Metabolic iteration, evolution and cognition in cellular proliferation.

A model for cellular proliferation is described according to which proliferation ensues when metabolism evolves towards commitment to DNA synthesis, and inhibition of proliferation occurs when enzymic interactions are iterated within a few metabolic pathways, another limiting factor being the supply of metabolites. The model successfully describes cellular growth and division as a 'cognitive process' based on interaction within enzymic elements and the genome, and affords an explanation in these terms of some empirical phenomena which have previously been understood only as isolated observations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]