Erwin Schroedinger, Francis Crick and epigenetic stability.
Schroedinger's book 'What is Life?' is widely credited for having played a crucial role in development of molecular and cellular biology. My essay revisits the issues raised by this book from the modern perspective of epigenetics and systems biology. I contrast two classes of potential mechanisms of epigenetic stability: 'epigenetic templating' and 'systems biology' approaches, and consider them from the point of view expressed by Schroedinger. I also discuss how quantum entanglement, a nonclassical feature of quantum mechanics, can help to address the 'problem of small numbers' that led Schroedinger to promote the idea of a molecular code-script for explaining the stability of biological order.
Ogryzko
Vasily V
VV
Université Paris-Sud 11, CNRS, Interactions moléculaires et cancer UMR 8126, Institut de Cancérologie Gustave-Roussy, Villejuif, France. vogryzko@gmail.com
D000818:Animals; D044127:Epigenesis, Genetic / Q000502:physiology*; D042822:Genomic Instability / Q000502:physiology*; D049673:History, 20th Century; D049674:History, 21st Century; D006801:Humans; D010825:Physics / Q000266:history*; D049490:Systems Biology / Q000266:history*