Are there any individual cells that make decisions, or do they all react to their immediate environments according to chemical and mechanical laws?
Are there any individual cells that make decisions, or do they all react to their immediate environments according to chemical and mechanical laws?
In other words, is there any individual cell that can decide between two or more options, or all they all solely chemical and mechanical reactions without any self-determination at all?
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Immune cells form from stem cells. From start to finish in the stem cell differentiation process, four major changes occur. Some of these changes can have up to four potential outcomes each. Here's a map:
While all cells react to their environment based on environmental stimuli and feedback loops, even bacteria and archaea, this is a great example of cell differentiation. All our cells started as stem cells, but the immune system's continuous and consistent use of the process is very unique. It's also the most elaborate and the image is surface level. Most the end cells pictured here will become more specific. Like there's many different T-cells, even T-cells which change so much they don't meet the classification of being a T-cell. The CD16 T-cell is a great example of this happening.
I feel like this is what you were looking for, but I'm not totally sure.
Thanks! Is there a point during which any of these cells makes a decision that is not 100% mere chemical or mechanical reaction to their immediate environment? Perhaps when they need to differentiate into a new cell?
I mean, cellular/molecular biology is applied organic chemistry. It's all chemical based in some way or another. I guess with T and B cell receptor formations, each receptor binding domain is made totally at random. So much so, they go through training to ensure they won't attack self and are able to detect pathogen associated molecular patterns. Wildly, most T and B cells don't pass training and get recycled, more or less.
So maybe, but you're talking about the world on the cellular level, it's all based on chemical reactions with environmental stimuli. To be alive requires responding to your environment, and chemistry is how that works at the microscopic level.