{"id":244516,"date":"2025-11-27T00:35:43","date_gmt":"2025-11-26T19:05:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/?p=244516"},"modified":"2025-12-04T00:16:54","modified_gmt":"2025-12-03T18:46:54","slug":"life-a-movie-directed-by-dna-produced-by-entropy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/life-a-movie-directed-by-dna-produced-by-entropy\/","title":{"rendered":"Life: A Movie Directed By DNA, Produced By Entropy"},"content":{"rendered":"

By <\/b>Gayan Sanjeewa<\/a> –<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"

Dr. Gayan Sanjeewa<\/p><\/div>\n

Have you ever wondered why a bee sacrifices its own life when it stings? This seemingly paradoxical act reveals profound truths about the forces that govern all living things.<\/p>\n

When a bee stings, its barbed stinger lodges in the skin of its target, causing the bee to die from the resulting injury. This seems paradoxical, doesn\u2019t it? Why would an animal evolve to commit suicide? Isn\u2019t evolution all about survival and reproduction? The answer to this question provides a profound insight into our own existence.<\/p>\n

This seemingly suicidal act is tied to the concept of kin selection, a form of natural selection that favors behaviors benefiting relatives. The death of a single worker bee is a small price to pay for the protection of the hive, which contains thousands of bees and the queen. The survival and reproduction of the queen and other hive members ensure that the genes of the bees are passed on to future generations.<\/p>\n

Servants of Our Genes<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

This phenomenon illustrates how we, as animals, have evolved to become servants of our genes. Our behaviors, consciousness, and emotions are fine-tuned by evolution for one purpose: to pass our genes on to the next generation. Thus, the reality we experience is like a movie projected by our consciousness to ensure our survival and reproduction.<\/p>\n

The Director: DNA<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

This movie of life is directed by DNA. Just as a movie director guides actors’ performances to align with the film’s vision, DNA guides our lives to align with the vision of life: passing our genes to the next generation. By continuously running this movie of life, DNA has successfully survived on this planet for about 3.5 billion years\u2014almost one-fourth of the age of the universe. This process has unfolded through the evolution of millions of species, evidenced by the remarkable genetic similarities across species, from bacteria to plants to dinosaurs to humans.<\/p>\n

The Producer: Entropy<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

But why would DNA want to direct this film? Who provides for this movie, and who profits from it? To answer these questions, we must turn to physics. The second law of thermodynamics states that the entropy of the universe always increases. Entropy, a measure of randomness or disorder, drives all spontaneous processes, including the flow of time. The universe has been transitioning from a highly ordered state (low entropy) after the Big Bang to a more disordered state (high entropy).<\/p>\n

Living organisms do not contradict this law. Although the formation of living organisms seems like a process of converting highly disordered molecules into a more organized system, life forms collectively increase entropy. We all get our energy from sunlight via photosynthesis. While animals don\u2019t photosynthesize, we obtain energy by consuming plants or animals that have. Ultimately, all living beings return energy to the universe as heat (infrared radiation), which has higher entropy than the absorbed visible light. Thus, living beings act as entropy-increasing machines. In this metaphor, entropy is the producer of our life movie, fueling the processes that drive our existence.<\/p>\n

Understanding the Plot<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Feeling a bit helpless? Don\u2019t be. There was a significant oversight by the director and producer: giving us the unique ability to understand the plot, the director, and the producer. Human curiosity and rationality have enabled us to unravel the mysteries of our existence to an extent unmatched by other species. Even our closest relatives, chimpanzees, who share more than 95% of our DNA, grasp nature at a level akin to a human toddler.<\/p>\n

Rewriting the Script<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

So, next time you find yourself caught in petty conflicts or overwhelmed by negative emotions, remember: our lives are directed by DNA and powered by entropy. But crucially, we have the power to rewrite our scenes and make the world a better place for everyone.<\/p>\n

In the grand production of life, we may be actors following a script written by our genes and fueled by the universe\u2019s drive toward high entropy. Yet, with our understanding and creativity, we hold the potential to direct this movie of life ourselves.<\/p>\n

*Dr. Gayan Sanjeewa – is currently a Principal Scientist at a biotechnology company in the USA, with a Ph.D. in Biochemistry and postdoctoral training at Yale University<\/i><\/b><\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[…]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3067,"featured_media":214311,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,46,8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-244516","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-colombotelegraph","category-constitutional-reforms","category-editorial"],"yoast_head":"\nLife: A Movie Directed By DNA, Produced By Entropy - Colombo Telegraph<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/life-a-movie-directed-by-dna-produced-by-entropy\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Life: A Movie Directed By DNA, Produced By Entropy - Colombo Telegraph\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"[…]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/life-a-movie-directed-by-dna-produced-by-entropy\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Colombo Telegraph\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-11-26T19:05:43+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-12-03T18:46:54+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Human-trafficking.jpeg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"705\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"424\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Gayan Sanjeewa\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Gayan Sanjeewa\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/life-a-movie-directed-by-dna-produced-by-entropy\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/life-a-movie-directed-by-dna-produced-by-entropy\/\",\"name\":\"Life: A Movie Directed By DNA, Produced By Entropy - Colombo Telegraph\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/life-a-movie-directed-by-dna-produced-by-entropy\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/life-a-movie-directed-by-dna-produced-by-entropy\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Human-trafficking.jpeg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-11-26T19:05:43+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-12-03T18:46:54+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/#\/schema\/person\/c6d6dc4e19f385dcd15a57685ab706ee\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/life-a-movie-directed-by-dna-produced-by-entropy\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/life-a-movie-directed-by-dna-produced-by-entropy\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/life-a-movie-directed-by-dna-produced-by-entropy\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Human-trafficking.jpeg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Human-trafficking.jpeg\",\"width\":705,\"height\":424},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/life-a-movie-directed-by-dna-produced-by-entropy\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Life: A Movie Directed By DNA, Produced By Entropy\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/\",\"name\":\"Colombo Telegraph\",\"description\":\"In journalism truth is a process\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/#\/schema\/person\/c6d6dc4e19f385dcd15a57685ab706ee\",\"name\":\"Gayan Sanjeewa\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5e2df86517f2371269ebb77fe54c23a8228827d53c4377c739f7b607ae71929b?s=96&d=identicon&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5e2df86517f2371269ebb77fe54c23a8228827d53c4377c739f7b607ae71929b?s=96&d=identicon&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Gayan Sanjeewa\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/author\/gaysan\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Life: A Movie Directed By DNA, Produced By Entropy - Colombo Telegraph","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/life-a-movie-directed-by-dna-produced-by-entropy\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Life: A Movie Directed By DNA, Produced By Entropy - Colombo Telegraph","og_description":"[…]","og_url":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/life-a-movie-directed-by-dna-produced-by-entropy\/","og_site_name":"Colombo Telegraph","article_published_time":"2025-11-26T19:05:43+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-12-03T18:46:54+00:00","og_image":[{"width":705,"height":424,"url":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Human-trafficking.jpeg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Gayan Sanjeewa","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Gayan Sanjeewa","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/life-a-movie-directed-by-dna-produced-by-entropy\/","url":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/life-a-movie-directed-by-dna-produced-by-entropy\/","name":"Life: A Movie Directed By DNA, Produced By Entropy - Colombo Telegraph","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/life-a-movie-directed-by-dna-produced-by-entropy\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/life-a-movie-directed-by-dna-produced-by-entropy\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Human-trafficking.jpeg","datePublished":"2025-11-26T19:05:43+00:00","dateModified":"2025-12-03T18:46:54+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/#\/schema\/person\/c6d6dc4e19f385dcd15a57685ab706ee"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/life-a-movie-directed-by-dna-produced-by-entropy\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/life-a-movie-directed-by-dna-produced-by-entropy\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/life-a-movie-directed-by-dna-produced-by-entropy\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Human-trafficking.jpeg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Human-trafficking.jpeg","width":705,"height":424},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/life-a-movie-directed-by-dna-produced-by-entropy\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Life: A Movie Directed By DNA, Produced By Entropy"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/","name":"Colombo Telegraph","description":"In journalism truth is a process","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/#\/schema\/person\/c6d6dc4e19f385dcd15a57685ab706ee","name":"Gayan Sanjeewa","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5e2df86517f2371269ebb77fe54c23a8228827d53c4377c739f7b607ae71929b?s=96&d=identicon&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5e2df86517f2371269ebb77fe54c23a8228827d53c4377c739f7b607ae71929b?s=96&d=identicon&r=g","caption":"Gayan Sanjeewa"},"url":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/author\/gaysan\/"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Human-trafficking.jpeg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/244516","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3067"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=244516"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/244516\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":244520,"href":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/244516\/revisions\/244520"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/214311"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=244516"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=244516"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=244516"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}