Progress in Theoretical Biology, Volume 6 covers the theoretical analysis of biological phenomena. The book discusses the potentials in chemical systems far from thermodynamic equilibrium, particularly the reduction of reaction-diffusion systems to catastrophe theory; and a form of logic suited for biology. The text describes the order-disorder transitions in polyelectrolytes and the chaos in systems in population biology. An artificial cognitive-plus-motivational system and pattern generation in networks are also encompassed. Biophysicists and physiologists will find the book invaluable.
Progress in Theoretical Biology, Volume 1 brings together the significant and timely theoretical developments in particular areas of biology. Topics range from chemical evolution and biological self-replicating systems to quantitative aspects of goal-seeking self-organizing systems. An essay on Erwin Schrödinger (1887-1961) and his work on genetics and quantum mechanics, as well as its influence on molecular biology, is also included. Comprised of five chapters, this volume first discusses chemical evolution in terms of organic geochemistry and prebiotic chemistry. Dehydration condensation reactions as well as the generation of order and new information are also considered. The next chapter deals with biological self-replicating systems and focuses on such topics as the minimum system capable of self-replication; the minimum system capable of self-replication in terms of the generalizations of terrestrial biology; and which biological systems most nearly approach this limiting behavior. A series of definitions that provide a framework for examining minimal reproducing systems are also presented. The final three chapters explore the quantitative aspects of goal-seeking self-organizing systems; statistical thermodynamics of polymerization and polymorphism of proteins; and the importance of models in theoretical biology. This book is intended for both biological and physical scientists.
Progress in Theoretical Biology, Volume 2, brings together the significant and timely theoretical developments in particular areas of biology in a critical and synthetic manner. It is concerned with a field which has emerged as an identifiable subdiscipline of the biological sciences. This emergence and recognition signify that biological science has evolved from its initial stage of description and classification into the adolescence of transformation to the quantitative. The book's opening chapter develops a theory that uses a new generalization of statistical mechanics to provide a basis for understanding how the microscopic behavior of nonliving parts can generate the macroscopic appearance of a living aggregate. The subsequent chapters discuss theoretical methods in systematic and evolutionary studies; the theory of neural masses; the design of chemical reaction systems; cooperative processes in biological systems; and the organization of motor systems. This book is intended for the modern biological scientist as well as for the physical scientist who is inquisitive of the ways of the most complex of all processes.
In interviews with today's major figures in evolutionary biology--including Stephen Jay Gould, E. O. Wilson, Ernst Mayr, and John Maynard Smith--Ruse offers an unparalleled account of evolutionary theory, from popular books to museums to the most complex theorizing, at a time when its status as science is under greater scrutiny than ever before.
Why do organisms become extremely abundant one year and then seem to disappear a few years later? Why do population outbreaks in particular species happen more or less regularly in certain locations, but only irregularly (or never at all) in other locations? Complex population dynamics have fascinated biologists for decades. By bringing together mathematical models, statistical analyses, and field experiments, this book offers a comprehensive new synthesis of the theory of population oscillations. Peter Turchin first reviews the conceptual tools that ecologists use to investigate population oscillations, introducing population modeling and the statistical analysis of time series data. He then provides an in-depth discussion of several case studies--including the larch budmoth, southern pine beetle, red grouse, voles and lemmings, snowshoe hare, and ungulates--to develop a new analysis of the mechanisms that drive population oscillations in nature. Through such work, the author argues, ecologists can develop general laws of population dynamics that will help turn ecology into a truly quantitative and predictive science. Complex Population Dynamics integrates theoretical and empirical studies into a major new synthesis of current knowledge about population dynamics. It is also a pioneering work that sets the course for ecology's future as a predictive science.
Since Darwin, Biology has been framed on the idea of evolution by natural selection, which has profoundly influenced the scientific and philosophical comprehension of biological phenomena and of our place in Nature. This book argues that contemporary biology should progress towards and revolve around an even more fundamental idea, that of autonomy. Biological autonomy describes living organisms as organised systems, which are able to self-produce and self-maintain as integrated entities, to establish their own goals and norms, and to promote the conditions of their existence through their interactions with the environment. Topics covered in this book include organisation and biological emergence, organisms, agency, levels of autonomy, cognition, and a look at the historical dimension of autonomy. The current development of scientific investigations on autonomous organisation calls for a theoretical and philosophical analysis. This can contribute to the elaboration of an original understanding of life - including human life - on Earth, opening new perspectives and enabling fecund interactions with other existing theories and approaches. This book takes up the challenge.
Mathematical modelling is widely used in ecology and evolutionary biology and it is a topic that many biologists find difficult to grasp. In this new textbook Marc Mangel provides a no-nonsense introduction to the skills needed to understand the principles of theoretical and mathematical biology. Fundamental theories and applications are introduced using numerous examples from current biological research, complete with illustrations to highlight key points. Exercises are also included throughout the text to show how theory can be applied and to test knowledge gained so far. Suitable for advanced undergraduate courses in theoretical and mathematical biology, this book forms an essential resource for anyone wanting to gain an understanding of theoretical ecology and evolution.
A more comprehensive version of evolutionary theory that focuses as much on the origin of biological form as on its diversification. The field of evolutionary biology arose from the desire to understand the origin and diversity of biological forms. In recent years, however, evolutionary genetics, with its focus on the modification and inheritance of presumed genetic programs, has all but overwhelmed other aspects of evolutionary biology. This has led to the neglect of the study of the generative origins of biological form. Drawing on work from developmental biology, paleontology, developmental and population genetics, cancer research, physics, and theoretical biology, this book explores the multiple factors responsible for the origination of biological form. It examines the essential problems of morphological evolution—why, for example, the basic body plans of nearly all metazoans arose within a relatively short time span, why similar morphological design motifs appear in phylogenetically independent lineages, and how new structural elements are added to the body plan of a given phylogenetic lineage. It also examines discordances between genetic and phenotypic change, the physical determinants of morphogenesis, and the role of epigenetic processes in evolution. The book discusses these and other topics within the framework of evolutionary developmental biology, a new research agenda that concerns the interaction of development and evolution in the generation of biological form. By placing epigenetic processes, rather than gene sequence and gene expression changes, at the center of morphological origination, this book points the way to a more comprehensive theory of evolution.
This beautifully crafted book collects images, which were created during the process of research in all fields of theoretical biology. Data analysis, numerical treatment of a model, or simulation results yield stunning images, which represent pieces of art just by themselves. The approach of the book is to present for each piece of visualization a lucid synopsis of the scientific background as well as an outline of the artistic vision.
