The Summary of the Principle of Optimal Diversity of Biosystems

The Summary of the Principle of Optimal Diversity of Biosystems
Author: Elena Bukvareva
Publisher: LAP Lambert Academic Publishing
Total Pages: 52
Release: 2014-09-30
Genre:
ISBN: 9783659598913

The paper summarizes the principle of optimum diversity of biosystems, which suggests that biodiversity is a parameter to be optimized. In fact, diversity is considered as a major adaptation of biosystems to environmental conditions. Paper discusses the diversity of two hierarchical levels - population (phenotypic diversity within a population) and coenotic (number of species in community). Nypotheses about mechanisms of diversity optimisation in the ecological, microevolutionary and evolutionary processes and findings for environmental management and biodiversity conservation are considered.

Fractals in Biology and Medicine

Fractals in Biology and Medicine
Author: Gabriele A. Losa
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 311
Release: 2006-03-30
Genre: Mathematics
ISBN: 3764374128

This volume is number four in a series of proceedings volumes from the International Symposia on Fractals in Biology and Medicine in Ascona, Switzerland which have been inspired by the work of BenoƮt Mandelbrot seeking to extend the concepts towards the life sciences. It highlights the potential that fractal geometry offers for elucidating and explaining the complex make-up of cells, tissues and biological organisms either in normal or in pathological conditions.

Philosophy of Systems Biology

Philosophy of Systems Biology
Author: Sara Green
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 274
Release: 2016-12-15
Genre: Science
ISBN: 3319470000

The emergence of systems biology raises many fascinating questions: What does it mean to take a systems approach to problems in biology? To what extent is the use of mathematical and computational modelling changing the life sciences? How does the availability of big data influence research practices? What are the major challenges for biomedical research in the years to come? This book addresses such questions of relevance not only to philosophers and biologists but also to readers interested in the broader implications of systems biology for science and society. The book features reflections and original work by experts from across the disciplines including systems biologists, philosophers, and interdisciplinary scholars investigating the social and educational aspects of systems biology. In response to the same set of questions, the experts develop and defend their personal perspectives on the distinctive character of systems biology and the challenges that lie ahead. Readers are invited to engage with different views on the questions addressed, and may explore numerous themes relating to the philosophy of systems biology. This edited work will appeal to scholars and all levels, from undergraduates to researchers, and to those interested in a variety of scholarly approaches such as systems biology, mathematical and computational modelling, cell and molecular biology, genomics, systems theory, and of course, philosophy of biology.

Biological Robustness

Biological Robustness
Author: Marta Bertolaso
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 258
Release: 2019-01-04
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 3030011984

This volume reviews examples and notions of robustness at several levels of biological organization. It tackles many philosophical and conceptual issues and casts an outlook on the future challenges of robustness studies in the context of a practice-oriented philosophy of science. The focus of discussion is on concrete case studies. These highlight the necessity of a level-dependent description of robust biological behaviors.Experts from the neurosciences, biochemistry, ecology, biology, and the history and the philosophy of life sciences provide a multiplex perspective on the topic. Contributions span from protein folding, to cell-level robustness, to organismal and developmental robustness, to sensorimotor systems, up to the robustness of ecological systems.Several chapters detail neurobiological case-studies. The brain, the poster child of plasticity in biology, offers multiple examples of robustness. Neurobiology explores the importance of temporal organization and multiscalarity in making this robustness-with-plasticity possible. The discussion also includes structures well beyond the brain, such as muscles and the complex feedback loops involved in the peculiar robustness of music perception. Overall, the volume grounds general reflections upon concrete case studies, opening to all the life sciences but also to non-biological and bio-inspired fields such as post-modern engineering. It will appeal to researchers, students, as well as non-expert readers.

Systems Biology

Systems Biology
Author: Edda Klipp
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
Total Pages: 504
Release: 2016-03-28
Genre: Medical
ISBN: 3527675663

This advanced textbook is tailored for an introductory course in Systems Biology and is well-suited for biologists as well as engineers and computer scientists. It comes with student-friendly reading lists and a companion website featuring a short exam prep version of the book and educational modeling programs. The text is written in an easily accessible style and includes numerous worked examples and study questions in each chapter. For this edition, a section on medical systems biology has been included.