The biology
The lac operon is the founding story of gene regulation. A repressor protein binds the operator and blocks the polymerase; when lactose appears, its product binds the repressor and lets go, and the genes for using lactose are transcribed. Positive control adds a gate: CRP·cAMP activates the promoter, and cAMP is high only when glucose is scarce — so lac is fully on only when lactose is present and glucose absent. Repressor bound at two operators at once loops the DNA, tightening the lock.
The first switch on the address
Here is the first Τ-switch — a gate that decides whether a stretch of the address is read. A regulator acts on one operon, not on all genes alike, so it is a way of choosing which coordinate is expressed and when. The DNA loop is the field folding the address so that one site controls another across a distance; the two-signal logic (lactose and glucose) is a coordinate read only under the right conditions of the register.
Where this departs from current science
| Current science says | The Force of Time says |
|---|---|
| The operon is a biochemical feedback circuit. | It is the first Τ-switch — a conditional gate on which part of the address is read. |
| DNA looping is protein-mediated cooperativity. | It is the field folding the address so one site governs another across a distance. |
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This paper, and any information drawn from it, may be used freely provided the reference attribution to Stephen Daubney and The Daubney Foundation is recognised.