The improbable event of spontaneous cell rejuvenation

Abstract

Unlike most other laws of nature, the second law of thermodynamics is of a statistical nature, according to Boltzmann, meaning that its reliability arises from the vast number of particles present in macroscopic systems. This means that such systems will lead towards their most likely state, that is, the one with the most homogeneous probability distribution. However, Boltzmann states that entropy-decreasing processes can occur (without doing any work) - it is just very improbable. It is therefore not impossible, in principle, for all 6 x 10^23 atoms in a mole of a gas to spontaneously move to one half of a container; it is only fantastically unlikely. A similar idea has here been applied to a human cell. All somatic cells seem to age and deteriorate in unfavorable conditions. If the ageing process is defined as the accumulation of dysfunctional polymers resulting from, among other things, chemical bond breakage, where polymers aggregate into harmful arrangements, spreading out randomly in the cell and leading to an altered function, then it also applies that there will be a difference in entropy between, for instance, a 20-year old individual and the same individual at age 80. The goal of this article is to demonstrate that the second law does not tell us that the cell necessarily must go toward a high entropy state and stay that way but that it is possible - according to statistical mechanics - for an old cell to experience a return to a younger state. We find the probability of this spontaneous return to a more ordered state to be expressed by P = 10^(-202)^(-889). In spite of this number, it does show that a reversal of the ageing process is not prohibited by nature. There is a theoretical possibility of rejuvenation. Whether this will ever become a practical reality is another matter.