Self-organization versus Watchmaker: stochastic dynamics of cellular organization

The cell, as a molecular system, is often interpreted in terms of complex clockworks, and the design charts of mechanical and electrical engineering are assumed to provide adequate approximations for the description of cellular organization. However, a growing body of experimental evidence obtained through the observation and analysis of real-time dynamics of fluorescently labeled molecules inside living cells is increasingly inconsistent with the classico-mechanistic perception of the cell. An overview of recent studies favors an emerging alternative image of the cell as a dynamic integrated system of interconnected and interdependent metastable molecular organizations realized through stochasticity and self-organization.