ULTIMATE COMPUTING - Quantum Consciousness Studies

Origin and Evolution of Life 55
Figure 3.3: Spindle pole centrioles in PtK2 kidney mitotic cell. Perpendicular
centrioles are seen in the dense pericentriolar material from which MT radiate,
dotted by immunogold. A filamentous network is seen to the right of, and above,
the microtubule organizing center (MTOC). Scale: 3.3 millimeters on micrograph =
100 nanometers. With permission from Geuens, Gundersen, Nuydens,
Cornelissen, Bulinski and DeBrabander (1986), courtesy of Marc DeBrabander
and Janssen Pharmaceutica Research Laboratories
Centriole-like basal bodies, acting near cell membranes, induce formation of
cilia as appendages which protrude from outer surfaces of cells. Cilia have
structures virtually identical to centrioles except being membrane covered and, in
the case of motor cilia, having a central microtubule pair and contractile
interconnections which act to bend and wave cilia in a variety of control
functions. These range from propulsion of single celled paramecium to expulsion
of dust and particles from human airways. Similarly, sensory cilia permit
communications with external environments across a wide biological range from
single cell organisms to the inner ears of human beings, transducing mechanical
sound into the nervous system. Generations of motile and sensory cilia allowed
eukaryotic cells like paramecium to roam about vaster quantities of their aqueous
environment, serving to maximize their food supply as well as perceive sensory
information from their environment. This resulted in complex activities involving
logic and information processing which led 19th century scientists to ascribe
rudimentary consciousness to such organisms.
Another mystery surrounding centrioles is their command of orientation in
space and ability to convey that information to other cytoskeletal structures.
Navigation and gravity sensation have been suggested to represent a “gyroscopic”
function of centrioles (Bornens, 1976) which have also been described as
perfectly designed signal detectors (Albrecht-Buehler, 1981). These and other
models of information processing and intelligence in centrioles and the
cytoskeleton will be covered in Chapter 8.