Although ecological processes have incorporated spontaneous chemico-physical processes resulting from stochastic interac- tions of molecules, biology has traditionally been interpreted through deterministic frameworks emphasizing ordered molecular interactions, tightly regulated enzymatic pathways, and hierarchical control mechanisms. However, increasing evidence across bioenergetics, bio-signaling, immuno/mechano/electro-physiology, xenobiotic metabolism, etc. indicates that stochastic, (non) equilibrium processes play a decisive role in shaping biological outcomes. Murburn concept, which posits that several life pro- cesses are also fundamentally driven by probabilistic interactions involving molecules, ions, radicals, and radiation, offers a unifying framework for understanding these phenomena. Originally developed to explain bioenergetic and metabolic processes, murburn principles naturally extend to ecological and biodiversity dynamics. This essay explores how murburn processes in- fluence ecosystem-level turnover, elemental cycling, biodiversity generation, and ecological integration, arguing that murburn chemistry represents a foundational principle linking molecular randomness to macroscopic ecological order and evolution thereof. Further, I also present (i) a short snapshot of the various serious citations over the last several years on murburn, and (ii) discuss the ways to advance the research and outreach prospects of murburn concept. Biomed Rev 2025; 36: 17-29
Manoj KM. Chlorinations catalyzed by chloroperoxidase occur via diffusible intermediate (s) and the reaction components play multiple roles in the overall process. Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA)-Proteins & Pro- teomics 2006 Aug, 1764, 1325-1339. DOI: 10.1016/j. bbapap.2006.05.012
Manoj KM. The ubiquitous biochemical logic of murburn concept. Biomedical Reviews (2018). 29: 89-97. DOI: 10.14748/bmr.v29.5854
Manoj KM, Parashar A, Gade SK, Venkatachalam A. Functioning of Microsomal Cytochrome P450s: Murburn Concept Explains the Metabolism of Xenobiotics in Hepatocytes. Front Pharmacol. 2016 Jun 23;7:161. doi: 10.3389/fphar.2016.00161.
Manoj KM. Debunking chemiosmosis and proposing murburn concept as the operative principle for cellular respiration. Biomedical Reviews 2017, 28, 31-48. DOI: 10.14748/bmr.v28.4450
Parashar A, Gideon DA, Manoj KM. Mur- burn Concept: A Molecular Explanation for Hor- metic and Idiosyncratic Dose Responses. Dose Re- sponse. 2018 May 9;16(2):1559325818774421. doi: 10.1177/1559325818774421.
Manoj KM, Gideon DA, and Jacob VD. Murburn scheme for mitochondrial thermogenesis. Biomedical Reviews 2018. 29: 73-82. DOI: 10.14748/bmr.v29.5852
Jacob VD, Manoj KM. Are adipocytes and ROS villains, or are they protagonists in the drama of life? The murburn perspective. Adipobiology 2019, 10, 7-16. DOI: 10.14748/ adipo.v10.6534
Manoj KM, Parashar A, David Jacob V, Ra- masamy S. Aerobic respiration: proof of concept for the oxygen-centric murburn perspective. J Bio- mol Struct Dyn. 2019 Oct;37(17):4542-4556. doi: 10.1080/07391102.2018.1552896.
Manoj KM, Soman V. Classical and murburn explanations for acute toxicity of cyanide in aerobic respiration: A per- sonal perspective. Toxicology. 2020 Feb 28;432:152369. doi: 10.1016/j.tox.2020.152369.
Manoj KM, Jacob VD. Murburn precepts for photorecep- tion. Biomdical Reviews 2020, 31:67-74. DOI: 10.14748/ bmr.v31.7706
Parashar A, Jacob VD, Gideon DA, Manoj KM. Hemo- globin catalyzes ATP-synthesis in human erythrocytes: a murburn model. J Biomol Struct Dyn. 2021 May 17:1-13. doi: 10.1080/07391102.2021.1925592.
Manoj KM, Bazhin NM, Jacob VD, Parashar A, Gideon DA, Manekkathodi A. Structure-function correlations and system dynamics in oxygenic photosynthesis: classical perspectives and murburn precepts. J Biomol Struct Dyn. 2021 Jul 29:1-27. doi: 10.1080/07391102.2021.1953606.
Manoj KM and Manekkathodi A. Light’s interaction with pigments in chloroplasts: The murburn perspective. Journal of Photochemistry and Photobiology 2021, 5: 100015. DOI: 10.1080/07391102.2020.1835715
Manoj KM, Bazhin NM. The murburn precepts for aero- bic respiration and redox homeostasis. Prog Biophys Mol Biol. 2021 Dec;167:104-120. doi: 10.1016/j.pbio- molbio.2021.05.010.
Manoj KM, Bazhin N, Tamagawa H. The murburn pre- cepts for cellular ionic homeostasis and electrophysi- ology. J Cell Physiol. 2022 Jan;237(1):804-814. doi: 10.1002/jcp.30547.
Manoj KM, Nirusimhan V, Parashar A, Edward J, Gide- on DA. Murburn precepts for lactic-acidosis, Cori cy- cle, and Warburg effect: Interactive dynamics of dehy- drogenases, protons, and oxygen. J Cell Physiol. 2022 Mar;237(3):1902-1922. doi: 10.1002/jcp.30661.
Manoj KM, Tamagawa H, Bazhin N, Jaeken L, Nirusim- han V, Faraci F, Gideon DA. Murburn model of vision: Precepts and proof of concept. J Cell Physiol. 2022 Aug;237(8):3338-3355. doi: 10.1002/jcp.30786.
Manoj KM, Gideon DA, Bazhin NM, Tamagawa H, Nirusimhan V, Kavdia M, Jaeken L. Na,K-ATPase: A murzyme facilitating thermodynamic equilibriums at the membrane-interface. Journal of Cellular Physiology 2022. DOI: 10.1002/jcp.30925
Manoj KM. Murburn post-translational modifications of proteins: Cellular redox processes and murzyme-mediat- ed metabolo-proteomics. Journal of Cellular Physiology 2022, 239, e30954.
Manoj KM, et al. Questioning physiological rotary functionality in bacterial flagellar system and propos- ing a murburn model for motility. Journal of Biomo- lecular Structure and Dynamics 2023, 41, 15691. doi: 10.1080/07391102.2023.2191146
Manoj KM, Jaeken L Synthesis of theories on cellular powering, coherence, homeostasis and electro-mechan- ics: Murburn concept & evolutionary perspectives. Jour- nal of Cellular Physiology 2023, 238, 931. doi: 10.1002/ jcp.31000
Manoj KM, et al. Murburn concept in cellular function and bioenergetics, Part 1: Understanding murzymes at the molecular level. AIP Advances 2023, 13, 120702.
Manoj KM, et al. Murburn concept in cellular function and bioenergetics, Part 2: Understanding integrations- translations from molecular to macroscopic levels. AIP Advances 2023, 13, 120701.
Manoj KM. Murburn concept and biological intelligence at the cusp of 2025: Sensitivity to sensibility, sensuality to sexu-ality, cybernetics to cyborg-bionics, and more! Biomedical Reviews 2024, 35, 1-27.
Jaeken L, Manoj KM. Murburn Bioenergetics and “Ori- gins-Sustenance-Termination-Evolution of Life”: Emer- gence of Intelligence from a Network of Molecules, Un- bound Ions, Radicals and Radiations. Int J Mol Sci. 2025 Aug 5;26(15):7542. doi: 10.3390/ijms26157542.
Manoj et al. Quantitative treatments for explaining the
mechanism and kinetics of catalytic electron-transfers in murburn processes, particularly involving heme- enzymes like (per)oxidases and P450s. Accepted in Biomed Research International 2025 (Article DOI: 10.1155/bmri/3079294)
Algorithmic identification of murzymes and murburn mechanisms based on structural, theoretical, experimen- tal and generic features. Accepted in Biomed Research International 2025 (Article DOI: 10.1155/bmri/2577941)
Zhang, Y., Chen, X., Wang, M., et al. Nrf1 as determi- nant of redox homeostasis. Cell Stress 2025, 9, 65–142.
Yuan, H., Liu, J., Xu, R., et al. Spatiotemporal heteroge- neity of ROS in hepatitis-driven carcinogenesis. Cell & Molecular Biology Letters 2025, 30(1), 70.
Francati, S., et al. The Janus face of oxidative stress in health and disease: The cause or the cure? Biomedical Reviews 2023, 34, 13–26.
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Dalbanjan NP, Korgaonkar K, Kadapure AJ, Gurav MJ, Chachadi VB, Praveen Kumar SK. Electrochemical techniques in protein engineering: Innovations in redox- active protein design and electron transfer mechanisms. Int J Biol Macromol. 2025 Dec 17;338(Pt 2):149750. doi: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2025.149750.
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