Biological Relativity: Biology Beyond Genes | Denis Noble

Quick Overview

Professor Denis Noble argues that the central dogma of biology, which posits that organisms are fully covered by genes (DNA), is a fundamental error in science, advocating instead for biological relativity characterized by two-way causation where the body as a whole tells the genome what to do, a concept supported by evidence that DNA replication and protein function depend on the living cell, not just the DNA sequence alone.

Key Points: Noble attacks the central dogma popularized by Richard Dawkins' "The Selfish Gene," stating that the idea that organisms are fully covered by genes is a fabulous story but completely different from what actually happens in biology. The first mathematical model of cardiac cells revealed no mass or clock in the genome causing the heartbeat; instead, there seems to be agency on a cellular level, demonstrating that replication depends on the living cell, not DNA alone. DNA replication in isolation is chemically efficient but produces too many errors (about 300,000 errors in a 3-billion base pair genome), which would lead to cell death; accurate replication relies on living cell enzymes performing cut-and-paste error correction before cell division. The failure of genomics to deliver on promises, such as curing cancer within 10 years of the human genome announcement, proves the simplistic analysis based on DNA self-replication has failed to explain necessary biological phenomena. Noble champions the principle of biological relativity, meaning two-way causation, where constraints run up and down the levels of organization, from molecular level constraints up to the social level constraining the organism. The concept of agency (purposiveness) is central to understanding living systems, evidenced by Michael Evans' work showing isolated frog skin cells forming an organism (Zenobots) that seeks food, and the complexity of the immune system generating new responses. Darwin's true contribution included recognizing agency and intention, such as the peacock consciously trying to convince the peahen, suggesting evolution needs processes that short-circuit the slow pace of random genomic change.