Life is a mobius strip

Prog Biophys Mol Biol. 2021 Dec:167:41-45. doi: 10.1016/j.pbiomolbio.2021.08.001. Epub 2021 Aug 5.

Abstract

If you cut a mobius strip in half, the edges form a Trefoil Knot, which can be untied to form a circle, proving it's a true mathematical knot. The cell is a homologue of the mathematical knot since it, too, must be able to unknot itself to form the egg and sperm meiotically in order to reproduce. The homology between a knot and a cell is thought-provoking biologically because the Trefoil Knot is a metaphor for the endoderm, ectoderm and mesoderm, the three germ layers of the gastrula that ultimately produce the embryo, beginning with the zygote. Upon further consideration, the cell membrane is like a mobius strip, forming one continuous surface between the inner environment of the cell and the outer environment. However, it is not formed by taking a circular surface, cutting it, twisting it and attaching the two ends as you would conventionally to form a mobius strip. Conversely, David Bohm's Explicate Order forms a boundary with the Implicate Order. That lipid boundary is the prima facie mobius strip that divides the infinite surface of the Implicate Order into inside and outside by 'recalling' its pre-adapted state as lipid molecules before there was an inside or outside.

Keywords: Cell; Explicate order; Implicate order; Mobius strip; Trefoil knot; Zygote.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Ectoderm
  • Endoderm*
  • Gastrula*
  • Mesoderm