'We easily forget how astonishing it is to watch a cell replicate itself. Kaneko reminds us that scientists still lack a fundamental molecular understanding of this most basic feature of life. Readers with backgrounds in physics and complex systems will be rewarded with a refreshing view of biology, grounded in experimental data and mathematical analysis.' Mukund Thattai, National Centre for Biological Sciences, India

Living systems consist of diverse components and constitute a hierarchy, from molecules to cells to organisms, which adapt to external perturbations and reproduce stably. This book describes the statistical and physical principles governing cell growth and reproduction, and the mechanisms for adaptation through noise, kinetic memory, and robust cell differentiation through cell to cell interaction and epigenetics. The laws governing rate, direction, and constraints of phenotypic evolution are examined from the perspective of microscopic units (molecules) and macroscopic states (cells), with a focus on maintaining consistency between these length and temporal scales. By integrating theoretical, computational, and experimental approaches, this book offers novel insights into biology from a physicist's perspective and provides a detailed picture of the universal characteristics of living systems. It is indispensable for students and researchers in physics, biology and mathematics interested in understanding the nature of life and the physical principles it is based upon.
Les mer
1. The potential of universal biology: is there a universal nature of life?; 2. Methodology for universal biology; 3. Reproduction of cells: dynamic and thermodynamic characteristics, dormancy, fluctuation, and requisites of protocells; 4. Generic adaptation of cells; Attractor selection, stochasticity, and consistency; 5. Adaptation and cellular homeostasis; 6. Cellular memory; 7. Cell differentiation through development; 8. Evolution of phenotypic plasticity and robustness in terms of phenotypic fluctuations; 9. Direction and constraint in phenotypic evolution: dimension reduction and global proportionality in phenotype fluctuation and responses; 10. Summary and future issues.
Les mer
This multidisciplinary book explores the fundamental nature of dynamical living systems and the physical principles they are based upon.

Produktdetaljer

ISBN
9781009575669
Publisert
2025-11-20
Utgiver
Cambridge University Press
Vekt
821 gr
Aldersnivå
U, P, 05, 06
Språk
Product language
Engelsk
Format
Product format
Innbundet
Antall sider
358

Forfatter

Biografisk notat

Kunihiko Kaneko has been a Professor at the University of Tokyo for twenty-seven years, teaching mathematical biology, biophysics, and complex systems, and he is currently at the Niels Bohr Institute. He was also Stanislaw Ulam Fellow at Los Alamos National Laboratory, visiting professor at Osaka University (Frontier Biosciences), University of Lyon, Freiburg University, and part of the external faculty of Santa Fe Institute, a member of the Institute of Advanced Studies at Princeton, and is a Founding Director of Center for Complex Systems Biology and Universal Biology Institute at the University of Tokyo.