The epistemic paradox of mind and matter.

The attempt to posit independent mind and matter results in an unavoidable circularity. We propose to accept this circularity and then explore the steps from the various "constructs" of matter to those biological structures associated with mind. This enables us to explore the hierarchical levels of emergence that take us from the periodic table of the elements to consciousness as it develops in the evolutionary radiation. The possibility of undiscovered principles of the same epistemological status as the Pauli exclusion principle is discussed.

Spontaneous use of magnitude discrimination and ordination by the orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus).

The ability to discriminate quantity is descriptive of general cognitive ability. In this study, the authors presented 2 orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus) with a quantity judgment task. Each trial consisted of 2 choices, ranging from 1 to 6 food items in each. The orangutan chose 1 of the quantities, which was removed, and the remaining array was given as a reward. In contrast to chimpanzees previously tested on the same task (S. T. Boysen & G. G. Berntson, 1995; S. T. Boysen, G. G. Berntson, M. B. Hannan, & J. T. Cacioppo, 1996; S. T. Boysen, K. L. Mukobi, & G. G. Berntson, 1999), the orangutans optimized their performance. Orangutans, therefore, attend to differences in magnitude and can spontaneously use ordinality. Results also suggest a cognitive difference between chimpanzees and orangutans.

The origin of intermediary metabolism.

The core of intermediary metabolism in autotrophs is the citric acid cycle. In a certain group of chemoautotrophs, the reductive citric acid cycle is an engine of synthesis, taking in CO(2) and synthesizing the molecules of the cycle. We have examined the chemistry of a model system of C, H, and O that starts with carbon dioxide and reductants and uses redox couples as the energy source. To inquire into the reaction networks that might emerge, we start with the largest available database of organic molecules, Beilstein on-line, and prune by a set of physical and chemical constraints applicable to the model system. From the 3.5 million entries in Beilstein we emerge with 153 molecules that contain all 11 members of the reductive citric acid cycle. A small number of selection rules generates a very constrained subset, suggesting that this is the type of reaction model that will prove useful in the study of biogenesis. The model indicates that the metabolism shown in the universal chart of pathways may be central to the origin of life, is emergent from organic chemistry, and may be unique.

The synthesis of glutamic acid in the absence of enzymes: implications for biogenesis.

This paper reports on the non-enzymatic aqueous phase synthesis of amino acids from keto acids, ammonia and reducing agents. The facile synthesis of key metabolic intermediates, particularly in the glycolytic pathway, the citric acid cycle, and the first step of amino acid synthesis, lead to new ways of looking at the problem of biogenesis.