ULTIMATE COMPUTING - Quantum Consciousness Studies

Viruses/Ambiguous Life Forms 187
Figure 9.3: Longitudinal view of the DNA path in a tobacco mosaic virus
structure. The path takes about 120 complete turns. By Paul Jablonka.
How do viruses perform cognitive acts such as sensing host cell surfaces and
injecting into them their nucleic acids One possibility is by perturbations of
collective vibrations of their protein shells. Michels, Schulz, Witz, Pfieffer, and
Hirth (1979) measured ultrasonic absorption of protein assemblies over a range of
10 5 to 10 9 oscillations per second. They found the assembled structures absorb
much greater ultrasonic energy than do the individual unpolymerized subunits,
suggesting a collective oscillation of the protein assembly. For example, the intact
icosahedral Brome mosaic virus absorbed energy with a mean frequency of 5 x
10 7 per second. Robach, Michels, Cerf, Braunwald and Tripier-Darcy (1983)
found similar results with frog virus, and determined that the displacement
amplitude of the oscillations were on the order of a tenth nanometer. Most virus
research has focused on the genetic capabilities of viral DNA or RNA in coopting
host cell activities. The protein coats have been considered as simple
environments for DNA or RNA transport, however they perform functions
analogous to organized cytoplasm. For example, the glycoprotein spikes which
extend outward from some viruses while remaining anchored to the protein coat
interact with the host membrane and cell wall surfaces to facilitate contact and
entry. This general activity involves information signaled through the protein coat
enacting a mechanical conformational change. Michels, Dormoy, Cerf and Schulz
(1985) used similar techniques to study two strains of tobacco mosaic virus as
well as other protein assemblies including microtubules. They observed that the
fluctuations depend on specific organization and complexity of the assembly, and
that certain assemblies oscillate more than others. They speculate that collective
oscillations of virus coats could function in communicative functions such as the
injection of viral nucleic acids into host cells. Viruses perform limited functions
devoted to their own replication and survival, but their collective oscillations
could be a clue to the essence of living matter. Collective oscillations of
cytoskeletal proteins could serve a more versatile communicative role in all
eukaryotic cells.
9.4 Nature and Origin of Viruses
Deciding whether or not viruses are alive depends on a definition of life. In
his book Pirates of the Cell, Scott (1985) concludes that life is a spectrum of