MM6

It follows the 2nd law of thermodynamics (and the 1st law). As energy passes from one organism to another energy is transformed into free energy and heat. Free energy can be used by the organism in metabolic processes. Heat escapes the organism/system, and thus the entropy of the universe increases, as it always must. Therefore, the total free energy into a system (organism) is always more than what comes out.

Hey STP, My reply is late, but here's a good summary article: Neuroscience vs Philosophy: Taking Aim at Free Will. http://www.nature.com/news/2011/110831/full/477023a.html It's still our brain/us, so yes we are responsible for our decisions, but what irks people is that we may not be aware of our decision-making at the time it's made, like digesting today's breakfast and then commenting that you decided to make your digestive system do that.

Plus or minus a few million years is monumental when you consider Moore's Law and other models of technological growth. That's like us now vs Australopithecus.

That's amazing.

You should google neuroscience and free will. There is a good amount of research supporting the rather new hypothesis that we don't have free will, as we have conventionally thought of it. Our brain makes actions and decisions fractions of second before we are aware of the decision needing to be made. It seems our consciousness is an overlay on these unconscious decisions, which relates to this "cognitive narrative" explaination you cited. Fascinating.

Electrons and protons do have inertia because they have mass.

They already exist and have and will exist regardless of time. Infinite universes to encompass infinite possibilities, thereby deleting the need for the Copenhagen model.

You've answered your own question. There's motion because there is energy, which as you said, causes change (motion). That's it.

It increases attention by stimulating the anterior cingulate cortex. A negative effect is vasoconstriction. It increases heart rate, which can be good or bad, depending on the context. That's just off the top of my head. A simple list of effects should be easy to access with an internet search.

RE your second sentence: I don't know where you read that or what you read, but that's just so wrong, it's nonsensical. I'm just describing basic biology.

Organelles need to be recycled if there are too many of a given type at a given time. Also, the proteins, fats, and carbohydrates that compose the organelles become defective through wear and tear: exposure to various chemical reactions (enzymes, free radicals, etc), defects due to changes in pH and temperature, physical trauma. Atoms are in constant flux across the cell membrane due to concentration gradients (and active transport processes). A cell is not a closed system, it's that simple. It leaks.

No. The cell continuously imports and exports matter.

The same genes that give rise to our intelligence and capacity for independent thought by extension allow for hedonism, excessive risk taking, suicidal acts, use of contraceptives, charm, seduction, the suite of human behaviors. But on the whole there's a positive selective pressure for these genes even if it means some members of the population directly or indirectly subvert the propagation of their own genes.

Your scientific analysis is valid. But it's far too soon to write yourself off. You have another 50 years of reproductive fitness.

I recently heard about a species of worm that ingests and incorporates algal chloroplasts. Very cool and unusual. http://conspiracyfactory.blogspot.com/2007/09/horizontal-transfer-makes-worms.html