🚀 go-pugleaf

John F. McGowan, Ph.D., wrote on Thu, 24 Feb 2000:  [...]

> SYSTEM-LEVEL GENETIC CODES: AN EXPLANATION FOR BIOLOGICAL COMPLEXITY
                    
> [...] ABSTRACT      

> Complex systems with tightly coadapted parts frequently
> appear in living systems and are difficult to account for
> through Darwinian evolution, that is random variation and
> natural selection, if the constituent parts are independently
> coded in the genetic code.  If the parts are independently
> coded, multiple simultaneous mutations appear necessary

Likewise, artificial minds with "tightly coadapted parts"
are hard to create because we need a "SYSTEM-LEVEL" design.

> to create or modify these systems.  It is generally believed
> that most proteins are independently coded.  The textbook rule
> is one gene for one enzyme.  Thus, biochemical systems with
> tightly coadapted parts such as the blood clotting cascade
> pose a difficulty for Darwinian evolution.  This problem can
> be overcome if the current understanding of the genetic code
> is incomplete and a system-level genetic code

Or, for AI, if the analog of a "system-level genetic code"
can be developed and shared via the Wonderful World Wide Web.

> in which seemingly independent proteins are encoded in an
> interdependent, highly correlated manner exists.  The methods
> by which human beings design and fabricate complex systems of
> tightly coadapted parts are explored for insights into the
> requirements for a system-level genetic code.

Meanwhile, back at the branching logic software ranch, code for
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Agora/7256/mind4th.html Alife AI
gives insights into a system-level brain-mind code for cyborgs.

> Detailed examples of system-level codes for networks of
> matching parts are presented.  The implications of identifying
> and deciphering the system-level genetic code if it exists for
> the prevention, treatment, and cure of heart disease, cancer,
> immune disorders, and for rational drug design are discussed.

Prediction:  The "system-level code" will be an emergent property,
not a hidden-away "homunculus" directing grand genetic strategies.

> http://www.jmcgowan.com/Complex.pdf

http://www.scn.org/~mentifex/