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>DNA is not like C source but more like byte-compiled code for a virtual machine called ‘the nucleus’. I think a comparison to source code would also have meri
by usrbinbash 5y ago
>DNA is not like C source but more like byte-compiled code for a virtual machine called ‘the nucleus’.
I think a comparison to source code would also have merit.
The DNA gets transcribed into mRNA in the nucleus, these are transported into the cytoplasm, where the Ribosomes then translate that information into Polypeptide chains, which are then folded by Chaperones and the Machinery of the Endoplasmic Reticulum. The end result are Proteins, the biochemical "actors" and building blocks. These steps are comparable to compiling source code into opcode.
Also, the DNA itself is just half the story.
Which parts of the DNA can be transcribed, and how often, is encoded in the histone modifications (the histones are "packaging molecules" in the nucleus around which the DNA is partially "wound up") and the Methylation modifications to it. This is known as the epigenetic code, and its just as vital for the biochemical machinery to function as the DNA itself;
eg. It would be very very bad if, say, muscle cells suddenly started behaving like liver cells. Since both have the same DNA (in one organism), it's the epigenetic code that controls which parts of the DNA they "express", and thus what functional identity the cells have.
- choeger 5y ago> It would be very very bad if, say, muscle cells suddenly started behaving like liver cells. There are people that would like to sacrifice a few muscle cells for some liver cells (or any other organ). Recreating such specialized cells would be a big step towards organ regrowth, would it not?
- _Wintermute 5y agoThis is the idea behind stem cell therapy. You can reset specialized cells back to their "possibilities are endless" stem cell state and then attempt to coerce them to form the type of cells you want. Search for "induced pluripotent stem cells" if this sort of thing interests you.
- usrbinbash 5y agoThis is actually an area of research, "releasing" the locks of the epigenetic code and getting differentiated somatic cells to behave like pluripotent stem cells again, in order to use them to recreate damaged tissue. However, while that would be fine in a test.tube, it would be very bad if it happened inside the bodys existing differentiated tissue.
- jenny91 5y agoMachine code also gets decoded and is "reprocessed" by microcode in a modern CPU which then decides how to translate the code into what actually runs in the CPU.