel protein in its active conformation>possesses an open pore
through which specific ions or molecules traverse the membrane
barrier.>In returning to an inactive conformation, protein refolding
constricts the conducting channel and the flow of ions or molecules
ceases.

Putting
all the pieces together we are provide with insight as to how the cell’s "brain"
processes information and elicits behavior. The innumerable molecular and
radiant energy signals in a cell's environment creates a virtual cacophony
of information. In a manner resembling a biological Fourier transform, individual
surface receptors (Fig. H) sense the apparently chaotic environment and filter
out specific frequencies as behavioral signals. Receipt of a resonant signal
(Fig. I, arrow) induces a conformational change in the cytoplasmic portion
of the receptor (Fig. I, arrowhead).>This conformational change enables the receptor
to complex with a specific effector IMP (Fig. J, in this case a channel IMP). Binding of the receptor protein
(Fig. K) in turn elicits a conformational change in the effector protein (Fig.
L, channel opens). Activated receptors can turn on enzyme pathways, induce
structural reorganization and motility or activate transport of uniquely pulsed
electrical signals and ions across the membrane.

Processor
proteins serve as "multiplex" devices in that they can increase the versatility
of the signal system. Such proteins interface receptors with effector proteins
(P in figure M).>By "programming"
processor protein coupling, a variety of inputs can be linked with a variety
of outputs. Processor proteins provide for a large behavioral repertoire using
a limited number of IMPs.

Effector
IMPs convert receptor-mediated environmental signals into biological behavior.
The output function of some effector proteins might represent the full extent
of an elicited behavior.>However, in most cases, the output of effector
IMPs actually serve as a secondary "signal" which penetrates the cell and
activates behavior of other cytoplasmic protein pathways.>Activated effector proteins also serve as transcription factors, signals that elicit
gene expression.

The
behavior of the cell is controlled by the combined actions of coupled receptors
and effector IMPs. Receptors provide "awareness of the environment" and effector
proteins convert that awareness into "physical sensation." By strict definition,
a receptor-effector complex represents a fundamental unit
of perception. Protein perception units provide the foundation of biological
consciousness. Perceptions "control" cell behavior, though in truth, a cell
is actually "controlled" by beliefs, since perceptions may not necessarily
be accurate.

The
cell membrane is an organic information processor.>It senses the environment and converts that
awareness into "information" that can influence the activity of protein pathways
and control the expression of the genes.>A description of the membrane’s structure and function reads as
follows: (A) based upon the organization of its phospholipid molecules, the
membrane is a liquid crystal; B)
the regulated transport of information across the hydrophobic barrier by IMP
effector proteins renders the membrane a semiconductor;
and (C) the membrane is endowed with IMPs that function as gates (receptors) and channels.
As a liquid crystal semiconductor with
gates and channels, the membrane is an information processing transistor, an organic computer chip.>

Each
receptor-effector complex represents a biological BIT, a single unit of
perception.>Though this hypothesis was first formally presented in
1986 (Lipton 1986, Planetary Assoc. for Clean Energy Newsletter
5:4), the concept has since been technologically verified.>Cornell and others (Nature 1997, 387:580-584), linked a membrane to a gold foil substrate.
By controlling the electrolytes between the membrane and the foil, they were
able to digitize the opening and closing of receptor-activated channels. The
cell and a chip are homologous structures.

The
cell is a carbon-based "computer chip" that reads the
environment.>Its "keyboard" is comprised of
receptors.>Environmental information is entered via its protein
"keys.">The data is transduced into biological behavior by effector
proteins. The IMP BITs serve as switches that regulate cell functions
and gene expression.>The nucleus represents a "hard disk" with
DNA-coded software. Recent advances in molecular biology emphasize the
read/write nature of this hard drive.

Interestingly,
the thickness of the membrane (about 7.5 nm) is fixed by the dimensions of
the phospholipid bilayer.>Since membrane IMPs are approximately 6-8 nm
in diameter, they can only form a monolayer in the membrane. >IMP units can not stack upon one another, the
addition of more perception units is directly linked to an increase in membrane
surface area. By this understanding, evolution, the expansion of awareness
(i.e., the addition of more IMPs) would most effectively be modeled using
fractal geometry.>The fractal nature of biology can be observed
in the structural and functional reiterations observed among the hierarchy
of the cell, multicellular organisms (man) and the communities of multicellular
organisms (human society).

This
new perception on cell control mechanisms frees us from the limitations of
genetic determinism.>Rather than behaving
as programmed genetic automatons, biological behavior is dynamically linked
to the environment. Though this reductionist approach has highlighted the
mechanism of the individual perception proteins, an understanding of the processing
mechanism emphasizes the holistic nature of biological organisms.>The expression of the cell reflects the recognition of all
perceived environmental stimuli, both physical and energetic. Consequently,
the "Heart of Energy Medicine" may truly be found in the magic of the membrane.>

References and Notes

1.
H. F. Nijhout, BioEssays, 12(9)
(John Wiley and Sons, New York, NY,1990) pp.441-446

2.
B. H. Lipton, et al., Differentiation,
46(Springer-Verlag, Heidelberg, FRG, 1991) pp.117-133

3.
N. Williams, Science, 277 (AAAS,
Washington, DC 1997) pp476-477

4.
T. Y. Tsong, Trends in Biochemical Sciences
14 (Elsevier, West Sussex, UK 1989) pp. 89-92

5.
B. H. Lipton, Planetary Association
for Clean Energy Newsletter, 5 (Planetary Association for Clean Energy,
Hull, Quebec, 1986) pg. 4

6.
B. A. Cornell, et al.>Nature 387 (Nature Publishing Group, London, UK,1997) pp. 580-584