radiolaria - Marum

Radiolaria 14 Bibliography - 1990
That applies to many aspects of life equally applies to
architecture: although a building may be planned as perfectly as
humanly possible, it will always feature a certain degree of selforganisation,
self-generation and self-formation which cannot be
prevented by the planners. This starts with the initial design sketch,
continues through the building phase and ends in the utilisation of
the building. The concept that a building can be totally planned is
nowadays regarded as an unrealistic ideal.
A different train of thought is, however, gaining in importance:
if processes of self-generation and self-organisation are
unavoidable, the designing architect should at least recognise and
exploit them, if possible. Processes of self-generation, be it physical
processes or the actions of the users of a building, may well produce
better solutions than an individual designer/planner. The degree of
self-generation and also of accidence can vary greatly in
architecture and town planning. On the one hand we find completely
unplanned self-forming networks of paths in spontaneously formed
structures of settlements, while on the other hand we have the
'perfectly' designed headquarters of a bank in which nothing is left
to self-organisation or chance.
Those experiments which began after the war and were in
principle of a physical nature, should be regarded as part of the
research into processes of self-generation. These experiments were
looking for effective for-s for vaults, grid shells, cable and
membrane structures such as tents and airhouses (pneumatics) by
using chains, rubber threads, coil springs, soap film models as well
as tulle fabric models. In 1961 the biologist HELMCKE pointed out to
his fellow researchers and especially to architects that in biology
processes of self-generation appear -in conjunction with genetically
controlled reproduction- to play a part which cannot be ignored. He
attempted to furnish proof of this theory by using the bubbly/foamy
structures of diatom shells whose particular arrangement can
evidently be explained only by self-organisation. He discovered that
new findings in the fields of architecture (i.e.. lightweight building
construction) and aeroplane construction could be used to explain
this type of self-organisation.
It was in fact the experimental results gained from the minimal
surfaces of soap films and the experience gained with a number of
buildings based on these experiments, which planed the way for the
interpretation of forms, structures and textures found in living
natures. It was mainly the processes of self-organisation of liquid
droplets, bubbles and films which had to be applied to other fields. It
was furthermore observed that fibre structures can form inside
bubbles and that these structures are capable of hardening either by
bonding of the fibres or by forming hard substances. It was also
found that a different process of self-generation found in inanimate
nature, i.e.. that of crystallisation, applies only rarely to living nature
where it appears to disturb the production process of living
organisms because the structural forms of the crystals
fundamentally differ from that of bubbles and membranes. For this
reason the siliceous skeletons of diatoms and Radiolaria are not
crystalline but rather comparable to amorphous quartz or window
glass with similar strength characteristics, although they are not the
product of a hot melting process but rather the result of a cold
process which we have been unable to emulate so far.
HELMCKE's theory of the effect of self-generation not
controlled by genetics, which was largely influenced by the study of
HAECKEL's drawings and the publications by D'Arcy W. THOMPSON,
proved very instructive to those familiar with membrane and net
structures, tents, pneumatics and airhouses, and multibated their
researches in which Klaus BACH participated intensively.
It was shown that an infinitely large number forms can be
explained by processes of selfgeneration which occur abiotically. To
start with there is the self-organisation of bubbles in various
numbers, sizes and internal pressures. If fibre structures are added
to this and if these fibres are allowed to bond to each other or to be
made rigid by hardening substances, any biological form can be
explained. The result cannot be -and never has been- to declare our
knowledge of genetically based production and reproduction and of
the growth of organisms to be invalid. This knowledge is simply
extended by the knowledge of abiotic processes of self-generation.
It should be noted in passing that there are still biologists, even
amongst radiolarian researchers, who are not familiar with the full
extent of the abiotic processes of self-generation in question -partly
because these findings have been published only recently- and who
continue to adhere to the opinion that the forms of the organisms
and particularly the distinguishing features of the species are either
exclusively or largely genetically predetermined and who regard the
formation of Radiolaria as unequivocally genetically coded.
In all the studies of the past years on which, among others,
Klaus BACH reports in his dissertation, two questions have been of
interest within IL and the Special Research Project 230:
1. If a large number of forms, structures and natural objects
can also be generated abiotically, where does genetic planning start
without which the generation of species and the phenomenon of
- 49 -
inheritance cannot be explained? The initially hypothetical answer to
this question was quickly found for the 'soft' organisms: If there are
no hard components and the organisms consist only of closed soft
vessels (pneumatics), the abiotically generated bubble forms are not
sufficient to explain more complex organisms and one has to add the
linking mechanisms of the fibrous nets in the membrane or the
interior of the pneumatic as well as the processes of change and
growth caused by the varying internal pressure. It is only at this
point that the shape can be determined, and
2. How did the skeletons consisting of hard substances form?
In this area again there are only some ideas which may be regarded
as a preliminary answer. There are still some insurmountable
problems. The form-generating fibre skeletons of the soft organisms
can be very fine and may consist only of elongated large molecules
which are two-dimensionally or three-dimensionally linked and have
an adequate tensile strength. Such molecules have not been fount
to-date even by the use of electron microscopes. They can be
recognised only by means of their effect on the shape of the objects.
They can, however, be detected if they occur in the form of bundles.
Such bundles have been verificated in large numbers (e.g.
cytoskeletons).
If the production of Radiolaria with hard skeletons initially
requires a soft 'youth form' -such a form could hardly be caught or
observed since it almost entirely consists of water the following
strong suspicion emerges: the hard skeleton is merely the hardened
bubble or the fibre net formed by the bubble which develops into a
hard skeleton by the ingress of siliceous substance which
subsequently hardens. From this we conclude that the "soft young
skeleton" consisting of bubbles and fibres, is tensioned by the
internal pressure. It can expand and grow. The subsequent hardening
'freezes' the expanded or tensioned status. ~e also believe that the
hardening of the siliceous mass in the cold state can be possible
only in the presence of organic fibres. If the theory is correct -which
ought to be assumed, not least because of the author's study the
siliceous skeleton of Radiolaria (and diatoms) is identical to the soft
'young' skeleton under tensile stress which cannot be observed. As
shown by the more recent light microscopic images produced by
KAGE's, the hard skeleton appears to be only a part of this young
skeleton and is most frequently found in the interior of the living
radiolarian cell.
What are the functions of the hard skeletons? So far we have
not found any conclusive evidence. Perhaps the skeleton provides
protection against predators making the Radiolaria unpalatable and
not easily digestible. It should, however, be noted that the hard
skeleton allows the internal pressure in the cell to be lowered and
even to become negative, at least for a short period. KAGE's films on
acantharia seem to suggest this. The partial vacuum may facilitate
the ingestion of food and water. I hope that the book produced by the
two authors will provide a basis for many discussions between
architects, engineers and biologists, which will continue the theme of
"form-generating processes".
Hori, R. 1990. Lower Jurassic Radiolarian Zones of SW
Japan. Trans. Proc. palaeont. Soc. Japan, n. Ser., 159, 562-
586.
Four Lower Jurassic radiolarian assemblage-zones and four
subzones are established on the basis of radiolarian biostratigraphic
data from the Inuyama and three other areas of SW Japan. These
zones are as follows in ascending order: the Parahsuum simplum
(divided into Subzone I to IV), Mesosaturnalis hexagonus (newly
proposed), Parahsuum (?) grande and Hsuum hisuikyoense
Assemblage-zones. These zones range in age from latest
Triassic/earliest Jurassic (Rhaetian/Hettangian ?) to early Middle
Jurassic (Bajocian). This age assignment is based on comparison
with Early to Middle Jurassic radiolarian biostratigraphy established
in North America and Turkey.
Ishiga, H. 1990a. Paleozoic radiolarians. In: Pre-
Cretaceous Terranes of Japan. Publication of IGCP Project
No. 224: Pre-Jurassic Evolution of Eastern Asia. (Ichikawa,
K., Mizutani, S., Hara, I., Hada, S. & Yao, A., Eds.). IGCP
Project 224, Osaka, Japan. pp. 285-295.
Study of Paleozoic radiolarians, especially, late Carboniferous
through Permian radiolarian biostratigraphy of Japan has been much
improved during these several years (see Ishiga, 1986b). However,
reports on Middle to Early Paleozoic radiolarians have been less
common in Japan, for rocks of those ages are restricted to narrow
tectonic belts. This paper summarizes the recent results on the
examination of Middle to Late Paleozoic radiolarian biostratigraphy
and provinciality of Late Permian radiolarian assemblages in
Southwest Japan.
Ishiga, H. 1990b. Radiolarians from the Gympie Province,
eastern Australia. In: Proceeding of the Pacific Rim Congres
1990. Eds.), vol. 3. Aust. Inst. Min. Metal., pp. 187-189.