Fluctuations and Scaling in Biology

Fluctuations and Scaling in Biology PDF Author: Tamás Vicsek
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN: 9780198507895
Category : Computers
Languages : en
Pages : 246

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Book Description
During the last decade the well-established tools of statistical physics have been successfully applied to an increasing number of biological phenomena. It is a fruitful approach to systems characterised by fluctuations and/or a large number of very similar units, and such systems are commonin biology, whether it be the individuals in the codons of a genetic code or the behavioural responses of macromolecules to thermal fluctuations. This book is thus able to cover a wide range of phenomena, including fractal pattern formation, group motion in organisms from bacteria to humans, or themechanisms by which fluctuations are rectified in the cell's molecular machinery. This book provides a summary of the majority of recent approaches and concepts born in the study of biological phenomena involving collective behaviour and random perturbation, as well as presenting some of the mostimportant new results to specialist researchers. It is, particularly, a key text for all students of scaling and fluctuations in biology.

Fluctuations and Scaling in Biology

Fluctuations and Scaling in Biology PDF Author: Tamás Vicsek
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN: 9780198507895
Category : Computers
Languages : en
Pages : 246

Get Book

Book Description
During the last decade the well-established tools of statistical physics have been successfully applied to an increasing number of biological phenomena. It is a fruitful approach to systems characterised by fluctuations and/or a large number of very similar units, and such systems are commonin biology, whether it be the individuals in the codons of a genetic code or the behavioural responses of macromolecules to thermal fluctuations. This book is thus able to cover a wide range of phenomena, including fractal pattern formation, group motion in organisms from bacteria to humans, or themechanisms by which fluctuations are rectified in the cell's molecular machinery. This book provides a summary of the majority of recent approaches and concepts born in the study of biological phenomena involving collective behaviour and random perturbation, as well as presenting some of the mostimportant new results to specialist researchers. It is, particularly, a key text for all students of scaling and fluctuations in biology.

Fluctuations and Scaling in Biology

Fluctuations and Scaling in Biology PDF Author: Thomas Vicsek
Publisher:
ISBN: 9783540669883
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 300

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Book Description


Scaling in Biology

Scaling in Biology PDF Author: James H. Brown
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN: 0195131428
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 368

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Book Description
Scaling relationships have been a persistent theme in biology at least since the time of Leonardo da Vinci and Galileo. While there have been many excellent empirical and theoretical investigations, there has been little attempt to synthesize this diverse but interrelated area of biology. In an effort to fill this void, Scaling in Biology, the first general treatment of scaling in biology in over 15 years, covers a broad spectrum of the most relevant topics in a series of chapters written by experts in the field. Some of those topics discussed include allometry and fractal structure, branching of vascular systems of mammals and plants, biomechanical and life history of plants, invertebrates and vertebrates, and species-area patterns of biological diversity.

Scale Invariance

Scale Invariance PDF Author: Annick LESNE
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 364215123X
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 400

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Book Description
During a century, from the Van der Waals mean field description (1874) of gases to the introduction of renormalization group (RG techniques 1970), thermodynamics and statistical physics were just unable to account for the incredible universality which was observed in numerous critical phenomena. The great success of RG techniques is not only to solve perfectly this challenge of critical behaviour in thermal transitions but to introduce extremely useful tools in a wide field of daily situations where a system exhibits scale invariance. The introduction of scaling, scale invariance and universality concepts has been a significant turn in modern physics and more generally in natural sciences. Since then, a new "physics of scaling laws and critical exponents", rooted in scaling approaches, allows quantitative descriptions of numerous phenomena, ranging from phase transitions to earthquakes, polymer conformations, heartbeat rhythm, diffusion, interface growth and roughening, DNA sequence, dynamical systems, chaos and turbulence. The chapters are jointly written by an experimentalist and a theorist. This book aims at a pedagogical overview, offering to the students and researchers a thorough conceptual background and a simple account of a wide range of applications. It presents a complete tour of both the formal advances and experimental results associated with the notion of scaling, in physics, chemistry and biology.

Growth Patterns in Physical Sciences and Biology

Growth Patterns in Physical Sciences and Biology PDF Author: Jaun-Manuel Garcia-Ruiz
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 1461528526
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 417

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Book Description
During the past decade interest in the formation of complex disorderly patterns far from equilibrium has grown rapidly. This interest has been stim ulated by the development of new approaches (based primarily on fractal geometry) to the quantitative description of complex structures, increased understanding of non-linear phenomena and the introduction of a variety of models (such as the diffusion-limited aggregation model) that provide paradigms for non-equilibrium growth phenomena. Advances in computer technology have played a crucial role in both the experimental and theoret ical aspects of this enterprise. Substantial progress has been made towards the development of comprehensive understanding of non-equilibrium growth phenomena but most of our current understanding is based on simple com puter models. Pattern formation processes are important in almost all areas of science and technology, and, clearly, pattern growth pervades biology. Very often remarkably similar patterns are found in quite diverse systems. In some case (dielectric breakdown, electrodeposition, fluid-fluid displacement in porous media, dissolution patterns and random dendritic growth for example) the underlying causes of this similarity is quite well understood. In other cases (vascular trees, nerve cells and river networks for example) we do not yet know if a fundamental relationship exists between the mechanisms leading the formation of these structures.

Power Laws, Scale-Free Networks and Genome Biology

Power Laws, Scale-Free Networks and Genome Biology PDF Author: Eugene V. Koonin
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 0387339167
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 274

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Book Description
Power Laws, Scale-free Networks and Genome Biology deals with crucial aspects of the theoretical foundations of systems biology, namely power law distributions and scale-free networks which have emerged as the hallmarks of biological organization in the post-genomic era. The chapters in the book not only describe the interesting mathematical properties of biological networks but moves beyond phenomenology, toward models of evolution capable of explaining the emergence of these features. The collection of chapters, contributed by both physicists and biologists, strives to address the problems in this field in a rigorous but not excessively mathematical manner and to represent different viewpoints, which is crucial in this emerging discipline. Each chapter includes, in addition to technical descriptions of properties of biological networks and evolutionary models, a more general and accessible introduction to the respective problems. Most chapters emphasize the potential of theoretical systems biology for discovery of new biological phenomena.

Fluctuations and Noise in Biological, Biophysical, and Biomedical Systems

Fluctuations and Noise in Biological, Biophysical, and Biomedical Systems PDF Author: Sergey M. Bezrukov
Publisher: SPIE-International Society for Optical Engineering
ISBN: 9780819449702
Category : Mathematics
Languages : en
Pages : 384

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Book Description


Perspectives on Organisms

Perspectives on Organisms PDF Author: Giuseppe Longo
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 3642359388
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 283

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Book Description
This authored monograph introduces a genuinely theoretical approach to biology. Starting point is the investigation of empirical biological scaling including their variability, which is found in the literature, e.g. allometric relationships, fractals, etc. The book then analyzes two different aspects of biological time: first, a supplementary temporal dimension to accommodate proper biological rhythms; secondly, the concepts of protension and retention as a means of local organization of time in living organisms. Moreover, the book investigates the role of symmetry in biology, in view of its ubiquitous importance in physics. In relation with the notion of extended critical transitions, the book proposes that organisms and their evolution can be characterized by continued symmetry changes, which accounts for the irreducibility of their historicity and variability. The authors also introduce the concept of anti-entropy as a measure for the potential of variability, being equally understood as alterations in symmetry. By this, the book provides a mathematical account of Gould's analysis of phenotypic complexity with respect to biological evolution. The target audience primarily comprises researchers interested in new theoretical approaches to biology, from physical, biological or philosophical backgrounds, but the book may also be beneficial for graduate students who want to enter this field.

Systems Biology

Systems Biology PDF Author: Edda Klipp
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 3527675663
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 504

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Book Description
This advanced textbook is tailored for an introductory course in Systems Biology and is well-suited for biologists as well as engineers and computer scientists. It comes with student-friendly reading lists and a companion website featuring a short exam prep version of the book and educational modeling programs. The text is written in an easily accessible style and includes numerous worked examples and study questions in each chapter. For this edition, a section on medical systems biology has been included.

Econophysics of Stock and other Markets

Econophysics of Stock and other Markets PDF Author: Arnab Chatterjee
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 8847005027
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 255

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Book Description
This book reviews the latest econophysics researches on the fluctuations in stock, forex and other markets. The statistical modeling of markets, using various agent-based game theoretical approaches, and their scaling analysis have been discussed. The leading researchers in these fields have reported on their recent work and also reviewed the contemporary literature. Some historical perspectives as well as some comments and debates on recent issues in econophysics research have also been included.