In considerations of cell architecture we accept the idea that the innate properties of molecules in particular environments lead to their self-assembly into stable, oriented, three-dimensional objects (Kirschner and Mitchison, 1986; Lazarides, 1987). On a larger scale, we also accept the notion that inherited properties of cells lead to their three-dimensional orientation in tissues: one can imagine a complete causal chain between a nucleic acid sequence and the expression of a cell surface glycoprotein, for example. Between the two, there are patterns of cell components with arrangements that are often thought of as being random, more influenced by external forces than by antecedent patterns, with only a statistical probability defining the details of their position. The following observations suggest that there may be more room for determinism in this in-between realm than we may have thought. They support the idea that some intracellular patterns are not only...

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