Cells: Are they learning machines?
Human beings are extremely good learners. In fact, A students are the ones who learn better than others, and are feted.
You soak in information. It forms memories and ideas in the brain. Then you apply what you know.
But is learning limited to the brain? What exactly does it mean to learn, anyway?
The dictionary defines learning as acquiring new knowledge, information, or values. Humans, animals and some plants possess this capability.
For the longest time, people believed that learning occurred in the brain. Our senses processed and delivered information to the brain, which then created pattern recognition.
Our neural cells learned.
Scientists have now discovered that non-neural cells in our body learn, too.
The simplest form of learning would be taking in nutrition and water. But this process is mechanical. The cells do not need prior knowledge. Allow me to illustrate.
A balloon filled with air will fly away if you let go of the string. It does not require knowledge to do so. It is simply physics at play.
In the same way, a cell does not need to “know” to take in water or food.
But we are talking about something far more sophisticated. The capacity of the cell to remember a pattern and then act exactly as per the pattern.
That is what scientists have discovered.
For example, immune cells adapt and “remember” pathogens, enabling faster and more effective responses in subsequent encounters.
Similarly, skin cells respond to repeated stress, producing thicker protective layers. These processes go beyond simple reactions; they involve memory, adaptation, and precision.
It shows that intelligence is not confined to the brain.
We have only scratched the surface of this phenomenon. We are still unclear about the purpose and how the body uses these cellular learning machines.
But our health and ability to live are driven by far more complex processes than we understand.
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