Faculty Articles
Biological wires, communication systems, and implications for disease
Document Type
Article
Publication Title
BioSystems
ISSN
0303-2647
Publication Date
11-4-2014
Abstract
Microtubules, actin, and collagen are macromolecular structures that compose a large percentage of the proteins in the human body, helping form and maintain both intracellular and extracellular structure. They are biological wires and are structurally connected through various other proteins. Microtubules (MTs) have been theorized to be involved in classical and quantum information processing, and evidence continues to suggest possible semiconduction through MTs. The previous Dendritic Cytoskeleton Information Processing Model has hypothesized how MTs and actin form a communication network in neurons. Here, we review information transfer possibilities involving MTs, actin, and collagen, and the evidence of an organism-wide high-speed communication network that may regulate morphogenesis and cellular proliferation. The direct and indirect evidence in support of this hypothesis, and implications for chronic diseases such as cancer and neurodegenerative diseases are discussed.
DOI
10.1016/j.biosystems.2014.10.006
Volume
127
First Page
14
Last Page
27
NSUWorks Citation
Freisen, D. E.,
Craddock, T. J.,
Kalra, A. P.,
Tuszynski, J. A.
(2014). Biological wires, communication systems, and implications for disease. BioSystems, 127, 14-27.
Available at: https://nsuworks.nova.edu/cps_facarticles/934
