Does the sponge hold the secret of life?
Jon Nordheimer wrote a story that appeared in the August 16 New York Times Science section that I thought was extremely interesting. So why has it taken me nearly a month to get it up here? Because I wasn’t sure I understood the material well enough to put it on bookofjoe, that’s why. If something is unclear to me, in terms of its meaning or how to describe it properly, I won’t post it. Anyway, after rereading the piece a number of times over the past few weeks, I think I understand what the article is about well enough to bring it to you. Long story short: the primitive — or at least, up to now considered primitive — sponge, seen as a crossover between plant and animal life, turns out to have some rather sophisticated features. Among them: • “Sponges have a sophisticated gene that in other animals controls the growth of eyes, brains and the central nervous system.” • “Alone among animals, they may possess archetypes of stem cells.” • “At any stage in the life of a sponge, these cells
