Outline of a theory of cellular heterogeneity

Abstract

In the effort to advance toward a theory of cellular function that is not completely mechanistic, I have encountered a variable whose significance is often overlooked. This is the degree of heterogeneity of organic tissue, which may vary from highly homogeneous conditions to quite large degrees of heterogeneity, primarily with respect ot chemical bonding. For several decades, I have dealt with the theoretical analysis of this type of problem, and here I give a condensed outline of the conceptual changes to which such an analysis is likely to lead. I believe the time is ripe to compare these theoretical arguments with observations. The data that occasion this note are those of Rubin [Rubin, H. (1984) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 81, 5121-5125]; they and numerous similar observations suggest the possibility of an advance toward a nonreductionist model of cellular function along lines that are here indicated; the theoretical model is thought of as operating entirely within the framework of quantum mechanics.