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What makes proteins, ribosomes and mRNA do what they do?


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First of all, forgive my language and technical errors: My questions are a mix of concrete science and phylosophycal ones

What makes proteins, ribosomes, and mRNA do what they do? I mean, i.e. ribosomal protein HGNC 14275 moves and then interacts with some other proteins because of its size, weight, electrical charges? 

Example: If me, as a human go to watch a movie, it’s because ‘I want’ = I am 'moving' because I have 'WILL'. So, I go to the theater, pay the price and watch the film… But a protein? If left alone inside a nucleus cell, will it move because ‘it wants (HAVE IT WILL ?!)’ or because the reactions caused by its physical properties and its interactions (size, weigth, electrical charges) - are they OBSERVABLE ?

On the microscope you can see cells moving and acting independently. But do their components 'feel' and 'act' the same way? What is the minimal ‘biological component’ OBSERVABLE with this ‘free will’ behavior? I’m just trying to understand how it could be possible to ‘debug’ life, like in reverse engineering software programs. 

Bringing that 'debugging' process to the extreme, let's imagine this scenario trying to understand why I am writing this message, or in other words, why I WANT to write this message and get an answer:

That's because I have illusion and need to find the ultimate truths for life and for my own feelings and the meaning of my life. So, that brings me to the next question: Why I FEEL that way... ? Why all my components of ME are acting together in 'harmony' to make this post ? Could some day this behaviour be 'self-debuggable' as in computer science ?

The pieces of a clock move because of physics reactions… but proteins? they move and act because of physics and chemical reactions? or are there some unseen force that drives them to act and nobody knows why? 

Let me put the question in another way: 

A unicellular organism seems to have ‘free will’; If we split it up in smaller parts, which parts are the ones that still seem to have ‘free will’ ? 

When we split its parts and then we see smaller ones that still do behave in some ways, what are the reasons they do what they do ? They move because of gravity/chemical reactions/physical reasons ? 

Where is the barrier ? A virus is not a living thing ? Why ‘it’ moves and acts, then ? What causes it to happen ? 

Are scientists able to see subcomponents, proteins, moving and acting ? Are they able to ‘record’ them ‘doing its things ?’ and unable to explain how they do it ?

If, somebody is tempted to answer me saying, e.g. that at the end, all our reations are due to chemical and physical reactions, I would answer her/him by asking "sure; Could you demonstrate it by a concrete and totally comprehensive example ? If I 'give you' an example, let's say a cute water bear (a tardigrade), could someone "debug" why it is moving by describing all the reactions and components that makes it 'live' and act ? ...

Thanks in advance,

Roger 'the bug'

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  • 4 weeks later...

For ‘free will’ topic, I would guess, you better go to the philosophy forum.
In my personal view, if you talk scientifically, there is no free will at all, regardless we talk about bacteria or humans. It only differences in complexity of physical processes involved.
I think the best way to understand this question 

Quote

What makes proteins, ribosomes and mRNA do what they do

is to look at all of them as a bunch of molecules which are constantly changing their charges and as such are ‘able’ to bond to each other or be separated one from  the other.
It is kind of multiple chain reactions, one depending on another.

Quote

If, somebody is tempted to answer me saying, e.g. that at the end, all our reations are due to chemical and physical reactions, I would answer her/him by asking "sure; Could you demonstrate it by a concrete and totally comprehensive example ? If I 'give you' an example, let's say a cute water bear (a tardigrade), could someone "debug" why it is moving by describing all the reactions and components that makes it 'live' and act ? …


Nobody could give you all reactions not only for a tardigrade, but even for a bacteria or yeast. It seems that even with viruses it’s not that easy.
On another hand… Why do you ask about ‘free will total reactions’ of live objects. … It is windy today around my house... Can you give me total reactions (interactions) which wobble the branch of pine outside while I’m typing this crap? Probably not. But you are not assuming free will of wind here, right? Same with organic life.
Hope it helps somehow..
 

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