Bioinformatics, Cellular Flows, and Calculation

The elucidation of the sequence of entire genomes has enriched science in more than one way. It has delivered the primary sequence of many new genes, the functions of which need to be verified or discovered. Also, it has increased our insight into the homology between organisms. The fact that the sequence was one of complete genomes has a number of extra ramifications. One is that we now have, in one sense, complete catalogues of what constitutes “life,” or at least of what seems necessary to encode life. Various perceptions exist regarding the diversity of life on earth. From a superficial point of view, life seems to be highly diverse, ranging from minute bacteria to highly social animals. From a biochemical point of view, however, life is surprisingly uniform, with many biochemical conversions being common to most organisms, both at the level of the chemical reaction routes and with respect to the catalytic mechanisms. Proteins in distinct organisms are surprisingly homologous, reflecting considerable hysteresis in biological evolution; solutions of catalytic problems are only found once and then further copied. Appreciable similarities occur in the development and anatomy of different organisms.