Customer Reviews

The Touchstone of Life: Molecular Information, Cell Communication, and the Foundations of Life

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

There have been many creationist books published of late that argue against the possibility of evolution, both at the macro level (completed biological structures) and molecular level (DNA from an information theoretic view). Enjoying great popularity among the former group is Behe's "Darwin's Black Box". Attacking the later issue and the "spontaneous evolution of DNA" is William Dembski and his new book, "The Design Inference".

Both of these books are available here on Amazon and both are popular among those with creationist beliefs. However both of these authors ignore the fundamental issues of entropy, information theory, and the juggling between the two that occurs all the time in living organisms, and even in simple organic and inorganic molecules.

Loewenstein's "The Touchstone of Life" is a breath of fresh air. Many scientists have quietly gone about their business assuming DNA evolved from simpler molecules and that, once self-replicating organic molecules DO form, natural selection of random mutations (so many creationists forget the first part) takes it from there, resulting in the incredible diversity of life we see today. I don't know if Loewenstien was specifically targeting Behe, Dembski or anyone else, but he certainly addresses the issue of how life started in an exciting, clear, and readable manor.

While Dembski's book may intimidate the reader with a poor understanding of probability theory and mathematical notation, Loewenstien will not. Furthermore, Loewenstien actually focuses in on the relevant issue: the information entropy trade off and how this interplay results in the formation and evolution of complex organic molecules, organic molecular systems, and eventually, life itself. All of this without violating the principles of thermodynamics or the information theory of Claude Shannon.

Creationists seeking an exact chemical procedure that creates life in a test tube will not find one here. Some of them would thus feel vindicated. But the issue is NOT the discovery or reenactment of the exact event and sequence of molecules that eventually evolved to today's self replicating organisms. Rather, this book is concerned with the self-organizing aspects of matter and the carbon molecules that DID result in life. There could have been numerous other forms of life had it all occurred differently. The exact recipe is not the issue. The issue is that carbon exhibits some amazing properties of self-organization and replication. And Loewenstien shows how this does not violate the laws of thermodynamics or information theory.

A basic undergraduate understanding of mathematics (even if a bit forgotten) would be helpful, as would a bit of basic organic chemistry. But the interested and motivated reader could probably get by without it.

There are two books wriggling between the covers of this volume. On the one hand, there is a superb exposition of cell biology and molecular biology, mainly towards the end of the book. This is as it should be, given that the author was a leading figure in cell biology and biophysics.

On the other hand, there is a spectacularly lame attempt to write a Book of Ages, yes, with Capitalisation of Words involved and some of the most fruity prose you will see this side of a Creationist text. Let me give you an example

"These modest assymetric molecular geneses were nursed with information from photons coming in from the cosmos. The nascent molecules suckled photons, as it were."

Nursed? Suckled? Do you have a picture of a nascent molecules with breasts? Probably a diatomic molecule. Here's another,

"In our journey down the information stream, we shunted our boat, by a little sleight of hand, to the 'mainstream' in the DNA-to-protein segment. Had we sailed down by the book, we might have been sucked in sideways and gone in dizzying circles"

Follow? Follow the stream, I mean? I would have thought that metaphors be treated gently with good writing, but they're rife in this book.

Nevertheless, when Lowenstein isn't trying to be Keats, this is quite a majesterial survey of molecular biology. This is particular evident in the discussion of inter-cellular communication, of which Lowenstein is one of the undisputed masters. Indeed, when discussing his own work, the prose is suddenly emptied of metaphors and sharpens into tight well-written scientific prose.

However, I find a serious problem with one of the central tenets of the book - that all of molecular biology can be united into the central idea of information. The problem is, no one knows how to calculate information in molecular or cellular systems. True the equation of Shannon's information and Boltzmann's entropy is the same. But to calculate the information of, say a DNA molecule, which Lowenstein argues you can in principle do, one must specify all of the other states from which the DNA molecule is constructed out of. That is, you must find the boundary condition.

But this is hopelessly ambiguous. Is it the atoms stripped apart in a soup? Or is it the sum of all possible DNA sequences of all possible lengths? And I haven't even considered the difficulties of non-equilibrium statistical mechanics. The problems multiply once you consider interactions between DNA and any, or all other molecules. Given there is no way to calculate or algorithmically unambiguously pin down information, it is simply a rhetoric ploy to talk about the transfer of information.

Anyway, I ignored all the musings on the Power of Information and what remains is a substantial meditation on the state of the art molecular biology. If you're willing to work through the dense material, some of the most cutting edge ideas on DNA, RNA, replication, structural biology of cells are here.

The Touchstone of Life

I was fuzzy on the meaning of the word "touchstone" and therefore consulted two dictionaries. It has two separate but related meanings: a stone used to measure (or test) the quality of metals, such as gold and silver; also, a means by which to determine authenticity. The title of Loewenstein's book suggests that he will discuss "the" (not "a") touchstone of "life." Hmmm. My curiosity was aroused.

For me, reading this book proved to be a difficult but rewarding intellectual experience. In it, Loewenstein examines molecular information, cell communication, and the "foundations of life." His original purpose was to write a book about intercellular communication but, as he got to "the heart" of this subject, "a picture materialized seemingly out of the blue: a continuous intra- and intercellular network where, with DNA at the core, molecular information flowed in gracefully interlaced circles. That apparition had an allure I could not resist, and so this became a book about information."

The timing of the book's publication (1999) coincides with (a) numerous and significant revelations concerning the interaction of the brain with the mind and (b) rapid development of the Internet, especially of the WWW. As a non-scientist, I was fascinated by Loewenstein's analysis of "interlaced circles" and their relevance to the technological transmission of information. (In Holding On to Reality, Albert Borgmann addresses several of the same issues Loewenstein does but from somewhat different perspectives.) As Loewenstein explains in the Introduction, he set out to prove that "this information flow, not energy per se, is the prime mover of life -- that molecular information flowing in circles brings forth the organization we call `organism' and maintains it against the ever-present disorganizing pressures in the physics universe. So viewed, the information circle becomes the unit of life."

Part One introduces the entity Information; Part Two "takes up the full-grown weft of circles, the intracellular communication network; Part Three deals with the intercellular communication network, "the web that ties all cells of an organism together; and Part Four provides "a short philosophical foray where we see the principle [ie the principle of information economy which is, for Loewenstein, the guiding principle of biological evolution] through to its heuristic conclusion." Who will most enjoy reading this book? Loewenstein claims to have written it both for the scientist and other reader with an interest in science..."no specialized knowledge of biology or physics is assumed in advance." In my opinion, however, such knowledge would be very helpful. Back to the question. As a non-scientist, I highly recommend it to all the other non-scientists out there who occupy decision-making positions in their organizations and who ask the following questions:

1. What is the nature of "the information circle"?

2. What are its primary functions, possible applications, and potential benefits?

3. What is its relevance to the Internet and, especially, to the WWW?

4. Finally, how can the answers to these first three questions be of specific value to my own organization?

Loewenstein provides (or at least suggests) answers to #1-3. In process, he helps his reader to determine an appropriate answer to #4. Although I have neither gold nor silver of questionable quality, I do have some business issues of questionable authenticity which Loewenstein has prepared me to address with much greater precision.

I personally found this book very interesting because it was the first time I had seen the idea of information in biological systems discussed in a popular science book.

Usually when laymen think of information in biological systems, they are thinking of the way the brain processes information or the the way DNA stores it. But that is a different topic.

This book is about the rest of the information in any organism, which is stored in the arrangement of the complex molecules in the body which allows the organism to function. At some level, the body must "know" where all this stuff should be, and whether it is where it should be. Otherwise it couldn't repair itself or grow.

The amount of information involved is huge. This book is about where the information comes from and how it is collected. The information is gathered in tiny parcels in a massively parallel process consisting of chemical reactions.

One of the most interesting points of the book is that life is more interested in conserving information than anything else, including energy.

It's all very interesting, so why not five stars? Well, I am afraid the editors of this book really fell down on the job.

First, Loewenstein is a German, and it really shows. I am fluent in German, and I really wonder how people who aren't can even figure out what he is trying to say. A lot of the book reads like an amatuerish translation of German - which in fact it probably is.

Second, Loewenstein often loses track of the point he is trying to make, so that a sentence with an parenthetical remark is converted into a whole paragraph about something unimportant, with the original remark buried somewhere in it. What makes this worse is the fact that Loewenstein is often preoccupied with things that Germans talk about, but that English speakers need some backgraound information on to make sense of.

I sort of feel sorry for the author. With the right editor this could have been a pop sci blockbuster.

The book is really a must read for anyone interested in the subject of biological information and cell communication. Dr Loewenstein treats the subject from an evolutionary perspective and so I think a good book to read in conjunction with this one is "In The Beginning Was Information" by Werner Gitt.

Loewenstein takes us from a simple problem that was not answered until the concept of information was discovered by science. This field of information will no doubt be the proof that either spoils or makes the pudding in the evolution vs. creation debate. The communication within a living organism and the information exchange mechanism is quite fascinating as Loewenstein points out quite thoroughly by the use of analogy. The book is difficult to read in places and he gets quite technical so the reader should not expect to sail through it but it is definitely worth the effort.

After reading Gitt's book I was left with the impression that Loewenstein did not understand the full nature of meaningful information. Claude Shannon deals with information from a mostly statistical and mechanical perspective and Loewenstein does not go beyond that level in the book. The mechanics are fascinating but I am afraid that Dr Loewenstein has failed to explain where the `foundations of life' comes from. His constant answer when he reaches a gap in knowledge is to say that `Lady evolution' did it. Werner Gitt on the other hand goes way beyond the statistical level and shows the true nature of the coded information contained in DNA.

Loewenstein's book however is invaluable especially as it explores cell communication. I am quite happy that I purchased the book and I will probably use it as a reference tool for years to come. I only rated it with four stars because I think he over did it a little in his constant references to `Lady evolution' and what `she' supposedly did. This is a rather typical `evolution in the gaps' argument and it is to be expected now days but I had to chuckle a few times when he inserted `her' into the discussion as if we all know that `she' can do just about anything if she is given enough time and if the reader has enough faith. Read Gitt's book and his and decide for yourself who or what is the foundation of life. I am the author of "The Blind Atheist".

is perpetuated by this author that information is some sort of absolute as opposed to an effect measured by humans. This author, like many, starts with the wrong formula and this leads to the fundamental error in his theory that 'in the beginning there was information' (something like physicist John Wheeler's 'it from bit'). He writes "As for the origin of information, the fountainhead, this must lie somewhere in the territory close to the bang...Here things are still shrouded in the mist." Therefore the author explains the mystery of life by moving the mystery back to the 'Big Bang' and deeming everything to be consequential from there. By substituting one mystery for another however we are no further ahead. In addition he is wrong; he begins with the wrong (though popular) formula:
S = -(k.ln2).I
where S is the entropy [-kSum(p.lnp)], k is Boltzman's thermodynamic constant and I is supposedly the information which he has therefore defined as an absolute. However Shannon's syntatic information measure for communication theory is relative, it is a state function difference being the reduction of uncertainty to a receptor between a before and after measure of a change of system state. The word 'measure' means a human is involved somewhere along the steps. [e.g. if a computer is the measurer then guess who built it? This is not to deny that there is what we call information transfers at the molecular level which is better described as genetic instructions, a fact, whereas the mathematical measurer is human or human made. One must not confuse semantical information or meaning with syntatic probability measures, which the author notoriously does by describing information as a force.]
What the author refers to as information is actually the uncertainty and that Shannon designation is H, an entropy-like formula without the k (which is just a measure of units) and his (proper) information measure is R = Hbefore - Hafter (bits per operation). Many authors make this mistake (of using an absolute) and then argue that the most random state, such as an equilibrium state, has the most information. In fact it has the most uncertainty. This author makes the opposite argument and at least gets the potential comparison right when he writes that the equilibrium state has zero information whereas for instance particles crowded together out of equilibrium (such as gas first entering a container, or the Big Bang) have more information to an observer. However there is actually no information inherent in the 2 situations which is a state function difference as measured by an observer. This puts the mystery back with life itself, i.e. where did the observer come from? and not with information as being some mysterious force. So all such authors have it wrong which leads to hopeless philosophical debates. The proper state function difference equation is critical to the issue and not popularly known. However some authors who have it right have articles available on the web, such as the late 'father of communication theory', Claude Shannon and also biologist Richard Dawkins and molecular biologist Tom Schneider. One of the reviewers also critical of the book says there is no way to apply information theory to molecular biology as you would have to know all of the system's potential states. Dr Schneider explains in great depth at his website how by using the state difference formula, this is not true; you only need to know the system's changes with a logrithmatic measure.
A proper way to describe the author's comparative diagrams would be to say that if an observer measures the difference between the uncertainty to him/her at equilibrium vs the initial state then he will have a determined an amount of syntatic information because the equilibrium state has greater potential choices and hence uncertainty. If we move from the crowded particle initial state to an equilibrium state we do not lose information, the universe is not losing information since the Big Bang while overall entropy increases. Local observers of various phenomena are 'merrily' measuring positive information changes every day. There is no initial 'fountainhead of information' steadily dissipating, although there were instead unique conditions to the early universe and emergent properties to life. As author Irun Cohen writes in his book 'Tending Adam's Garden': "It is the spontaneous flow of energy that makes life (and our world) possible...Only a fraction of the energy is free energy that can be harnessed for work. Evolution is a contrivance for harnessing the energy of the dying sun..." Why does this happen? Author P.W. Atkins clarifies in his book 'The Second Law' that "the tendancy to fall to lower free energy must not be interpreted literally in terms of the falling down of energy. The Universe falls upward in entropy: that is the only law of spontaneous change. The free energy is, in fact, just a disguised form of the total entropy of the universe." But why is that? Author Roger Penrose has explained this a number of times including in his book 'The Road to Reality' that this is due to the unique initial gravitational conditions, perhaps an extremely unusual condition but not a 'fountainhead' of some 'all knowing' force. (This author borders on creationism with his faulty information measure; like some other authors such as W. Dembski.) Cohen continues: The clearest example of an emergent property is life itself. Life is not inherent in any single element constituing the living cell... What distinguishes the living from the dead? Nothing more than actions and interactions. Life emerges from inert matter as a consequence of metabolism, the continuous transfer of energy and information [instructions, we're not talking about the measure here] systematically packaged in cells in a way that leads to self-perpetuation...In a piece of amber there existed lifelessly for 35 million years, all of the components needed for life, but there was no life until the machinery actually began to interact...The process of evolution [on the other hand] is an emergent property of life." Obviously however we still do not have enough knowledge to understand how all of this works, maybe we never will.

Trying to find good books to review on cell biology just isn't easy, but I've been looking. Werner Loewenstein had an interestingly titled one published in 1999, that I thought sounded interesting: The Touchstone of Life: Molecular Information, Cell Communication, and the Foundations of Life. An intriguing combination of topics, I thought - especially the issues of cellular biochemistry and their origins.

Molecular "information" was dubious however. I gave Loewenstein the benefit of the doubt - maybe he could do better than the inept attempts to use concepts from information theory to explain biological phenomenon I had seen previously (e.g. Dembski's No Free Lunch). Could he explain how one could quantify the information content of an organic molecule better than the prevailing paradigm of organic chemistry, and in particular, the kinetics and thermodynamics of biochemical interactions and their effects?

Sadly, no.

Don't get me wrong, he portrays cell biology and evolutionary history accurately enough, but the concept of molecular information doesn't contribute anything. In fact, on page 9 and surrounding pages, he explicitly defines molecular information as a dimensionless inverse of entropy. And by taking away the scaling factor of entropy he sets the stage for a book-full of hand-waiving and sub-par qualitative explanations, when quantification would be much more precise.

For instance, on page 31, having gotten to the topic of "The Advantages of Molecular Complementarity," Loewenstein says:

"When we speak about the transmission of information from one molecule to another, we mean a transfer of information inherent in the molecular configuration - in the linear sequence of the unit structure or in the three-dimensional disposition of the atoms. Since molecules cannot talk or engage in other human forms of communication, their method of transmitting information is straightforward: the emitter molecule makes the atoms of the receiver deploy themselves in an analogue spatial pattern."

Anthropomorphize much? At best, this is an overuse of symbolism; at worst, it could fuel the naive interpretation that biomolecules possess some sort of intent or agency with which to decide to communicate (one step away from the invocation of deus ex machina or an intelligent capacity of molecules).

Loewenstein is also focused upon the thought experiment known as Maxwell's demon. While much has been said about that as a thought experiment, it has little grounding in the world of experimental biology. For instance, he compares Maxwell's demon to ion channels, cell surface receptors, and enzymes, yet has to resort to classical thermodynamics and kinetics in biochemistry to describe the functions of such proteins. There's no `choice' in such reactions, only chemical transition states and affinities, energy flow (often by ATP hydrolysis), and cascades of such reactions.

So yes, I'm rather disappointed with this book.

I enjoyed the book, which covers a lot of ground. But I did find it a difficult read at times. I nearly put it down in the middle, but was rewarded greatly when I read the section on a possible cancer cure. As a computer programmer, I wiew Werner as a great reverse engineer. He has examined cell to cell communcation channels down to the microcode level and has possibly discovered some bugs in nature. In particular his section on the algorithm of cell growth regulation along with his experiments to confirm his findings seem to bring us to within an eyelash of a cure. I expect a nobel prize could come of this.

But as a programmer, I often think I have "finally found" the problem, only to be shocked by my most recent test. So only time will tell, but I am very hopeful because Werner's logic makes such good sense.

I agree with reviewer Ho. Fruity prose, but read it.

Loewenstein's idea that "information" is the organizing principle of life is very shallow. Early on he equates energy, negative entropy, biological structure, and sequences of reactions and tries to call them all information. This immediately breaks down as his explanations require him to distinguish which information he is talking about, or he lets the reader puzzle out what he means. It amounts only to a failed rhetorical device. Especially annoying is the repeated construction "huge amounts of information" which is edited with a thesarus to read "large/ vast/ immense/ enormous/ astronomic/ titanic /Gargantuan/ massive(!) amounts of information". He says in the introduction that he had an "apparition" of "molecular information flow[ing] in gracefully interlaced circles." Hallucination is more like it.

Prof. Loewenstein and his editors have a groan-provoking penchant for stock phrases and clichés. In a *six* page passage: "day and age ... no stone left unturned ... law and order ... thick of things ... pass muster ... bargain-basement ... get what you pay for ... quicksands lurk ... that tack takes us ... head smack into ... make a stab at ... something in the wind ... broke the ice ... plain-vanilla". It may be significant that this six pages is a hand-waving discussion of reverse transcription in evolution. But there are literally dozens more, especially in the first half of the book, appearing once each as if a catalog of folk phrases: "johnnies-come-lately ... safe bet ... trick is turned ... real McKoy ... simple as ABC ... run-of-the-mill ... cut its wisdom teeth ... whole hog ... first blush ... "

Those complaints aside the book is nicely balanced between thought-provoking concepts and clear explanations of cellular mechanisms. Detailed diagrams support the text about every other page. Useful lists of readings and references are included. So if you can handle the grotesque metaphorical collisions, or even have fun with them, this book is no flash-in-the-pan.

The concepts put forward in "The Touchstone of Life" seem reasonable on an intuitive level. However, a significant amount of the underlying science is mis-interpreted and the logical arguments are not internally consistent. In particular, the concept of information presented here is nothing like that defined by Shannon, despite what the book claims. For similar ideas, but in an historically important book with correct science, I recommend Schrodinger's "What is Life?". For information theory, Shannon and Weaver's "The Mathematical Theory of Communication" is surprisingly readable.