Rube-Goldberg Cascades of Molecular Reactions

Posted on April 23, 2007 by | 3 Comments

RPM found this on The Disgruntled Chemist’s blog: the most awesome Rube-Goldberg machine I have ever seen. Much better than the one built by the Mythbusters guys. Just follow this link and watch the movie!
RPM complains that it does not appear to actually do anything, but, who cares? The thing is so intricate! Think of it this way – this is a metaphor for a cell: the (circadian) clock sounds an alarm and as a result a large number of molecular interactions occur resulting, in the end, in the opening of the curtain an ion channel.
I have already mentioned here, here and here that a Rube-Goldberg machine is a better metaphor for the circadian mechanism than the Clock, but it is also a better metaphor for all things intracellular as well: one biochemical reaction leading to another, to another, to another….

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3 responses to “Rube-Goldberg Cascades of Molecular Reactions”

  1. Elia Diodati | April 23, 2007 at 10:59 am |

    No, this is the most awesome Rube Goldberg machine ever:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1kvdq8cRNBM
    Not only does it symbolically represent the major tourist attractions of Yokohama, it even cooks you a bowl of ramen!

  2. coturnix | April 23, 2007 at 11:08 am |

    Wow – that really is an amazing one!

  3. chezjake | April 23, 2007 at 11:27 pm |

    “a Rube-Goldberg machine is a better metaphor for the circadian mechanism than the Clock, but it is also a better metaphor for all things intracellular as well: one biochemical reaction leading to another, to another, to another….”
    I think all you pro-evolution folks should adopt and expand on this theme. If everything intracellular is Rube Goldberg, that should be pretty convincing evidence for random mutation and natural selection. I doubt that the ID folks would like to see their “intelligent designer” revealed to be Rube Goldberg.