``What is tife? This is the main probtem of biology. Many have asked this question, but nobody has answered it. Science is based on the experience that nature answers intelligent questions intelligently, so if she is silent there may be something wrong about the question. The question is wrong because life, as such, does not exist. What we can see is material systems which have this wonderful quality of being alive. What is this quality? This is the problem. It must be a very fundamental quality because it allows us to divide the whole surrounding world into two parts: ‘animate’ and ‘inanimate’, alive and not-alive. The division is sharp and unequivocal, which suggests that the living state is a special physicochemical state, a state which can be described in terms of exact sciences and has to fit into the great order of the universe, having been created by the same forces as the universe itself. We must search for an understanding and an answer to our question with a wide natural philosophical outlook and fit life into the great scheme of creation.''
``This leads us to the first rule of electrobiology: the living state is the electronically desaturated state of molecules, and the degree of development and differentiation is a function of the degree of electronic desaturation. Electronic desaturation is a central problem of biology, and so the next sections will be devoted to the chemical mechanism of this process''
``Nature is simple but subtle (P. Ehrenfest, personal communication).''
``This leads us to the first rule of electrobiology: the living state is the electronically desaturated state of molecules, and the degree of development and differentiation is a function of the degree of electronic desaturation. Electronic desaturation is a central problem of biology, and so the next sections will be devoted to the chemical mechanism of this process''
``Nature is simple but subtle (P. Ehrenfest, personal communication).''
From Profiles in Science.
Szent-Györgyi envisioned something like Gilbert N. Ling; now I understand why he gave his support to this Chinese-American genius. Paul Ehrenfest is another of my heroes. I am liking this guy.
From another paper by Szent-Györgyi:
``To conclude, we can state that according to our investigations the Schiff bases formed between methylglyoxal molecules and the primary amino groups of the lysine side chains of proteins can act as internal electron acceptors with respect to the mobile electrons of the polypeptide chain by bending back to the peptide groups. In this way, by taking out electrons from the valence band of a polypeptide chain (unpublished data), they can convert proteins from insulators to p-type semiconductors.''
This scientist was trying to prove that electron transport was part of life. I guess he did not succeed, but I do know that Prof. Douglas Scalapino at UCSB, together with Prof. Robert Schrieffer were studying organic conductors in the late 70s. In the arXiv you can find a retrospective of some of Doug's work with superconductivity, where some organic materials are mentioned also.
From another paper by Szent-Györgyi:
``To conclude, we can state that according to our investigations the Schiff bases formed between methylglyoxal molecules and the primary amino groups of the lysine side chains of proteins can act as internal electron acceptors with respect to the mobile electrons of the polypeptide chain by bending back to the peptide groups. In this way, by taking out electrons from the valence band of a polypeptide chain (unpublished data), they can convert proteins from insulators to p-type semiconductors.''
This scientist was trying to prove that electron transport was part of life. I guess he did not succeed, but I do know that Prof. Douglas Scalapino at UCSB, together with Prof. Robert Schrieffer were studying organic conductors in the late 70s. In the arXiv you can find a retrospective of some of Doug's work with superconductivity, where some organic materials are mentioned also.
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