finding

active

finding:tadpoles-with-scrambled-craniofacial-organ-positions-picasso-tadpoles-develop-into-largely-normal-frogs

Tadpoles with scrambled craniofacial organ positions (Picasso tadpoles) develop into largely normal frogs.

When eyes, nostrils, and jaws were mispositioned, they moved via novel trajectories and stopped upon reaching correct frog face positions, demonstrating anatomical homeostasis.

Source paper

extracted_from

Technological Approach to Mind Everywhere: An Experimentally-Grounded Framework for Understanding Diverse Bodies and Minds

(2022) · Levin, Michael

Neighborhood — ranked by edge-count

Claims (3)

claim

Morphogenesis is an example of basal cognition, a collective intelligence of cells navigating morphospace.
supports
Asserts that developmental biology can be understood through the lens of problem-solving and cognitive concepts.
Morphogenesis is a result of collective activity where cells cooperate toward a specific, invariant target morphology, exhibiting goal-directedness.
supports
Frames developmental biology as an instance of basal cognition.
Morphogenesis is an example of collective intelligence and goal-directed activity.
supports
Cells work together to build structures in a context-dependent manner, meeting James' test of 'fixed ends with varying means'.

Communities (3)

community

Bioelectric morphogenesis & anatomical intelligence
members_of
Levin-led research showing bioelectric signals encode and control anatomical goal states in living systems.
Bioelectric morphogenesis & memory
members_of
Michael Levin's research on bioelectric signaling controlling anatomical goals, regeneration, and cancer.
Bioelectric code and anatomical goal-setting
members_of
Xenopus studies showing ion channel patterns direct cell collectives toward specific anatomical outcomes independent of genetic or positional cues, led by Michael Levin.

Concepts (1)

concept

Anatomical Homeostasis
supports
Ability of organisms to adjust anatomy despite injury or rearrangement; demonstrates collective problem-solving in morphospace.

Related by similarity (8)

cosine ≥ 0.65 · no typed edge

Entities in the same semantic neighborhood but without a typed relation to this one — candidates for new edges or unrecognized duplicates.

Tadpoles with displaced craniofacial organs can still develop normal face through organ movement.finding0.884
From Vandenberg et al. (2012) and Pinet et al. (2019), reveals regulative morphogenesis.
Developing Xenopus tadpoles can attain normal anatomical outcome despite starting with craniofacial organs scrambled or with wrong number of cells.finding0.871
Evidence of morphogenetic problem-solving and anatomical homeostasis across serious perturbations; demonstrates collective intelligence in development.
Xenopus tadpoles with scrambled craniofacial structures rearrange to form normal frog faces.finding0.871
From Vandenberg et al. 2012; demonstrates anatomical homeostasis beyond hardwired movements.
Tadpoles achieve normal frog faces despite organ misplacementfinding0.859
Empirical example of regulative development: when craniofacial organs are positioned abnormally, they reposition via non-natural paths until correct frog face is achieved.
Xenopus tadpole craniofacial organs rearrange toward a specific target morphology of a frog regardless of starting configuration, demonstrating goal-directed anatomical homeostasis.finding0.833
Evidence for multi-scale competency: morphological goal-seeking independent of initial conditions
Vandenberg et al. 2012 normalized craniofacial morphology in perturbed Xenopus tadpolesconcept0.807
Cited as evidence for anatomical goal-directedness regardless of starting configuration
Tadpoles with eyes transplanted to tail location perform visual learning tasks normally despite altered sensory anatomy.finding0.800
Evidence of neural plasticity; demonstrates mind's independence from specific body layout.
Tadpoles with ectopic eyes on their tails can see out of them, demonstrating radical functional plasticity without evolutionary adaptation.claim0.796
Example of innate problem-solving capacity.