Morphogenesis and Pattern Formation in Biological Systems

Morphogenesis and Pattern Formation in Biological Systems
Author: T. Sekimura
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 391
Release: 2013-11-11
Genre: Mathematics
ISBN: 4431659587

A central goal of biology is to decode the mechanisms that underlie the processes of morphogenesis and pattern formation. Concerned with the analysis of those phenomena, this book integrates experimental and theoretical aspects of biology for the construction and investigation of models of complex processes. It offers an interdisciplinary approach to the pattern formation problems and provides a scope of forthcoming integrated biology including experiments and theories.

Mechanisms of Morphogenesis

Mechanisms of Morphogenesis
Author: Jamie A. Davies
Publisher: Academic Press
Total Pages: 417
Release: 2013-02-18
Genre: Science
ISBN: 0124157572

Morphogenesis is the set of processes that generate shape and form in the embryo--an important area within developmental biology. An exciting and up-to-the-minute account of the very latest research into the factors that create biological form, Mechanisms of Morphogenesis, second edition is a text reference on the mechanisms of cell and tissue morphogenesis in a diverse array of organisms, including prokaryotes, animals, plants and fungi. By combining hard data with computer modeling, Mechanisms of Morphogenesis, second edition equips readers with a much broader understanding of the scope of modern research than is otherwise available. The book focuses on the ways in which the genetic program is translated to generate cell shape, to direct cell migration, and to produce the shape, form and rates of growth of the various tissues. Each topic is illustrated with experimental data from real systems, with particular reference to gaps in current knowledge and pointers to future - Includes over 200 four-color figures - Offers an integrated view of theoretical developmental biology and computer modelling with laboratory-based discoveries - Covers experimental techniques as a guide to the reader - Organized around principles and mechanisms, using them to integrate discoveries from a range of organisms and systems

Morphogenesis

Morphogenesis
Author: Paul Bourgine
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 353
Release: 2010-10-28
Genre: Technology & Engineering
ISBN: 3642131743

What are the relations between the shape of a system of cities and that of fish school? Which events should happen in a cell in order that it participates to one of the finger of our hands? How to interpret the shape of a sand dune? This collective book written for the non-specialist addresses these questions and more generally, the fundamental issue of the emergence of forms and patterns in physical and living systems. It is a single book gathering the different aspects of morphogenesis and approaches developed in different disciplines on shape and pattern formation. Relying on the seminal works of D’Arcy Thompson, Alan Turing and René Thom, it confronts major examples like plant growth and shape, intra-cellular organization, evolution of living forms or motifs generated by crystals. A book essential to understand universal principles at work in the shapes and patterns surrounding us but also to avoid spurious analogies.

The Dynamics of Living Systems

The Dynamics of Living Systems
Author: Thomas Lecuit
Publisher: Collège de France
Total Pages: 32
Release: 2020-11-16
Genre: Science
ISBN: 2722605600

How can we explain the fundamental paradox of living matter, which combines stability and robustness of form with constant internal dynamics? It is not only the genetic information contained in every cell, but also numerous stochastic biomolecular processes that are at work in morphogenesis. In addition, the shaping of an organism is driven by mechanical forces that operate within and between cells, across tissues and organs. The dynamics of morphogenesis is a self-organized process that emerges from biological control and physical constraints at all scales. Its study is currently bringing together a fast-growing interdisciplinary community that observes, analyses and models living organisms.

Biological Processes in Living Systems

Biological Processes in Living Systems
Author: C. H. Waddington
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 334
Release: 2017-09-08
Genre: Science
ISBN: 1351297147

Biological Processes in Living Systems is the fourth and final volume of the Toward a Theoretical Biology series. It contains essays that deal in detail with particular biological processes: morphogenesis of pattern, the development of neuronal networks, evolutionary processes, and others. The main thrust of this volume brings relevance to the general underlying nature of living systems. Faced with trying to understand how the complexity of molecular microstates leads to the relative simplicity of phenome structures, Waddington-on behalf of his colleagues-stresses on the structure of language as a paradigm for a theory of general biology. This is language in an imperative mood: a set of symbols, organized by some form of generative grammar, making possible the conveyance of commands for action to produce effects on the surroundings of the emitting and the receiving entities. "Biology," he writes, "is concerned with algorithm and program." Among the contributions in this volume are: "The Riemann-Hugoniot Catastrophe and van der Waals Equation," David H. Fowler; "Differential Equations for the Heartbeat and Nerve Impulse," E. Christopher Zeeman; "Structuralism and Biology," Rene Thom; "The Concept of Positional Information and Pattern Formation," Lewis Wolpert; "Pattern Formation in Fibroblast Cultures," Tom Elsdale; "Form and Information," C. H. Waddington; "Organizational Principles for Theoretical Neurophysiology," Michael A. Arbib; "Stochastic Models of Neuroelectric Activity," Jack D. Cowan. Biological Processes in Living Systems is a pioneering volume by recognized leaders in an ever-growing field.

Perspectives on Organisms

Perspectives on Organisms
Author: Giuseppe Longo
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 293
Release: 2013-12-13
Genre: Science
ISBN: 3642359388

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.

Developmental Biology: A Very Short Introduction

Developmental Biology: A Very Short Introduction
Author: Lewis Wolpert
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 153
Release: 2011-08-25
Genre: Science
ISBN: 0199601194

"A concise account of what we know about development discusses the first vital steps of growth and explores one of the liveliest areas of scientific research."--P. [2] of cover.

Living Morphogenesis of the Heart

Living Morphogenesis of the Heart
Author: Roger R. Markwald
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 256
Release: 1998-12-01
Genre: Medical
ISBN: 9780817640378

The overall scope of this new series will be to evolve an understanding of the genetic basis of (1) how early mesoderm commits to cells of a heart lineage that progres sively and irreversibly assemble into a segmented, primary heart tube that can be remodeled into a four-chambered organ, and (2) how blood vessels are derived and assembled both in the heart and in the body. Our central aim is to establish a four-dimensional, spatiotemporal foundation for the heart and blood vessels that can be genetically dissected for function and mechanism. Since Robert DeHaan's seminal chapter "Morphogenesis of the Vertebrate Heart" published in Organogenesis (Holt Rinehart & Winston, NY) in 1965, there have been surprisingly few books devoted to the subject of cardiovascular morpho genesis, despite the enormous growth of interest that occurred nationally and internationally. Most writings on the subject have been scholarly compilations of the proceedings of major national or international symposia or muItiauthored volumes, often without a specific theme. What is missing are the unifying concepts that can make sense out of a burgeoning database of facts. The Editorial Board of this new series believes the time has come for a book series dedicated to cardiovas cular morphogenesis that will serve not only as an important archival and didactic reference source for those who have recently come into the field but also as a guide to the evolution of a field that is clearly coming of age.

Artificial Life IV

Artificial Life IV
Author: Rodney Allen Brooks
Publisher: MIT Press
Total Pages: 462
Release: 1994
Genre: Computers
ISBN: 9780262521901

This book brings together contributions to the Fourth Artificial Life Workshop, held at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the summer of 1994.