Evolution Seminar - On intracellular structure and disease

 

Dan Kehila, Protein Engineering and Evolution Unit, OIST

 

 

The structure of cells and organisms is intricate and obviously advantageous, but it simultaneously creates targets for disease. The flipped argument—that it is very difficult for unstructured organisms to get sick—and its consequences, are not readily appreciable. This seminar will argue that the cost of structuring is disease, introducing a mechanism of apparent targeting that elevates the phenotypic effect of small molecular interactions. If time allows, additional consequences on the mutational rate and the possibility of a complexity ratchet will be discussed.