In the Beginning was Information

disturbed by human intervention like heavy industries. It should also benoted that the mechanisms for photosynthesis and respiration are astoundinglysimilar. The substances involved belong to the same chemical classes.For example, a chlorophyll molecule consists of four pyrrole ringsarranged round a central atom, which is magnesium in the case of chlorophyll,and iron in the case of haemoglobin, the active substance on whichrespiration is based. Both processes occur at the interface of permeablelipid membranes. The inevitable conclusion is that a single brilliant conceptunderlies both processes and that both are finely tuned to each other.We can thus reject an evolutionary origin, since two such astonishinglyperfect and similar processes could not possibly have originated bychance in such diverse organisms.Conclusion: It has not yet been possible to explain the incredible complexityof the molecular mechanisms on which photosynthesis is based.The same situation holds for respiration. The fact that the chemical equationsand some of the intermediate enzyme driven steps are knownshould not create the impression that these processes are really understood;on the contrary, what we don’t yet know is incomparably morethan what we do know. The American biophysicist Albert L. Lehniger[L1] regards these unresolved questions as some of the most fascinatingbiological problems. All solar energy engineers dream of devising aprocess which can convert sunlight directly into fuel. Although photosynthesistakes place in every single green leaf of all plants, having beenconceived in an astoundingly brilliant way, even the most inventiveengineer is unable to imitate the process. Every phototropic cell is suppliedwith the information required to undertake such an optimal energyconversion process.A3.3 The Consumption of Energy in BiologicalSystems: Strategies for MinimisationEvery cell requires energy continuously for its vital functions like the synthesisof new molecules, or the production of a daughter cell. In multicellularorganisms there are further purposeful reactions (e. g. locomotion, andthe control of body temperature). The conversion of energy in every cell,whether animal, vegetable, or microbial, is based on the same principlesand mechanisms. In contrast to technological practices, living organismsavoid the inefficient use of heat as an intermediate energy form. Cellularprocesses are isothermic; this means that the temperature does not change.The concept of energy: It should be emphasised that the energy-carryingnutrient molecules do not generate heat when they are oxidised. The molecularconcept of biological oxidation involves numerous precisely tuned233