Upaya Zen Brain Retreat 2009

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

Put group portrait from menla conference HERE

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

in: Longevity, Regeneration, and Optimal Health: Integrating Eastern and Western Perspectives Publication date: March 2009 www.nyas.org

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Cognitive Contemplative

Cognitive Contemplative True Nature of Reality

Cognitive Contemplative Interdependence

Cognitive Contemplative Interdependence Impermanence

Cognitive Contemplative Interdependence Karma Impermanence

Cognitive Contemplative Interdependence Karma Impermanence Emptiness of inherent existence

Cognitive Contemplative Physical Nature of Reality Spiritual Nature of Reality

Male bone marrow transplant Lethal Irradiation F.I.S.H. for Y-Chromosome

Sort PKH-bright Male Donor BM

Lin Deplete

Elutriate

PKH26 Label 48 Hours Transplant single cell into 2 o Female Recipient 1 o Female Recipient

Bone Marrow One Adult Cell

Epithelia of

Liver

Lung

Gut, (Pancreas)

Skin, Hair follicles

Adult cells have all the flexibility of embryonic stem cells MESODERM ENDODERM ECTODERM One Adult Cell

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The Standard Paradigm: Restricted Plasticity

Irreversible gene restrictions Embryology & Adult Tissue Reconstitution Self renewal

BEWARE OF DOGMA

What if gene restrictions are REVERSIBLE?

Proof of Principle

3 Principles of Plasticity Theise & Krause BCMD , May 2001 Leukemia, April Fool’s Day 2002 Comptes Rendus Biologies, December 2002

1. Genomic Completeness 2. Cellular Uncertainty 3. Stochasticity of Cell Origins and Fates

“… the internal and the external co-determine the cell.” Richard Lewontin, 2000

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.

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. ?

Meanwhile, back at the stem cell debates…

Controversy!!!

trivial... vs. ROBUST!!!

Conversations with Jane Prophet New Media Artist and Professor, Interdisciplinary Studies University of Westminster, London UK SciArt Award, Wellcome Trust 2002

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…”

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.

Complex Adaptive Systems: Interacting individuals that, if they fulfill 4 criteria, organize themselves from the bottom up, into larger structures…

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…

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!

Complex Adaptive Systems: How do we know?

Complex Systems Real world

Complex Systems Real Virtual

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

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

Complex Adaptive Systems: Rise and fall of economic markets Urban development Immune systems Beatlemania Rise and fall of civilizations Evolution and speciation

Complex Adaptive Systems: Rise and fall of economic markets Urban development Immune systems Beatlemania Rise and fall of civilizations Evolution and speciation Conciousness

Complex Adaptive Systems:

Numbers matter

Numbers matter

Negative feedback loops

Numbers matter

Interactions are local without global sensing

Numbers matter

Low level randomness

Numbers matter

“ Quenched disorder”

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

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Implications of Cell Lineages as Complex Adaptive Systems Mass extinctions.

order disorder “ chaos”

disorder “ chaos” complex adaptive systems order

Implications of Cell Lineages as Complex Adaptive Systems Mass extinctions, eg: ? Aplastic anemia ? Fulminant liver failure

Implications of Cell Lineages as Complex Adaptive Systems The price of adaptation, i.e. of LIFE, is DEATH

Implications of Cell Lineages as Complex Adaptive Systems Hierarchies of complex systems…

Implications of Cell Lineages as Complex Adaptive Systems Hierarchies of complex systems… thing vs. phenomena depends on scale of observation

Communities Bodies Cells

e.g. cities, cultures, ecosystems, Gaia Bodies Cells

Communities Bodies Cells Biomolecules ?

Communities Bodies Cells Biomolecules Toshio Yanagida & Company

Communities Bodies Cells Biomolecules More implications, of course.

1. Genomic Completeness ? Cellular Uncertainty 3. Stochasticity of Cell Origins and Fates

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

“ The validity of cell doctrine depends on the scale at which the body is observed… Communities Bodies Cells Biomolecules

“ 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

“ 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

“ 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

What kind of models?

for example, 2 models from Ancient Greece: Is the body made of… indivisible subunits or an endlessly divisible fluid

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

We are walking, talking Earth…

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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

Macroscopic body Microscopic body Nanoscopic body Quantum body

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?

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

Coarse Body ? Energy Body ? Subtle Body ? Indo-Tibetan Medicine/Physiology Macroscopic body Microscopic body Nanoscopic body Quantum body

Still more implications of complexity in life…

Communities Bodies Cells Biomolecules Atoms

Communities Bodies Cells Biomolecules Atoms Subatomic Particles Peter Cariani & Thermodynamic Complexity

Communities Bodies Cells Biomolecules Atoms Subatomic Particles Strings (or whatever)

Communities Bodies Cells Biomolecules Atoms Subatomic Particles Strings (or whatever) The Quantum Foam

We don’t live in the universe . . .

. . . we are the universe

The Relative

The Absolute

Implications of Everything

as Complex Adaptive System

“ thingness” is dependent on scale

Emptiness of inherent existence

2. Inevitable mass extinction

2. Impermanence

2. Impermanence

3. Systems depend on EVERY member

2. Impermanence

3. Interdependence

2. Impermanence

3. Interdependence

4. The fact of emergence is predictable,

the nature of it is not.

2. Impermanence

3. Interdependence

4. Karmic law (cause and effect)

Implications of Everything as Complex Adaptive System Buddhist Metaphysics

Implications of Everything as Complex Adaptive Systems Lurianic Kabbalah

Implications of Everything as Complex Adaptive Systems Hindu Mysticism

Cognitive Contemplative

Cognitive Contemplative One True Nature of Reality, Not Two…

Who Are We? What/Why

Wisdom

Who Are We?

Wisdom

What/Why “ No cell, no self…” Roshi Joan

Who Are We?

Wisdom

Compassion

What/Why

David Shrigley

Upaya Zen Brain Retreat 2009

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