A. Lima-De-Faria

The Chromosome Territory of Human Oncogenes

The prevailing view of the chromosome of higher organisms is characterized by randomness. Genes are believed to be located at random and mutations and most structural rearrangements are likewise supposed to occur at random (1-4). During the last few years the molecular organization of the eukaryotic chromosome has been subject to intensive investigation but the evidence has been mainly on single DNA sequences and their immediate neighbours. Most molecular findings, such as the split gene, the pseudo-genes, the transposable elements, and the enhancers, are relatively short DNA sequences and do not furnish information on the organization of the large structure that is the eukaryotic chromosome considered as a whole. It is the relative position of DNA segments within the chromosome as a unit that is the subject of this paper. Every chromosome arm is well delimited by a centromere and a telomere. It has been established long ago that chromosome arms cannot survive without centromeres and without telomeres (5). An extensive analysis of the position of specific DNA segments in a wide number of species has shown that their position within the chromosome arm is related to the location of the two main regions: the centromere and the telomere. These results led to the concept of the chromosome field (6-8). The validity and usefulness of this approach has been shown by the fact that it has led to predictions on gene location and gene function. An example is the location of the genes for 28S and 18S ribosomal RNA that can be predicted within reasonable limits independently of the phylogenetic position of a species and of the length of a chromosome. An analysis of 165 species (including plants, worms, amphibians and humans) showed that the ribosomal DNA sequences display two organizatory features: (i) In 90.5~ of the cases they are located in the short arm, i.e., the one in which the number of nucleotide pairs between the centromere and the telomere is lowest and

The Molecular Geometry

It is part of general knowledge that there is not only one geometry but there are Euclidean and non-Euclidean geometries.

The Eye: A Main Center of Circularity with Implications for Development and Evolution

We tend to think that the brain, which is the main organ directing our functions and behavior, ought to have been the primary tissue occurring during animal development and evolution.

Concentric Circles Are a General Feature of Vertebrates

The vertebrates that we are most familiar with, i.e. those that inhabit the Northern latitudes are usually characterized by uniform drab colors. The bear and the mouse are usually grey, eagles and sparrows are mostly brown, a snake’s body is dominated by black and grey, toads are usually dark, and fishes like the cod and herring have silvery tones.

Well-Defined Geometric Patterns Appeared in Animal Evolution Independently of the Skeleton

The vertebrates seem to us such extraordinary creatures, so diversified and so elaborate in many ways, that we tend to think of them as great innovators embodying many novel evolutionary traits. This is true to a large extent, but the vertebrates did not invent everything.

It May Sound Outrageous but the Human Condition Appears to Be Anchored in the Organization of Galaxies

The simplest observation that astronomers make is that stars shine. The sources of this energy and the changes in stellar structure that occur with time are the basis of stellar evolution. As Sears (1981) states: “The theory of stellar evolution is sufficiently developed that each of the stars we can see can be identified with a particular evolutionary stage”.

Body Geometry Follows the Skeleton Only Partially

The question then arises: how did the arrival of the internal skeleton affect the coloration of the body in vertebrates?

Self-Assembly: The Primary Source of Coherence

The most significant aspect of self-assembly from the point of view of molecular and chromosomal evolution is that the ordered aggregation of molecules, macromolecules and supramolecular systems takes place independently of external information. Enzymes, ribosomes and viruses can self-assemble due to the properties inherent to their structures. Cell membranes also possess this capacity. Phospholipid molecules contain within themselves the necessary information to assemble into bilayer systems in the absence of other sources. The amino acid sequences which build polypeptide chains also carry inherent information (Stryer 1981; Golan et al. 2005).

Longitudinal and Transversal Stripes in Vertebrates

The molecular geometry found in birds is easily recognizable. The feather pigments, with colors covering the whole rainbow, delimit the geometric traits in a precise way. This is why the birds with their exquisite markings have had enchanted observers for generations. The genetic information available shows the pigments to be directed to their locations in the body by proteins and other molecules produced by genes. This is why this geometry was found to be molecularly determined (Lima-de-Faria 2012).

Hexagons Formed by Molecules and by the Minds of Wasps and Humans

The geometric figure with six sides called a hexagon, that we draw on a sheet of paper, existed long before it was formed in our minds and was concretized on a drawing. Before humans and large mammals had populated the planet and before minute protozoa inhabited the Earth, the hexagons had arrived. They were part of the structure of atoms.