The Biology of Belief - Bruce H. Lipton [43]
In contrast, the flow of information in a quantum universe is holistic. Cellular constituents are woven into a complex web of crosstalk, feedback, and feedforward communication loops (see illustration next page). A biological dysfunction may arise from a miscommunication along any of the routes of information flow. To adjust the chemistry of this complicated interactive system requires a lot more understanding than just adjusting one of the information pathway’s components with a drug. If you change the concentration of C for example, it doesn’t just influence the action of D. Via holistic pathways, variations in the concentration of C profoundly influence the behaviors and functions of A, B, and E, as well as D.
Once I realized the nature of the complex interactions between matter and energy, I knew that a reductionist, linear (A>B>C>D>E) approach could not even come close to giving us an accurate understanding of disease. While quantum physics implied the existence of such interconnected information pathways, recent groundbreaking research in mapping protein-protein interactions in the cell now demonstrates the physical presence of these complex holistic pathways. (Li, et al, 2004; Giot, et al, 2003; Jansen, et al, 2003) The illustration on page 74 shows the interactions among a few of the proteins in a fruit fly cell. Connecting lines represent protein-protein interactions.
Clearly, biological dysfunctions can result from miscommunication anywhere within these complex pathways. When you change the parameters of a protein at one point in such a complex pathway, you inevitably alter the parameters of other proteins at innumerable points within the entangled networks. In addition, take a look at the seven circles in the next illustration that group proteins according to their physiologic functions. Notice that proteins within one functional group, such as those concerned with sex determination (arrow), also influence proteins with a completely different function, like RNA synthesis (i.e., RNA helicase). Newtonian research scientists have not fully appreciated the extensive interconnectivity among the cell’s biological information networks.
Map of interactions among a very small set of the cellular proteins (shaded and numbered circles) found in a Drosophila (fruit fly) cell. Most of the proteins are associated with the synthesis and metabolism of RNA molecules. Proteins enclosed within ovals are grouped according to specific pathway functions. Connecting lines indicate protein-protein interactions. Protein interconnections among the different pathways reveal how interfering with one Protein may produce profound “side effects” upon other related pathways. More wide spread “side effects” may be generated when a common protein is utilized in completely different functions. For example, the same Rbp1 protein (arrow) is used in RNA metabolism as well as in pathways associated with sex determination. Reprinted with permission from Science 302:1727-1736. Copyright 2003 AAAS.
The mapping of these information network pathways underscores the dangers of prescription drugs. We can now see why pharmaceutical drugs come with information sheets listing voluminous side effects that range from irritating to deadly. When a drug is introduced into the body to treat a malfunction in one protein, that drug inevitably interacts with at least one and possibly many other proteins.
Complicating the drug side-effect issue is also the fact that biological systems are redundant. The same signals or protein molecules may be simultaneously used in different organs and tissues where they provide for completely different behavioral functions. For example, when a drug is prescribed to correct a dysfunction in a signaling pathway of the heart, that drug is delivered by the blood to the entire body. This “cardiac” medicine can unintentionally disturb the function of the