Michael Levin discusses how cells can organize themselves into complex structures through bioelectricity and collective intelligence. Cells have the ability to regenerate and adapt to perturbations through electrical networks that store and process information. His research aims to understand and manipulate this bioelectric software to control cell behavior and form complex structures. He demonstrates how altering the bioelectric patterns in flatworms can cause them to regenerate heads of different shapes and species, showing that cells can achieve different outcomes when placed in novel environments.
The speaker’s group works on understanding how evolution uses a “competency architecture” to evolve bodies that solve specific environments and novel problems. They focus on the “software level” and “agential materials” to achieve this.
The speaker argues that dynamic anatomical homeostasis is a form of intelligent behavior by cellular collectives that solve problems in anatomical morphospace.
Developmental bioelectricity is an important “cognitive glue” that harnesses cells towards large scale anatomical outcomes.
Embryogenesis is robust and reliable but not hardwired. Embryos can adapt to changes by harnessing diverse molecular pathways to achieve the same outcomes.
Regeneration involves growing and remodeling until the correct shape is achieved, showing means-ends analysis and collective intelligence.
Bioelectricity, through ion channels and electrical synapses, allows cells to scale up into networks that can maintain larger anatomical set points.
The speaker’s group has developed tools to manipulate and read developmental bioelectric patterns to induce large scale changes in growth and form.
The bioelectric patterns in flatworms can be rewritten to make them regenerate with multiple heads, showing that bioelectricity acts as a form of memory.
The speaker’s group is using machine learning tools to infer the bioelectric circuits responsible for developmental behaviors.
Skin cells taken from their normal environment can “reboot” their multicellularity and self-organize into novel proto-organisms, showing the potential of cellular intelligence.
Michael Levin discusses how cells can organize themselves into complex structures through bioelectricity and collective intelligence. Cells have the ability to regenerate and adapt to perturbations through electrical networks that store and process information. His research aims to understand and manipulate this bioelectric software to control cell behavior and form complex structures. He demonstrates how altering the bioelectric patterns in flatworms can cause them to regenerate heads of different shapes and species, showing that cells can achieve different outcomes when placed in novel environments.
The speaker’s group works on understanding how evolution uses a “competency architecture” to evolve bodies that solve specific environments and novel problems. They focus on the “software level” and “agential materials” to achieve this.
The speaker argues that dynamic anatomical homeostasis is a form of intelligent behavior by cellular collectives that solve problems in anatomical morphospace.
Developmental bioelectricity is an important “cognitive glue” that harnesses cells towards large scale anatomical outcomes.
Embryogenesis is robust and reliable but not hardwired. Embryos can adapt to changes by harnessing diverse molecular pathways to achieve the same outcomes.
Regeneration involves growing and remodeling until the correct shape is achieved, showing means-ends analysis and collective intelligence.
Bioelectricity, through ion channels and electrical synapses, allows cells to scale up into networks that can maintain larger anatomical set points.
The speaker’s group has developed tools to manipulate and read developmental bioelectric patterns to induce large scale changes in growth and form.
The bioelectric patterns in flatworms can be rewritten to make them regenerate with multiple heads, showing that bioelectricity acts as a form of memory.
The speaker’s group is using machine learning tools to infer the bioelectric circuits responsible for developmental behaviors.
Skin cells taken from their normal environment can “reboot” their multicellularity and self-organize into novel proto-organisms, showing the potential of cellular intelligence.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ChRM4CEWyg