Statistical Mechanics of Biocomplexity: Proceedings of the XV Sitges Conference, Held at Sitges, Barcelona, Spain, 8-12 June 1998

ISBN-13: 9783540662457 / Angielski / Twarda / 1999 / 320 str.

D. Reguera; M. Rubi; D. Reguera

Opis

This book demonstrates the usefulness of tools from statistical mechanics for biology. It includes the new tendencies in topics like membranes, vesicles, microtubules, molecular motors, DNA, protein folding, phase transitions in biological systems, evolution, population dynamics, neural systems and biological oscillators, with special emphasis on the importance of statistical mechanics in their development. The book addresses researchers and graduate students.

Spis treści

From Membranes to Membrane Machines.- 'Sausage-String' Patterns in Blood Vessels at High Blood Pressures.- Phase Transitions in Mesoscopic Spherical Membranes.- Modeling Microtubule Oscillations.- Designing RNA Folding Cooperativity.- Scaling Laws for Protein Folding.- Self-Organizing Networks of Molecular Machines in Allosterically Regulated Enzymic Reactions.- Coupled Brownian Motors.- On the Role of Molecular Machines in the Origin of the Genetic Code.- Population Dynamics and Non-Hermitian Localization.- A Population Dynamics Approach to Biological Aging.- Small-World Networks.- Extended Mean-Field Theory for Networks of Spiking Neurons.- Pattern Formation in the Developing Visual Cortex: Topological Defects, Their Generation, Motion, and Annihilation.- Complex Spiking Behavior From Noise-Driven Neuron Interaction.- A New Nonlinear Model for Pitch Perception.- Statistical Mechanics of Network Models of Macroevolution and Extinction.- Exact Analytical Result in a Simple Model of Self-Organized Biological Evolution.- Transition to Chaos in Models of Genetic Networks.- Appendix I Contributions Presented as Poster.- Fluid Membranes: Two-dimensional Systems with 'Live' Geometry.- A Model for Mixed Surfactant Vesicles.- A Novel Monte-Carlo Procedure for Protein Design.- Folding and Aggregation of Designed Proteins.- Swollen-Collapsed Transition in Random Hetero-polymers.- Statistical Mechanics of Double-Stranded Semi-flexible Polymers.- Casimir Forces ....- Interaction of Me(2+) Ions with Poly I in Conformation of Four-Stranded Helix.- Decomposition of DNA Complexity.- Transport of Markers and the Dynamic Phase ....- Algorithmic Complexity of Thermal Ratchet Motion.- Mesoscopic Transport of Structured Systems....- Efficiency of Brownian Motors.- Collective Self-Propelled Motion in 3D.- Concentric Rings in Bacterial Colonies: Patterning and Differentiation.- Spatio-Temporal Patterns in Bacterial colonies.- Stochastic Pattern Formation ....- Scaling and Complexitiy in Insect Populations.- Formation of the Interspecies Interaction in the Process of Ecosystem Evolution.- A Cellular Automaton Model for Species Formation in Simple Ecosystems.- The CA3 Hippocampal Region as an Autoassociative Memory: Quantitative Measures of Performance.- Storage Capacity and Information Processing... .- Fast Collective Oscillations in Neural Networks.- Mutual Synchronisation in Molecular Enzymic Networks.- Mutual Information ....- Kinetics....- Deterministic Resonance ....- Autonomous Stochastic Resonance...- Genetic Algorithms, Evolutionary Computation....- A Statistical Mechanics Approach to Modelling the Dynamics of Genetic Algorithms.- Soft Glassy Materials: Rheology and Aging.- Solvable Dynamics in a System of Interacting Random Tops....- Thermodynamics of Glasses and Black Holes....- Statistical Mechanics of Polarons and Double Well Potentials.- Appendix II List of Participants.-