Cell Assembly by QED Radiation

May 12, 2011 - PRLog -- Background Spindles in cells assemble around tangled chromatin by self-organization of microtubules (MTs), a sketch of which is illustrated in the thumbnail. In centrosomal spindles, MTs are thought catalyzed at centrosomes, but this is questionable because anastral spindles without centrosomes also assemble. How anastral spindles produce and maintain a high concentration of MTs in the absence of centrosome-catalyzed MT production is unknown. Based on experimental measurements during anastral spindle assembly, autocatalytic MT production was found to be the replication mechanism. See http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0000244

Problem Spindle assembly by autocatalytic MT production is a self-organization process where an ordered structure of MTs is produced from an otherwise disordered set of constituent molecules. The Second Law of Thermodynamics states that systems that are disordered are precluded from spontaneous ordering without a source of energy. But autocatalytic MT production does not define the source of energy for spindle assembly, and without a source of energy, even the First Law is violated.

Proposal MTs in both chromosomal and anastral spindles are proposed to self-organize by photolysis from the QED induced EM radiation emitted from the MTs themselves. QED stands for quantum electrodynamics and EM for electromagnetic. Consistent with thermodynamics, the source of QED radiation is the thermal kT energy of water molecules that continually are absorbed by the MTs. Here k is Boltzmann’s constant and T is absolute temperature.



QED Induced Radiation In the cell, MTs are straight fibers while the chromatin fibers are tangled like a ball of string, but otherwise both have diameters of about 25 nm, and as such are subject to constraints on heat capacity by quantum mechanics (QM). Unlike classical physics that allows the atom to have thermal kT energy at the nanoscale, QM requires the heat capacity to vanish. Lacking heat capacity, absorbed thermal energy cannot be conserved by an increase in temperature, and therefore conservation proceeds by the QED induced creation of photons inside the fibers that are absorbed by MTs in the surroundings. Standard biology claims the cell dissipates heat, but this is contrary to QM as the temperature cannot increase. Rather, the cell emits QED radiation that provides an EM template for replication.

The QED photons are under EM confinement by total internal reflection (TIR). TIR confinement constrains the absorbed thermal energy from collisions tangential to the MT surface rather than the volume because MTs like all nanostructures have high surface to volume ratios. Details are given for a diverse range of applications of QED radiation at http://www.nanoqed.org , 2009-2011, and specifically, the Paper at QED Induced Spindle Assembly, 2011.

Spindle Assembly by QED Radiation  TIR confinement creates energetic QED photons that by photolysis provide both the energy to nucleate MTs on chromatin fibers and grow MTs from tubulin by polymerization. However, QED photolysis is indiscriminant and allows disassembly upon binding of MTs by severing proteins. MT growth therefore competes with disassembly depending on the molecules in the MT surroundings.

Spindles comprising many MTs self-organize into a cylindrical bundle having overall diameters from 150 to 250 nm, and as a composite emit QED radiation from water molecule collisions. By the photoelectric effect, the spindle therefore charges positive while isolated MTs in the surroundings are negative charged. Electrostatics therefore assembles the spindle into a tight compact cylindrical bundle of MTs.

Enzymes and Hydrolysis by QED Radiation Hydrolysis cleaves proteins into peptides while dehydration slows down cleavage and enhances the polymerization of larger proteins. Enzymes mixed with large proteins in water cleave the proteins into the smaller peptides. But if the system is dehydrated, the catalyst shifts the equilibrium in favor of the polymerization of larger proteins from the peptide fragments.

QED induced radiation views the enzymatic action on proteins in forming peptides as the consequence of UV photolysis. Both enzymes and proteins are nanoparticles having diameters < 10 nm, and therefore conserve the absorbed collisional thermal energy by the emission of EM radiation beyond the UV. Cleavage of the proteins into peptides and enzymes during hydrolysis is therefore enhanced by the QED radiation created inside the proteins by collisions of water molecules.

What this means is ATP hydrolysis based on Density Functional Theory (DFT) calculations that exclude QED induced radiation only give lower bound energy releases. In fact, the amount of ATP energy available for cell function is significantly greater than previously thought not only now, but also on the early Earth.

Conclusions

1. The role of QED induced radiation in MT production and spindle assembly suggests the UV emission from the MTs and spindle themselves provides an EM template for cell replication by self-organization consistent with both the First and Second Laws of thermodynamics.

2. ATP and protein hydrolysis based on DFT give lower bound estimates of the energy available from hydrolysis. QED radiation enhances hydrolysis suggesting that the full activation energy of ATP and proteins may have always been available for cell function since the early Earth to promote life. DFT calculations should include the QED radiation depending on the size of the proteins in estimates of activation and free energy of hydrolysis.

3. This PR can at best only hope to be a preliminary attempt to present QED radiation as an energy source in living systems thereby supplementing mainstream theory of MT production and spindle assembly.

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About QED Induced EM Radiation: Classically, absorbed EM energy is conserved by an increase in temperature. But at the nanoscale, temperature increases are forbidden by quantum mechanics. QED radiation explains how absorbed EM energy is conserved at the nanoscale by the emission of nonthermal EM radiation.