No 'Struggle for Existence'

I'm unsure how to convey this message.

Life is not ‘struggle for existence’. It is not ‘struggle for survival’.

Life is not competition. Therefore, the concept of natural selection that Charles Darwin proposed is unfortunately capturing the reality of Mother Nature, but only in human societies.

Life is probabilities. The probabilities of termination – death. We are alive based on the sufficient probabilities of continuities.

Life emerged on the Earth, because the local environment provided sufficient probabilities to initiate and continue.

What is life? Life is a circuitous biochemical momentum - a series of sequential biochemical events encompassing growth, replication and reproduction.  Nothing else.

The shape of molecules dictates biochemical reactions. It is imaginable that there must be enough numbers of shapes available at the time of life emergence. Peptides/proteins are great molecules that take multiple unlimited shapes. Although they have one (or two) preferred shape(s), they can take infinite shapes in water by changing temperatures, pH, ions, etc. and through interactions. This doesn’t mean that they can take all shapes, but their shape options are unlimited, similar to extremely large infinity and the infinity between 0 and 1.

The encounter (bumping) of two shapes that creates something else is a chemical reaction. The third shape, which might be involved in facilitating this creation, is called a catalyst. A catalyst bumps the other two shapes, which are called substrates, to facilitate the formation of new forms. Before and after, the catalyst does not change its shape. Its shape helps to have two substrates (both have their own shapes) to have one or two new shapes. They are products. Substrates and products have distinct shapes.  The product, which has a new shape, can become a substrate for something else.

Many shapes mean many chances for new products – more new shapes, more new reactions. The concentration and proximity dictate the chance of encounter (bumping) of two or three molecules. Water molecules are abundant. Therefore, many hydrolysis.  

Random reactions. Random sequences of reactions. A membranous sac can create a unique local environment to trap molecules. Accidental concentration and proximity. The size of a sack is random. Random fusion and fission. Bursting and formation of new sacks. Nothing is planned. Nothing intended. Many shapes and reactions, and occasional enclosing.

There is no competition so far.

DNA is a polymer consisting of four dNTPs. No constraint in their sequence. It forms a double-stranded polymer with complementary sequences. RNA is also a polymer consisting of four NTPs. No constraints in their sequence. It can form a double strand, but also a single polymer, which can form a 3D shape. Protein is also a polymer consisting of 20 amino acids. Theoretically, no constraints in their sequence. Based on its sequence, it holds as a 3D shape. The shapes have the potential to become a catalyst. The protein catalyst is called an enzyme. The RNA catalyst is called a ribozyme.

The interaction between tRNA and an amino acid. An interaction of mRNA and tRNA. An interaction between mRNA and DNA.  All of them are matters of shape.

Two amino acids can bump and react without RNA. However, scaffolding facilitates the reaction. mRNA and tRNA are scaffolds facilitating polymerization of amino acids by bringing them into proximity in a local high concentration.  Please do not imagine all 20 amino acids were used from the beginning. One tRNA that can bind one amino acid binds mRNA, based on sequence complementarity. Another tRNA just happened to bind right next to it. Amino acids are polymerized – a new shape.   

This is all random, but by chance. The matter of probabilities. However, by catalysts and scaffolds, certain probabilities are enhanced over others.

DNA polymerization occurs when a template is present. RNA polymerization occurs when a DNA template is present. However, this template-based polymerization removes the freedom of its sequence but restricts it.  Again, DNA and RNA polymerization (i.e., chemical synthesis) is possible but requires significantly more energy.  However, in the biological system, a template, an enzyme, and substrates are sufficient without extra energy.

Shapes and Scaffolds help reactions occur without requiring extra energy.  Without scaffolds, the reaction could occur, but with low probability.

Polymerization, shapes, reactions and scaffolds. Water is abundant. Some ions and substrates are abundant. They are important backstage players, constraining the shape of amino acid polymers, proteins. Membranes create random compartments, accidentally trapping polymers, shapes, and scaffolds.

Shapes are important for reactions to occur. Scaffolds are also the shape that controls the probability of reactions. They control the proximity, orientation and shape of substrates. None of the reactions is guaranteed. But the probability.

At a certain probability, a series of multiple linear reactions may occur sporadically. The order of reactions is substrate-dependent and proximity-dependent. Until the substrates are depleted or a bad luck event occurs, such as sac fusion, fission, or burst, which can alter their proximity, a series of reactions can continue. A bad luck event could be simultaneously a good luck event. Another series of reactions may emerge from new combinations of substrates and new proximity.

No competition. No intention.

Sufficiency, abundance, and ubiquity permit all things to occur as a probability, but do not guarantee them to occur always.

Please imagine what would happen if a series of multiple linear reactions accidentally became cyclic? The emergence of a perpetual circuit (or circuits) based on abundance, ubiquity and proximity in the local environment. The number of individual molecules increases, the frequency of bumping and reaction increases and the complexity (i.e. detours) increases. Detours are bad. They may lead to the failure of circuitry momentum.  Detours are good. They may provide alternative routes.  However, the routes for what? 

When cyclic momentum in a circuit emerges, it appears to have its own will. Imagine a bicycle wheel rolling down a hill. It only follows the physical law. But not only falling but moving forward straight. The cyclic momentum created by gravity generates the forward momentum of the wheel. In the wheel, no intention to move forward and no intention in the direction of movement. However, if you desire, you can see the will in the wheel. It can curve, hit a small rock and jump, be trapped in mud or a puddle, etc. You may see that as the wheel is playing or adapting. Even still, it has a will to move forward. And then, it may stop rolling because it reaches a flat land, falls into a lake, or hits an obstacle. The momentum stops. Then, it falls down.

Nothing is intentional. Just a sufficient local environment (i.e. a hill) and a wheel. It does need to be a wheel. A tire, a ball, a steel drum or a clamp of snow. Whatever rolls. Not all can roll; some may stack to something. Steep is not high enough to initiate the first roll. But the first roll occurs, the chance of the second, third roll and so on. Nothing guarantees but provability.

The relationships between DNA, RNA and proteins are astonishing. All of them are polymers that consist of multiple components, dNTPs, NTPs and amino acids. Chemically, there is no constraint on the order of polymerization of its components. DNA has the property that allows for replication because of complementary double-strand formation.  RNA is magical that mRNA copies DNA sequence and becomes a scaffold for tRNA binding. The uniquely held individual tRNA can bind to a specific amino-acid. Two tRNA-amino acid complexes can come close on the mRNA scaffold that initiates conjugation of two amino acids.  The amino acid sequence in a protein determines the protein’s shape (3D folding). The protein’s shape is not only determined by its sequence, but also by environmental factors and conditions (e.g. pH and temperatures). The protein shapes and its chemical properties control their distributions (e.g. liquid-liquid separation, aggregation, membrane insertion etc).  The distribution patterns of proteins create the proximity of various proteins. The proximity dictates the probability of encounter and bumping. The proximity dictates the sequence of multiple bumping events – biochemical reactions.

The material sequence in DNA is translated into the material sequence of proteins. The material sequence of proteins dictates their shape and distribution/allocation – geometry. Their geometry dictates the event sequence of biochemical reactions. The event sequence conducts the replication of the material sequence based on geometry within DNA molecules – DNA replication. This whole circuitry process is dependent on the local environment’s abundance and ubiquity. Everything is random and passive at the beginning, as an accident.    

However, the first roll occurs, the second roll likely occurs. No competition but probability.

Life emerged because of the cyclic momentum regulated by material sequence, geometry and event sequence. This momentum encompasses growth, replication and reproduction.

No intention, thus no competition occurs. Everything is based on local availability. The local availability controls the probability of rolling. The local availability provides a sufficient probability to continue. Therefore, life emerged.  Therefore, a new species emerged. Therefore, we exist.

The local availability provides a sufficient probability to continue.  This is life. No intention. No purpose. No competition.  Competition is an anthropological view, that does not exist in Mother Nature.

Humans can anticipate the future. Humans build cognitive ownership. Both of them are absolutely required for the acquisition of language - the sequence of sounds that can build the geometrical imagination in a listener’s mind. Similar to the genetic code, each language is a code that only those who know the code can reconstitute the geometry.

Cognition and anticipation of the future enable the development of tools, cooking, building, and initiating agriculture.  Cognitive ownership excludes access by others, rather than sharing.  First-come, first-served is the rule in Mother Nature. In the human world, first-come, take all by cognitive owning and exclusion.

Cognition and anticipation of the future brought us recognition of uncertainty, therefore anxiety. Four-year-old kids do not recognize uncertainty. No anxiety. But only fears against the unknown. The future does not exist in the current. The future only exists in our minds based on cognitive language. Therefore, we compete and even kill others to exclude them completely.

All other organisms have no cognitive ownership. Ownership is the current occupation. When others challenge the occupation, the owner can decide to fight or leave. This is a duel. The duel never kills others, because no need - because no one cares (i.e., cognizes) about the future. Temporal repelling is sufficient without exclusion.

No competition and no competitive selection.  Then, how does evolution happen?

I stated that “the local availability provides a sufficient probability to continue.” This means that, outside of this availability, the probability of continuing is either low or zero. This is the probability of circuitry momentum encoded in the material sequence, DNA sequence.

By changes in DNA sequence, the geometry of proteins changes, and the event sequence changes.  No more cyclic momentum is the frequent consequence.  

Here, I want to use an analogy to explain changes in DNA sequence. Two types of changes. One is typographical errors like misspelling. The other is rearrangements. Changes in the order of words, sentences or paragraphs. The same word selection but different meanings emerge by rearrangement.

One cycle of a wheel is equivalent to one sentence with a meaning. The same one sentence has the same meaning as long as the order of letters and words remains the same. Messing up the letter order would unlikely produce any meaning. The failure of cycling. A few typos would permit to deliver the same meaning. Rearrangement of the word order may create the same meaning, a different meaning, or not make sense.  The same and different meanings can keep cycling, while not making sense stops cycling.

If a sentence is short, not many options for word rearrangement, but if it is long, many options are available. However, many options available mean including many failing options that do not make sense. Rather than individually rearranging words, if a block of a few words is rearranged together, the chance of making sense increases.

If two sentences are available to make one sentence. There are more word choices and rearrangement opportunities, resulting in a new meaning.  This is a selection within the sentence, but NOT a selection between two sentences. Trimming from long sufficient materials.  Many options of trimming that each generate a unique, reproducible meaning. Once a sentence has its own meaning, it is equivalent to a wheel cycling.  

Each sentence has its own meaning and will be used on different occasions.

No selection. But a new opportunity. A new sentence captures a new occasion previously unrealized.

In the competition of natural selection, only the winners survive, and the losers disappear. No option to survive for both. No option to be both dead. No option of lucky losers or unlucky winners.

Through competitive selection, the original complexity should be reduced and simplified. In a sports competition, one winning team with 50 participating teams.  However, in the history of life, you can find that the world of life is getting more and more complex. How comes? Because a new species emerges means a new sentence is built. A new opportunity is found.

A new local opportunity provides a sufficient probability to continue. 

No competition. No struggle of existence. No struggle for survival.  Except for in human societies. Humans take away the sufficient probability to continue from other humans and other organisms.

In Mother Nature, the local environment at present is the only issue for the sufficient probability of continued existence for individual organisms. The future is not the consideration. The momentary sharing, occupying, and encountering. One at a time.  Opportunities are given. After that, you need to bump them in the right place at the right time.  I call this luck.