Secrets of Your Cells: Discovering Your Body's Inner Intelligence (4 page)

Once upon a time, before there was life,

The world was hot churning waters and floating molecules.

A disturbance in the air! Lightning! Fire! A Big Bang!

Suddenly molecules embrace, creating sanctuary for tiny drops of the sea.

Over eons, the invisible, shimmering, oil-covered droplet slowly emerges into a cell filled with promise and the divine spark of life.

According to the Jesuit priest–geopaleontologist Pierre Teilhard de Chardin in his book
The Phenomenon of Man,
it is because of the very nature and ability of our molecules to embrace that we, too, embrace one another.
³
Though it may be hard to imagine molecules in a romantic embrace as if they were conscious, intelligent, or loving, their molecular wisdom creates
all the right forms through embrace. Molecules merge to form a vessel with a resilient, flexible surface that protects, defends, and defines the cell self.

Life Needs a Place—The Cell as Sanctuary

Without a container . . . there can be no life.

— CARL ZIMMER “First Cell,”
Discover
magazine

Part of the definition of life is that it is in a place.

— DAVID DEAMER Interviewed in “First Cell”

Whatever ideas we hold about how life began, there can be no doubt that we humans are a molecular sea. We are constructed from a vast collection of chemicals; yet chemicals aren’t enough for life. If we mixed together all the essential ingredients—sugars, fats, amino acids, DNA, RNA, minerals, and vitamins—we still wouldn’t have life. The energetic spark, our life force and essential spirit, is different from our chemistry. Only when the divine spark
finds sanctuary in form
can life begin. The residential sanctuary for life is the cell.

About three hundred years ago, English scientist Robert Hooke, looking at a slice of cork under a microscope, saw delineated spaces and porous structures and named them cells. Living cells, however, differ significantly from porous, dead cork. Hooke did not view the structures he saw as the basic units of life; rather, he saw them as containers that held “living juice.”

Consider this for a moment: a cell is a place where life is captured and vital ingredients are stored and protected—it is a sanctuary for life. Within each of us, therefore, are 100 trillion cells—100 trillion sanctuaries.

DEFINITIONS

Cell,
from the Latin
cella:
A storeroom or chamber. This is one definition of a cell. Another is a small room in a monastery or convent. There is also the prison cell, a space you are not encouraged to call home.

Sanctuary,
from the Latin
sanctuarium, sanctus:
Holy. A sanctuary is a place where one reflects on and takes time to honor the sacred. It is both a place for microscopic life to exist—the cell—and a place for the human being to reflect on what is holy. Both kinds of sanctuaries, the physical and the sacred, coexist within us, and when we understand this and see the connection, the idea can be life changing—it was for me. Having gained this insight about sanctuary, I began seeing my cells—and hence myself—as sacred. I began to think of my cells as an integral part of my life and remembered to care for them. I could decide, for example, to consciously engage in the simple act of taking my cells for a walk, thereby energizing them and consequently all of me. In remembering to nurture my cells, I became moved to transform unhealthy patterns and recognize that my cells and I are in life together.

Sacred:
Consecrated. Devoted or dedicated to a deity or religious purpose. Holy. Entitled to reverence and respect. Synonyms: Revered, cherished, divine, numinous, blessed, immune, godly, spiritual.

REFLECTION

Take a moment to reflect on how you are a sanctuary. What is it that creates in you a sense of peace and safety? Does one part of you feel more like a sanctuary than another part?

EXPLORATION

From Inner to Outer—Your Sanctuary

After reading the following instructions, close your eyes and take an imaginary journey to enjoy your personal, lifelong sanctuary.

Set aside five to ten minutes in a place where you will not be disturbed. Notice your breathing. Breathe into what you consider your center. Then breathe to your outer edges. Feel the connection between your innermost center and your outer boundaries. With each breath, you are filled with life. With each breath, feel the sanctuary of your cellular universe. Allow yourself to experience the deep connection from your center outward: this
whole body is your sanctuary. You can come here at a moment’s notice—no reservations are necessary. Stay in this embrace of your breath and cells until you are ready to leave. Then, when you are ready, open your eyes, shake out your hands, and smile to your cells. Thank them for crafting the ingenious container that is you.

Creating Sanctuary: The Architecture of the Cell Membrane

To gain access to the mysteries of life, we begin by exploring the workings of our cellular container. The outside surface of each human and animal cellular sanctuary is called the
plasma
or
cell membrane
(see
figure 1.1
). It is flexible, malleable. (Plant cells, by contrast, have more rigid walls, not membranes.) The plasma membrane, constructed from self-organizing chains of hydrocarbon molecules (fat) and generously “seasoned” with protein, forms the boundary where the cell meets the world in which it lives. These fats have unique qualities: one end of the molecule loves water, while the other end repels water and is called
hydrophobic.
Two layers of fat form the membrane, with the hydrophobic “tails” connecting together inside the membrane and the water-loving “heads” facing out into the watery external environment and in toward the “innards” of the cell. The highly intelligent and resilient surface of this flexible, fatty covering has many functions:

• It protects and insulates what is inside.

• It provides a discriminating, fluid, semipermeable barrier.

• It evaluates what is allowed to come in and go out.

• It carries passwords of identity and receiving sites for essential information.

In general, a cell’s plasma membrane becomes more flexible as the cell matures. It also becomes better able to recognize other cells, respond to the environment, move, and change shape.

Figure 1.1
Cell container

Magnified through the microscope, our cells appear quite solid. Yet when we peer deeper into the plasma membrane, we discover that this protective, mayonnaise-like covering is rather open, with its component molecules moving within it. The healthy functioning of our cells depends on the fluidity of our cell membranes, and this is partially influenced by what we eat.

Nourishing Our Cell Membranes

The primary chemical components of our membranes are fats, proteins, and cholesterol. The physical properties of fats and cholesterol control the membrane’s shape, function, and fluidity. A current theory is that excess dietary trans fats, saturated fats, and cholesterol make the cell membranes more rigid. When the long, straight chains of saturated or trans fats are incorporated into the cellular membrane, they render it less flexible. Meat, butter, and animal products are sources of saturated fats; trans fats are found in hydrogenated oils and margarines. Unsaturated fats, by contrast, have kinks and bends that provide space within the membranes, allowing for more movement and flexibility. Sources of unsaturated fats include
olive oil, nuts, and other vegetable oils. The other component of our cell membranes, cholesterol, whether made by our cells or taken in through our diet, can also influence how rigid the membrane is.

Why are cell membrane fluidity and flexibility so important? Because they determine how well nutrients can enter the cell, how readily the cell’s receptors can respond to information, and in the case of immune cells, how efficiently they can eliminate pathogens (disease-causing agents).