The Mechanism Of Life
The Mechanism Of Life

Author: Stephane Leduc

Publisher:

Published: 2024-02-14

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9781835914144

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

"The Mechanism of Life" is a groundbreaking work by the French physiologist and biochemist Stéphane Leduc, originally published in 1911 under the title "La Biologie Synthétique." In this influential book, Leduc explores the idea of a mechanistic approach to understanding the fundamental processes of life, challenging traditional biological perspectives of his time. Leduc was a proponent of the concept that living organisms could be understood through principles of physics and chemistry, akin to a machine. He proposed that life processes could be explained through the physical and chemical interactions of living matter. Leduc's work was particularly notable for its attempt to synthesize life-like phenomena in the laboratory, using chemical substances to create structures resembling cells and even imitating some aspects of cellular functions. One of the key concepts in "The Mechanism of Life" is the idea of osmotic phenomena, wherein Leduc explored the role of osmosis in cellular processes. He conducted experiments involving the formation of artificial cells, referred to as "osmotic growths," by encapsulating various substances in semi-permeable membranes. Leduc's work was met with both acclaim and criticism. While some praised his innovative thinking and experimental techniques, others were skeptical of his mechanistic approach to understanding the complexity of living organisms. Over time, some of Leduc's ideas fell out of favor as the field of biology evolved, embracing more nuanced and holistic approaches to studying life. Despite its eventual historical context, "The Mechanism of Life" remains an important work in the history of biology, as it reflects an early attempt to bridge the gap between physics, chemistry, and the intricacies of living organisms. The book provides valuable insights into the scientific thinking of its time and the evolving understanding of life processes.

Beyond Mechanism
Beyond Mechanism

Author: Brian G. Henning

Publisher: Lexington Books

Published: 2013-02-01

Total Pages: 488

ISBN-13: 0739174371

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

It has been said that new discoveries and developments in the human, social, and natural sciences hang “in the air” (Bowler, 1983; 2008) prior to their consummation. While neo-Darwinist biology has been powerfully served by its mechanistic metaphysic and a reductionist methodology in which living organisms are considered machines, many of the chapters in this volume place this paradigm into question. Pairing scientists and philosophers together, this volume explores what might be termed “the New Frontiers” of biology, namely contemporary areas of research that appear to call an updating, a supplementation, or a relaxation of some of the main tenets of the Modern Synthesis. Such areas of investigation include: Emergence Theory, Systems Biology, Biosemiotics, Homeostasis, Symbiogenesis, Niche Construction, the Theory of Organic Selection (also known as “the Baldwin Effect”), Self-Organization and Teleodynamics, as well as Epigenetics. Most of the chapters in this book offer critical reflections on the neo-Darwinist outlook and work to promote a novel synthesis that is open to a greater degree of inclusivity as well as to a more holistic orientation in the biological sciences.

Mechanism and Causality in Biology and Economics
Mechanism and Causality in Biology and Economics

Author: Hsiang-Ke Chao

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2013-07-31

Total Pages: 256

ISBN-13: 9400724543

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

This volume addresses fundamental issues in the philosophy of science in the context of two most intriguing fields: biology and economics. Written by authorities and experts in the philosophy of biology and economics, Mechanism and Causality in Biology and Economics provides a structured study of the concepts of mechanism and causality in these disciplines and draws careful juxtapositions between philosophical apparatus and scientific practice. By exploring the issues that are most salient to the contemporary philosophies of biology and economics and by presenting comparative analyses, the book serves as a platform not only for gaining mutual understanding between scientists and philosophers of the life sciences and those of the social sciences, but also for sharing interdisciplinary research that combines both philosophical concepts in both fields. The book begins by defining the concepts of mechanism and causality in biology and economics, respectively. The second and third parts investigate philosophical perspectives of various causal and mechanistic issues in scientific practice in the two fields. These two sections include chapters on causal issues in the theory of evolution; experiments and scientific discovery; representation of causal relations and mechanism by models in economics. The concluding section presents interdisciplinary studies of various topics concerning extrapolation of life sciences and social sciences, including chapters on the philosophical investigation of conjoining biological and economic analyses with, respectively, demography, medicine and sociology.

In Search of Mechanisms
In Search of Mechanisms

Author: Carl F. Craver

Publisher: University of Chicago Press

Published: 2013-10-03

Total Pages: 251

ISBN-13: 022603982X

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Neuroscientists investigate the mechanisms of spatial memory. Molecular biologists study the mechanisms of protein synthesis and the myriad mechanisms of gene regulation. Ecologists study nutrient cycling mechanisms and their devastating imbalances in estuaries such as the Chesapeake Bay. In fact, much of biology and its history involves biologists constructing, evaluating, and revising their understanding of mechanisms. With In Search of Mechanisms, Carl F. Craver and Lindley Darden offer both a descriptive and an instructional account of how biologists discover mechanisms. Drawing on examples from across the life sciences and through the centuries, Craver and Darden compile an impressive toolbox of strategies that biologists have used and will use again to reveal the mechanisms that produce, underlie, or maintain the phenomena characteristic of living things. They discuss the questions that figure in the search for mechanisms, characterizing the experimental, observational, and conceptual considerations used to answer them, all the while providing examples from the history of biology to highlight the kinds of evidence and reasoning strategies employed to assess mechanisms. At a deeper level, Craver and Darden pose a systematic view of what biology is, of how biology makes progress, of how biological discoveries are and might be made, and of why knowledge of biological mechanisms is important for the future of the human species.

The Search for Life's Origins
The Search for Life's Origins

Author: National Research Council

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 1990-02-01

Total Pages: 161

ISBN-13: 0309042461

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

The field of planetary biology and chemical evolution draws together experts in astronomy, paleobiology, biochemistry, and space science who work together to understand the evolution of living systems. This field has made exciting discoveries that shed light on how organic compounds came together to form self-replicating molecules-the origin of life. This volume updates that progress and offers recommendations on research programs-including an ambitious effort centered on Mars-to advance the field over the next 10 to 15 years. The book presents a wide range of data and research results on these and other issues: The biogenic elements and their interaction in the interstellar clouds and in solar nebulae. Early planetary environments and the conditions that lead to the origin of life. The evolution of cellular and multicellular life. The search for life outside the solar system. This volume will become required reading for anyone involved in the search for life's beginnings-including exobiologists, geoscientists, planetary scientists, and U.S. space and science policymakers.

The Vital Question
The Vital Question

Author: Nick Lane

Publisher:

Published: 2016

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9781781250372

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

A game-changing book on the origins of life, called the most important scientific discovery 'since the Copernican revolution' in The Observer.

Evaluating Evidence of Mechanisms in Medicine
Evaluating Evidence of Mechanisms in Medicine

Author: Veli-Pekka Parkkinen

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2018-07-13

Total Pages: 131

ISBN-13: 3319946102

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

This book is open access under a CC BY license. This book is the first to develop explicit methods for evaluating evidence of mechanisms in the field of medicine. It explains why it can be important to make this evidence explicit, and describes how to take such evidence into account in the evidence appraisal process. In addition, it develops procedures for seeking evidence of mechanisms, for evaluating evidence of mechanisms, and for combining this evaluation with evidence of association in order to yield an overall assessment of effectiveness. Evidence-based medicine seeks to achieve improved health outcomes by making evidence explicit and by developing explicit methods for evaluating it. To date, evidence-based medicine has largely focused on evidence of association produced by clinical studies. As such, it has tended to overlook evidence of pathophysiological mechanisms and evidence of the mechanisms of action of interventions. The book offers a useful guide for all those whose work involves evaluating evidence in the health sciences, including those who need to determine the effectiveness of health interventions and those who need to ascertain the effects of environmental exposures.

Mechanism
Mechanism

Author: Domenico Bertoloni Meli

Publisher: University of Pittsburgh Press

Published: 2019-04-18

Total Pages: 295

ISBN-13: 0822986523

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

The mechanical philosophy first emerged as a leading player on the intellectual scene in the early modern period—seeking to explain all natural phenomena through the physics of matter and motion—and the term mechanism was coined. Over time, natural phenomena came to be understood through machine analogies and explanations and the very word mechanism, a suggestive and ambiguous expression, took on a host of different meanings. Emphasizing the important role of key ancient and early modern protagonists, from Galen to Robert Boyle, this book offers a historical investigation of the term mechanism from the late Renaissance to the end of the seventeenth century, at a time when it was used rather frequently in complex debates about the nature of the notion of the soul. In this rich and detailed study, Domenico Bertoloni Melifocuses on strategies for discussing the notion of mechanism in historically sensitive ways; the relation between mechanism, visual representation, and anatomy; the usage and meaning of the term in early modern times; and Marcello Malpighi and the problems of fecundation and generation, among the most challenging topics to investigate from a mechanistic standpoint.

Crossing the Boundaries of Life
Crossing the Boundaries of Life

Author: Karl S. Matlin

Publisher: University of Chicago Press

Published: 2022-05-10

Total Pages: 367

ISBN-13: 0226819345

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

"The difficulty of reconciling chemical mechanisms with the functions of whole living systems has plagued biologists since the development of cell theory in the nineteenth century. As Karl Matlin argues in Crossing the Boundaries of Life, it is no coincidence that this longstanding knot of scientific inquiry was loosened most meaningfully by the work of a cytologist, the Nobel laureate Günter Blobel. In 1975, using an experimental setup that did not contain any cells at all, Blobel was able to synthesize proteins to theorize how proteins in the cell communicate spatially, an idea he called signal hypothesis. Over the next 20 years, Blobel and other scientists were able to dissect this process into its precise molecular details. For elaborating his signal concept into a process he termed membrane topogenesis-the idea that each protein in the cell is synthesized with an "address" that directs the protein to its correct destination within the cell-Blobel was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1999. Matlin argues that Blobel's investigative strategy and its subsequent application addressed the fundamental unresolved dilemma that had bedeviled biology from its very beginning, allowing biology to overcome the barrier that had long blocked progress toward mechanistic explanations of life. Crossing the Boundaries of Life thus uses Blobel's research and life story to shed light on the importance of cell biology for twentieth-century science, illustrating how it propelled the development of adjacent disciplines like biochemistry and molecular biology"--