what are some of the benefits of squeezing so much data into virtually every cell in the body?

Answer 1

The embryo must have all that data, because every cell in the organism must descend from it. I don't think there is any advantage of a differentiated cell having all the data. A skin cell, for instance, will never use the genes that code liver enzymes unless something goes terribly wrong(cancer). The reason it contains this data is no mechanism exists to eliminate genes from the differentiated cells. Instead the genes that the cells will not use are deactivated by DNA methylation. It is an arrangement of convinience.

Answer 2

It sure would help to know where we're going with this. I hate short questions, no offence. Well, like people, it's good to be all on the same page. Would you like to respond to instructions you didn't have enough information to follow. At least some cells can become bone, muscle or fat cells depending. It helps if we all speak English with all it's words and we're only three hundred million plus. The cells all belong to one country, speak one language and number in the multi trillions. What if each had a vocabulary peculiar to each group? How would they relate? Sort of what we have in the world today. See the results? The body is very complicated and a cell has, I think billions of receptor cells to receive data. It also has to know what not to do. Each organ communicates with every other one and with the brain. Do you want ignorant workers? The brain is much more complex than our thinking at one time. For instance it is a million times faster than our thinking. Our thinking is only the information it feeds us or we request. And we ignore our thoughts when they're all there for a good reason and we should pay them attention. They have to communicate with us also. Attention to our thoughts, dreams, intuition, feelings and any other signals and five senses. The more we know the better. It's the same with the cells, but what they do in a way is more complex than what we do. The machines we make are even more complex then what one person could do so society is like a body also, except we foolishly don't get along. Is it we aren't too bright? Cells don't have that luxury. We don't either. really. Let's hope we learn from the cell. What it does is the truth we search for. It's truth and philosophy in action, our guide. It's a two way street, we guide each other.