title: The role of coherence in emergent behavior of biological systems.
abstract: In his research activity, Emilio Del Giudice explored the possibility to move towards a unified view of some long-range dynamics in nature, ranging from quantum field theory in physics up to biology. Such a view is adopted in this contribution by discussing a mathematical model for synchronized electrical behavior of pancreatic beta cells. The stochasticity is a fundamental component of the physiological synchronized behavior of this system. On the contrary, in a pathological type I diabetes scenario, the cells are destroyed by the autoimmune system and their coherent behavior is lost. This phenomenology conceptually links to ideas of coherent dynamics in quantum physics. Possible implications both for physical sciences and for the epistemology of life sciences are outlined.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Engineering and Institute of Philosophy of Scientific and Technological Practice, University Campus Bio-Medico , Rome , Italy .
authors.forename: Marta
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bertolaso
authors.forename: Antonio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Capolupo
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Cherubini
authors.forename: Simonetta
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Filippi
authors.forename: Alessio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gizzi
authors.forename: Alessandro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Loppini
authors.forename: Giuseppe
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Vitiello
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001690:Biological Science Disciplines; D050417:Insulin-Secreting Cells / Q000166:cytology*; D008564:Membrane Potentials; D008954:Models, Biological; D011789:Quantum Theory; D013269:Stochastic Processes
keywords: Collective dynamics and coherence; electromagnetic interactions in biological systems; long-range interactions; quantum physics