Michael Levin on Anatomical Decision-Making
Anatomical decisions by cell collectives: bioelectrical pattern memory, regeneration and synthetic living organisms.
The way that evolution uses physics to adapt form and function is a key question in basic biology and regenerative medicines. What algorithms allow cellular collectives, while genomes define the molecular components of cells, to build complex target morphologies reliably? Our lab is interested in the way that all cells, and not just neurons communicate through electrical networks. This allows for scaling of individual cell properties to collective intelligences which solve problems in the anatomical feature area. We have discovered novel controls for growth and form by learning to read and interpret bioelectrical data in vivo. This has enabled incredible plasticity and robustness of anatomical homeostasis. In this presentation, I will discuss the gaps in our knowledge regarding anatomical plasticity, pattern control, and morphological control at large scales. I will give examples from embryogenesis, cancer and synthetic living machines. I will discuss the implications of my work, not just for regenerative medicine but also for understanding the origins of bodyplans as well as the relationship between genes and functional anatomy.
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