1. Who Are We? Biology in light of complexity theory and contemplative practice Neil Theise MD Departments of Pathology & Medicine Beth Israel Medical Center – Albert Einstein College of Medicine New York City www.neiltheise.com
3. From the global to the local: Pathways for the transduction of Indo-Sino-Tibetan cognitive behavioral practices into site specific, tissue regenerative effects. William C Bushell & Neil D. Theise Beyond cell doctrine: Complexity theory informs alternate models of the bdy For cross cultural dialogue Neil D. Theise
4. in: Longevity, Regeneration, and Optimal Health: Integrating Eastern and Western Perspectives Publication date: March 2009 www.nyas.org
34. “… the internal and the external co-determine the cell.” Richard Lewontin, 2000
35. 2 nd Principle: Cellular Uncertainty Any attempt to observe a cell alters the state of that cell at the time of characterization and potentially alters the likelihood of subsequent differentiation events.
36. 2 nd Principle: Cellular Uncertainty Any attempt to observe a cell alters the state of that cell at the time of characterization and potentially alters the likelihood of subsequent differentiation events. ?
40. Conversations with Jane Prophet New Media Artist and Professor, Interdisciplinary Studies University of Westminster, London UK SciArt Award, Wellcome Trust 2002
41. Date: 9th May 2002 Location: Neil's office, New York Jane says: “Ideas about pathways are interesting. A lot of people who are involved in digital biology are interested in things like swarming people and so called ’soup organism’ behaviour. And one of the useful models to take forward is about ant colonies…”
42. Complex Adaptive Systems: 1,2 1 Lewin R, Complexity: Life at the Edge of Chaos. 2nd ed. Chicago IL: University of Chicago Press; 2002. 2 Johnson S, Emergence. New York NY: Scribner; 2001.
43. Complex Adaptive Systems: Interacting individuals that, if they fulfill 4 criteria, organize themselves from the bottom up, into larger structures…
44. Complex Adaptive Systems: Interacting individuals that, if they fulfill 4 criteria, organize themselves from the bottom up, into larger structures, which appear planned from the top, downward…
45. Complex Adaptive Systems: Interacting individuals that, if they fulfill 4 criteria, organize themselves from the bottom up, into larger structures, which appear planned from the top, downward, BUT ARE NOT!
50. Complex Adaptive Systems: Interacting individuals that, if they fulfill 4 criteria, organize themselves from the bottom up, into larger structures which appear planned from the top, downward, BUT ARE NOT! These structures are ADAPTIVE
51. Complex Adaptive Systems: Interacting individuals that, if they fulfill 4 criteria, organize themselves from the bottom up, into larger structures which appear planned from the top, downward, BUT ARE NOT! These structures are ADAPTIVE and are referred to as emergent self-organization
52. Complex Adaptive Systems: Rise and fall of economic markets Urban development Immune systems Beatlemania Rise and fall of civilizations Evolution and speciation
53. Complex Adaptive Systems: Rise and fall of economic markets Urban development Immune systems Beatlemania Rise and fall of civilizations Evolution and speciation Conciousness
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62. Low level engraftment is not only NOT trivial, but it is VITAL – literally so. 1-3 1 Theise ND. Exp Hematology 2003 2 D’Inverno M, Theise ND. BCMD 2004 3 D’Inverno M, Theise ND, Prophet J. In: Potten C, Wilson J, Clarke R, Renahan A: Tissue stem cells: Biology and applications
81. Theise ND. Now you see it, now you don’t. Nature , May 2005 “ Cell doctrine: modern biology and medicine see the cell as the fundamental building block of living organisms, but this concept breaks down at different perspectives and scales.” Communities Bodies Cells Biomolecules
82. “ The validity of cell doctrine depends on the scale at which the body is observed… Communities Bodies Cells Biomolecules
83. “ The validity of cell doctrine depends on the scale at which the body is observed. To limit ourselves to the perspective of this model may mean that explications of some bodily phenomena remain outside the capacity of modern biology… Communities Bodies Cells Biomolecules
84. “ The validity of cell doctrine depends on the scale at which the body is observed. To limit ourselves to the perspective of this model may mean that explications of some bodily phenomena remain outside the capacity of modern biology… e.g. Acupuncture Communities Bodies Cells Biomolecules
85. “ The validity of cell doctrine depends on the scale at which the body is observed. To limit ourselves to the perspective of this model may mean that explications of some bodily phenomena remain outside the capacity of modern biology. It is perhaps time to dethrone the doctrine of the cell, to allow alternative models of the body for study and exploitation in this new, postmodern era of biological investigation.” Communities Bodies Cells Biomolecules
87. for example, 2 models from Ancient Greece: Is the body made of… indivisible subunits or an endlessly divisible fluid
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92. Models of the body are perspective/technique dependent Look at it this way (cell membranes): the body is made of cells Look at it that way (organelles): the body is an endlessly divisible fluid
96. Models are perspective/technique dependent Look at it this way (cell membranes): the body is made of cells Look at it that way (organelles): the body is an endlessly divisible fluid Yet another way (the genome): … overlapping spatial/temporal fields of molecular organization
98. Macroscopic body Microscopic body Nanoscopic body Quantum body e.g. physical therapy surgery e.g. cell therapies (BMTx) e.g. pharmaceuticals e.g. fracture repair?
99. e.g. yoga tai chi e.g. acupuncture? e.g. traditional remedies e.g. energy healing? meditation? Macroscopic body Microscopic body Nanoscopic body Quantum body
100. Coarse Body ? Energy Body ? Subtle Body ? Indo-Tibetan Medicine/Physiology Macroscopic body Microscopic body Nanoscopic body Quantum body
101. Coarse Body ? Energy Body ? Subtle Body ? Indo-Tibetan Medicine/Physiology Macroscopic body Microscopic body Nanoscopic body Quantum body
