Heh, this reminds me of the cartoon I used to watch as a kid that had people, heck entire societies, living in the body fighting diseases and such. I'm just a bit disappointed that these micro killers don't wear orange space suites and that there aren't any cute black haired chicks hanging around. Oh well. posted by Foci for Analysis at 5:25 AM on October 5, 2008 [1 favorite has favorites]
...and I suppose you believe this whole complex immune system just sort of "evolved" out of millions of accidental collisions of molecules, without any intelligent intervention? posted by Faze at 5:33 AM on October 5, 2008
Your 1st link: I cheered when the neutrophil finally swallowed up that pesky bacterium. Yay, neutrophil!
Your 2nd link: "...the blood of a graduate student..." Priceless!
Your 3rd link: Isn't it just cute as hell how all those cells bob around?
...and I suppose you believe this whole complex immune system just sort of "evolved" out of millions of accidental collisions of molecules, without any intelligent intervention?
But how do the neutrophils sense the chemo-attractants from such a relatively long distance? It's a bit like a shark smelling blood from a mile away. Nature is just so cool. posted by JeffK at 6:25 AM on October 5, 2008
Neutrophils are such bad asses. Busting it up all over the place! When their numbers are low they send the baby neutrophils out to fight and die that's how hardcore they are.
how do [they] sense the chemo-attractants from such a relatively long distance?
From what I like to think of as the Scouts in Operation Infection: histamine, kinins, leukotrenes and complement are a few, floating around looking for trouble to report back.
wow. Those videos are amazing! Thanks orthogonality. posted by nickyskye at 7:55 AM on October 5, 2008
...and I suppose you believe this whole complex immune system just sort of "evolved" out of millions of accidental collisions of molecules, without any intelligent intervention?
I realize that the proper way to deal with people who feel the need to troll internet forums is to ignore them, but, really... what the hell?
I've never seen it done, here at my beloved MetaFilter at least, so horribly.
Please go away.
That said, thanks for a very interesting post orthogonality. posted by Jeeb at 8:00 AM on October 5, 2008
...and I suppose you believe this whole complex immune system just sort of "evolved" out of millions of accidental collisions of molecules, without any intelligent intervention?
Jeeb - I think that was a joke. Lighten up. posted by JeffK at 8:20 AM on October 5, 2008
...and I suppose you believe this whole complex immune system just sort of "evolved" out of millions of accidental collisions of molecules, without any intelligent intervention?
""evolved" out of millions of accidental collisions"
Not millions. Trillions upon trillions of collisions, planetwide, every second of every day for over 5 billion years.
Abiogenesis is very poorly understood, as there is no direct historical evidence. However, scientists have been able to create complex amino acids and organic chemicals directly from inorganic chemicals, simply by recreating what are believed to be the conditions on earth billions of years ago. Energy+chemicals+time=organics.
The next step is theorized to be that some of these these precursor organics had the characteristic ability to replicate, probably much along the lines of how inorganic crystals are able to promulgate an organized pattern simply by falling into place at the molecular level. Once replication occurs, then it's a simple thing to introduce mutation into the mix, and mutation is the key. Almost all mutations are dead ends. Some are not.
It is well known that bacteria were pretty much the only life on earth for a very, very long time before there was anything else. It is not known for certain what was going on before that, but we can make some pretty fair educated guesses. The key word in that phrase is educated. posted by Xoebe at 8:30 AM on October 5, 2008 [3 favorites has favorites]
Oh the irony... I'm sick as a dog a the moment, though I suspect it's antibodies I need. posted by fearfulsymmetry at 8:40 AM on October 5, 2008
Those are pretty cool videos! I was also glad to see a shout out to Once Upon a Time... Life. The whole Once Upon a Time... series was great, in fact. I loved that show when I was a kid. posted by Kattullus at 9:11 AM on October 5, 2008
...and I suppose you believe this whole complex immune system just sort of "evolved" out of millions of accidental collisions of molecules, without any intelligent intervention?
Yes.
Another fascinating component of the innate immune system is the complement system. Complement proteins that are floating around in your bloodstream essentially snag on to non-self cells and polymerize to form a pore in a bacterium's membrane, causing it to rupture. This system is found in many species, including non-mammals such as fish and plants. posted by extramundane at 10:02 AM on October 5, 2008 [2 favorites has favorites]
and I suppose you believe this whole complex immune system just sort of "evolved" out of millions of accidental collisions of molecules, without any intelligent intervention?
Very good point. That does strain my credulity. Especially the part where the accidental collision of molecules created sentient beings who think the more likely scenario is that some old bearded dude in the sky made it all up in six days. That just couldn't happen all by itself. posted by weapons-grade pandemonium at 10:08 AM on October 5, 2008 [4 favorites has favorites]
I've never seen it done, here at my beloved MetaFilter at least, so horribly.
Please go away.
Where is Kibo when we need him? posted by sneebler at 10:23 AM on October 5, 2008
Anyone who has shared a fridge with a roommate knows that life can -- and does -- happen spontaneously, without intelligent intervention. posted by Dark Messiah at 11:51 AM on October 5, 2008 [2 favorites has favorites]
Deep breath, friends. I'm positive that Faze was being ironic. posted by lostburner at 12:10 PM on October 5, 2008
Oh wow. This totally reminds me of a comic strip I used to draw when I was in grade school: The Germs versus the Anitbodies. They had little helmets and little swords and little shields, and used to fight it out in various organs around some vague anonymous human body.
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posted by Foci for Analysis at 5:25 AM on October 5, 2008 [1 favorite has favorites]