Thoughtforms Life “The Unreasonable Effectiveness of the Behavioral Sciences in Developmental Biology and Biomedicine”
Dec 11, 2025
Michael Levin, a renowned professor in developmental biology, explores fascinating intersections of behavioral science and bioelectricity. He discusses agential cells and goal-directed regeneration, revealing how living systems elegantly adapt. Levin showcases eye-building techniques via remote bioelectric signals and introduces innovative creatures like xenobots. He also touches on the ethical ramifications of interfacing with diverse intelligences, emphasizing the need for a responsible future in bioengineering. Expect mind-bending insights that redefine life and intelligence.
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Two-Headed Planaria Store Bioelectric Memory
- Reprogramming planarian bioelectrics produced stable two-headed worms that retained the new anatomy across cuts.
- The altered body plan persisted as a rewritable pattern memory independent of genomic changes.
Tissues Maintain Counterfactual Pattern Memories
- Pattern memories are counterfactual: tissues store alternative target anatomies as bioelectric attractors.
- Levin compares this to neural memory: stable, rewritable encodings guide future regenerative outcomes.
Molecular Networks Can Learn
- Molecular networks can implement basic learning rules like habituation and associative conditioning without special proteins.
- Levin argues such learning at molecular and cellular scales underlies adaptive morphogenetic behavior.