Robustness And Evolvability In Living Systems

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Robustness and Evolvability in Living Systems

Author : Andreas Wagner
Publisher : Princeton University Press
ISBN 13 : 1400849381
Total Pages : 384 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (8 download)

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Book Synopsis Robustness and Evolvability in Living Systems by : Andreas Wagner

Download or read book Robustness and Evolvability in Living Systems written by Andreas Wagner and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2013-10-24 with total page 384 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: All living things are remarkably complex, yet their DNA is unstable, undergoing countless random mutations over generations. Despite this instability, most animals do not grow two heads or die, plants continue to thrive, and bacteria continue to divide. Robustness and Evolvability in Living Systems tackles this perplexing paradox. The book explores why genetic changes do not cause organisms to fail catastrophically and how evolution shapes organisms' robustness. Andreas Wagner looks at this problem from the ground up, starting with the alphabet of DNA, the genetic code, RNA, and protein molecules, moving on to genetic networks and embryonic development, and working his way up to whole organisms. He then develops an evolutionary explanation for robustness. Wagner shows how evolution by natural selection preferentially finds and favors robust solutions to the problems organisms face in surviving and reproducing. Such robustness, he argues, also enhances the potential for future evolutionary innovation. Wagner also argues that robustness has less to do with organisms having plenty of spare parts (the redundancy theory that has been popular) and more to do with the reality that mutations can change organisms in ways that do not substantively affect their fitness. Unparalleled in its field, this book offers the most detailed analysis available of all facets of robustness within organisms. It will appeal not only to biologists but also to engineers interested in the design of robust systems and to social scientists concerned with robustness in human communities and populations.

Robustness and Evolvability in Living Systems

Author :
Publisher :
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 367 pages
Book Rating : 4.:/5 (489 download)

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Book Synopsis Robustness and Evolvability in Living Systems by :

Download or read book Robustness and Evolvability in Living Systems written by and published by . This book was released on 2005 with total page 367 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Biological Robustness

Author : Marta Bertolaso
Publisher : Springer
ISBN 13 : 3030011984
Total Pages : 258 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (3 download)

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Book Synopsis Biological Robustness by : Marta Bertolaso

Download or read book Biological Robustness written by Marta Bertolaso and published by Springer. This book was released on 2019-01-04 with total page 258 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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.

Theoretical Aspects of Population Genetics. (MPB-4), Volume 4

Author : Motoo Kimura
Publisher : Princeton University Press
ISBN 13 : 0691210098
Total Pages : 233 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (912 download)

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Book Synopsis Theoretical Aspects of Population Genetics. (MPB-4), Volume 4 by : Motoo Kimura

Download or read book Theoretical Aspects of Population Genetics. (MPB-4), Volume 4 written by Motoo Kimura and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2020-03-31 with total page 233 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: To show the importance of stochastic processes in the change of gene frequencies, the authors discuss topics ranging from molecular evolution to two-locus problems in terms of diffusion models. Throughout their discussion, they come to grips with one of the most challenging problems in population genetics--the ways in which genetic variability is maintained in Mendelian populations. R.A. Fisher, J.B.S. Haldane, and Sewall Wright, in pioneering works, confirmed the usefulness of mathematical theory in population genetics. The synthesis their work achieved is recognized today as mathematical genetics, that branch of genetics whose aim is to investigate the laws governing the genetic structure of natural populations and, consequently, to clarify the mechanisms of evolution. For the benefit of population geneticists without advanced mathematical training, Professors Kimura and Ohta use verbal description rather than mathematical symbolism wherever practicable. A mathematical appendix is included.

Theories of Population Variation in Genes and Genomes

Author : Freddy Bugge Christiansen
Publisher : Princeton University Press
ISBN 13 : 1400866650
Total Pages : 432 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (8 download)

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Book Synopsis Theories of Population Variation in Genes and Genomes by : Freddy Bugge Christiansen

Download or read book Theories of Population Variation in Genes and Genomes written by Freddy Bugge Christiansen and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2014-12-17 with total page 432 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This textbook provides an authoritative introduction to both classical and coalescent approaches to population genetics. Written for graduate students and advanced undergraduates by one of the world's leading authorities in the field, the book focuses on the theoretical background of population genetics, while emphasizing the close interplay between theory and empiricism. Traditional topics such as genetic and phenotypic variation, mutation, migration, and linkage are covered and advanced by contemporary coalescent theory, which describes the genealogy of genes in a population, ultimately connecting them to a single common ancestor. Effects of selection, particularly genomic effects, are discussed with reference to molecular genetic variation. The book is designed for students of population genetics, bioinformatics, evolutionary biology, molecular evolution, and theoretical biology--as well as biologists, molecular biologists, breeders, biomathematicians, and biostatisticians. Contains up-to-date treatment of key areas in classical and modern theoretical population genetics Provides in-depth coverage of coalescent theory Discusses genomic effects of selection Gives examples from empirical population genetics Incorporates figures, diagrams, and boxed features throughout Includes end-of-chapter exercises Speaks to a wide range of students in biology, bioinformatics, and biostatistics

Enhancing Evolution

Author : John Harris
Publisher : Princeton University Press
ISBN 13 : 1400836387
Total Pages : 271 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (8 download)

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Book Synopsis Enhancing Evolution by : John Harris

Download or read book Enhancing Evolution written by John Harris and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2010-09-27 with total page 271 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In Enhancing Evolution, leading bioethicist John Harris dismantles objections to genetic engineering, stem-cell research, designer babies, and cloning and makes an ethical case for biotechnology that is both forthright and rigorous. Human enhancement, Harris argues, is a good thing--good morally, good for individuals, good as social policy, and good for a genetic heritage that needs serious improvement. Enhancing Evolution defends biotechnological interventions that could allow us to live longer, healthier, and even happier lives by, for example, providing us with immunity from cancer and HIV/AIDS. Further, Harris champions the possibility of influencing the very course of evolution to give us increased mental and physical powers--from reasoning, concentration, and memory to strength, stamina, and reaction speed. Indeed, he says, it's not only morally defensible to enhance ourselves; in some cases, it's morally obligatory. In a new preface, Harris offers a glimpse at the new science and technology to come, equipping readers with the knowledge to assess the ethics and policy dimensions of future forms of human enhancement.

Order in Living Organisms

Author : Rupert Riedl
Publisher : John Wiley & Sons
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 342 pages
Book Rating : 4.:/5 (318 download)

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Book Synopsis Order in Living Organisms by : Rupert Riedl

Download or read book Order in Living Organisms written by Rupert Riedl and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 1978 with total page 342 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

A New Biology for the 21st Century

Author : National Research Council
Publisher : National Academies Press
ISBN 13 : 0309147867
Total Pages : 113 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (91 download)

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Book Synopsis A New Biology for the 21st Century by : National Research Council

Download or read book A New Biology for the 21st Century written by National Research Council and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2009-11-20 with total page 113 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Now more than ever, biology has the potential to contribute practical solutions to many of the major challenges confronting the United States and the world. A New Biology for the 21st Century recommends that a "New Biology" approach-one that depends on greater integration within biology, and closer collaboration with physical, computational, and earth scientists, mathematicians and engineers-be used to find solutions to four key societal needs: sustainable food production, ecosystem restoration, optimized biofuel production, and improvement in human health. The approach calls for a coordinated effort to leverage resources across the federal, private, and academic sectors to help meet challenges and improve the return on life science research in general.

Evolvability

Author : Thomas F. Hansen
Publisher : MIT Press
ISBN 13 : 0262545624
Total Pages : 407 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (625 download)

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Book Synopsis Evolvability by : Thomas F. Hansen

Download or read book Evolvability written by Thomas F. Hansen and published by MIT Press. This book was released on 2023-06-27 with total page 407 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Essays on evolvability from the perspectives of quantitative and population genetics, evolutionary developmental biology, systems biology, macroevolution, and the philosophy of science. Evolvability—the capability of organisms to evolve—wasn’t recognized as a fundamental concept in evolutionary theory until 1990. Though there is still some debate as to whether it represents a truly new concept, the essays in this volume emphasize its value in enabling new research programs and facilitating communication among the major disciplines in evolutionary biology. The contributors, many of whom were instrumental in the development of the concept of evolvability, synthesize what we have learned about it over the past thirty years. They focus on the historical and philosophical contexts that influenced the emergence of the concept and suggest ways to develop a common language and theory to drive further evolvability research. The essays, drawn from a workshop on evolvability hosted in 2019–2020 by the Center of Advanced Study at the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters, in Oslo, provide scientific and historical background on evolvability. The contributors represent different disciplines of evolutionary biology, including quantitative and population genetics, evolutionary developmental biology, systems biology and macroevolution, as well as the philosophy of science. This pl[urality of approaches allows researchers in disciplines as diverse as developmental biology, molecular biology, and systems biology to communicate with those working in mainstream evolutionary biology. The contributors also discuss key questions at the forefront of research on evolvability. Contributors: J. David Aponte, W. Scott Armbruster, Geir H. Bolstad, Salomé Bourg, Ingo Brigandt, Anne Calof, James M. Cheverud, Josselin Clo, Frietson Galis, Mark Grabowski, Rebecca Green, Benedikt Hallgrímsson, Thomas F. Hansen, Agnes Holstad, David Houle, David Jablonski, Arthur Lander, Arnaud LeRouzic, Alan C. Love, Ralph Marcucio, Michael B. Morrissey, Laura Nuño de la Rosa, Øystein H. Opedal, Mihaela Pavličev, Christophe Pélabon, Jane M. Reid, Heather Richbourg, Jacqueline L. Sztepanacz, Masahito Tsuboi, Cristina Villegas, Marta Vidal-García, Kjetil L. Voje, Andreas Wagner, Günter P. Wagner, Nathan M. Young

Robustness and Evolvability in Systems Biology and Plectoneme Formation in DNA Supercoiling

Author : Bryan C. Daniels
Publisher :
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 0 pages
Book Rating : 4.:/5 (671 download)

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Book Synopsis Robustness and Evolvability in Systems Biology and Plectoneme Formation in DNA Supercoiling by : Bryan C. Daniels

Download or read book Robustness and Evolvability in Systems Biology and Plectoneme Formation in DNA Supercoiling written by Bryan C. Daniels and published by . This book was released on 2010 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This thesis consists of two parts: (1) an exploration of robustness and evolvability in systems biology and how they are informed by recent developments in the study of parameter sensitivity in large multiparameter models, and (2) a study of the sudden formation of plectonemes (supercoiled structures) in DNA using an elastic rod model. Robustness and evolvability are important ideas in systems biology, representing the surprising resilience and adaptability of living organisms. The study of "sloppy models" describes the degree to which changes in parameters change the behavior of complex models, and thus has implications for how robust or evolvable a model may be with regard to perturbations in parameters. We study these connections, finding that sloppiness provides a framework for understanding why multiparameter models often seem so robust. It also explains how robustness to external conditions can be more easily arranged than one might naively expect, and allows for diversity that could increase the evolvability of a population. When overtwisted, DNA wraps around itself (supercoils) much like a garden hose or rubber band. As a single molecule of DNA is twisted, discontinuities have recently been experimentally observed for the first time that correspond to the sudden formation of a single supercoiled structure called a plectoneme. We study the sizes of these discontinuities with an elastic rod model and a simplified phenomenological model. We use these models to make predictions about a torque jump and length dependence that have been experimentally verified. Experiments also observe thermal hopping at the transition between states with and without a plectoneme. We then investigate the dynamics of this plectoneme nucleation, using transition state theory and the elastic rod model to predict the rate of hopping. We obtain a rate about 1000 times faster than found in experiments, and attribute the discrepancy to a slow timescale introduced by the large bead used to manipulate the DNA. Finally, we review numerical methods used to implement the elastic rod model for DNA.

Dance to the Tune of Life

Author : Denis Noble
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
ISBN 13 : 1107176247
Total Pages : 315 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (71 download)

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Book Synopsis Dance to the Tune of Life by : Denis Noble

Download or read book Dance to the Tune of Life written by Denis Noble and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2017 with total page 315 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book formulates a relativistic theory of biology, challenging the common gene-centred view of organisms.

The Genetic Lottery

Author : Kathryn Paige Harden
Publisher : Princeton University Press
ISBN 13 : 0691242100
Total Pages : 320 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (912 download)

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Book Synopsis The Genetic Lottery by : Kathryn Paige Harden

Download or read book The Genetic Lottery written by Kathryn Paige Harden and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2022-10-11 with total page 320 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A provocative and timely case for how the science of genetics can help create a more just and equal society In recent years, scientists like Kathryn Paige Harden have shown that DNA makes us different, in our personalities and in our health—and in ways that matter for educational and economic success in our current society. In The Genetic Lottery, Harden introduces readers to the latest genetic science, dismantling dangerous ideas about racial superiority and challenging us to grapple with what equality really means in a world where people are born different. Weaving together personal stories with scientific evidence, Harden shows why our refusal to recognize the power of DNA perpetuates the myth of meritocracy, and argues that we must acknowledge the role of genetic luck if we are ever to create a fair society. Reclaiming genetic science from the legacy of eugenics, this groundbreaking book offers a bold new vision of society where everyone thrives, regardless of how one fares in the genetic lottery.

Stress-Induced Mutagenesis

Author : David Mittelman
Publisher : Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN 13 : 1461462800
Total Pages : 284 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (614 download)

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Book Synopsis Stress-Induced Mutagenesis by : David Mittelman

Download or read book Stress-Induced Mutagenesis written by David Mittelman and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2013-03-12 with total page 284 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The discovery of stress-induced mutagenesis has changed ideas about mutation and evolution, and revealed mutagenic programs that differ from standard spontaneous mutagenesis in rapidly proliferating cells. The stress-induced mutations occur during growth-limiting stress, and can include adaptive mutations that allow growth in the otherwise growth-limiting environment. The stress responses increase mutagenesis specifically when cells are maladapted to their environments, i.e. are stressed, potentially accelerating evolution then. The mutation mechanism also includes temporary suspension of post-synthesis mismatch repair, resembling mutagenesis characteristic of some cancers. Stress-induced mutation mechanisms may provide important models for genome instability underlying some cancers and genetic diseases, resistance to chemotherapeutic and antibiotic drugs, pathogenicity of microbes, and many other important evolutionary processes. This book covers pathways of stress-induced mutagenesis in all systems. The principle focus is mammalian systems, but much of what is known of these pathways comes from non-mammalian systems.

Robust Design

Author : Erica Jen
Publisher : Oxford University Press
ISBN 13 : 0195165330
Total Pages : 306 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (951 download)

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Book Synopsis Robust Design by : Erica Jen

Download or read book Robust Design written by Erica Jen and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2005 with total page 306 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 'Robust Design' brings together an eminent group of authors in a wide range of fields presenting aspects of robustness in biological, ecological and computational systems.

The Origins of Evolutionary Innovations

Author : Andreas Wagner
Publisher : OUP Oxford
ISBN 13 : 0191621285
Total Pages : 264 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (916 download)

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Book Synopsis The Origins of Evolutionary Innovations by : Andreas Wagner

Download or read book The Origins of Evolutionary Innovations written by Andreas Wagner and published by OUP Oxford. This book was released on 2011-07-14 with total page 264 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The history of life is a nearly four billion year old story of transformative change. This change ranges from dramatic macroscopic innovations such as the evolution of wings or eyes, to a myriad of molecular changes that form the basis of macroscopic innovations. We are familiar with many examples of innovations (qualitatively new phenotypes that provide a critical benefit) but have no systematic understanding of the principles that allow organisms to innovate. This book proposes several such principles as the basis of a theory of innovation, integrating recent knowledge about complex molecular phenotypes with more traditional Darwinian thinking. Central to the book are genotype networks: vast sets of connected genotypes that exist in metabolism and regulatory circuitry, as well as in protein and RNA molecules. The theory can successfully unify innovations that occur at different levels of organization. It captures known features of biological innovation, including the fact that many innovations occur multiple times independently, and that they combine existing parts of a system to new purposes. It also argues that environmental change is important to create biological systems that are both complex and robust, and shows how such robustness can facilitate innovation. Beyond that, the theory can reconcile neutralism and selectionism, as well as explain the role of phenotypic plasticity, gene duplication, recombination, and cryptic variation in innovation. Finally, its principles can be applied to technological innovation, and thus open to human engineering endeavours the powerful principles that have allowed life's spectacular success.

Race to the Finish

Author : Jenny Reardon
Publisher : Princeton University Press
ISBN 13 : 1400826403
Total Pages : 249 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (8 download)

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Book Synopsis Race to the Finish by : Jenny Reardon

Download or read book Race to the Finish written by Jenny Reardon and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2009-02-09 with total page 249 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the summer of 1991, population geneticists and evolutionary biologists proposed to archive human genetic diversity by collecting the genomes of "isolated indigenous populations." Their initiative, which became known as the Human Genome Diversity Project, generated early enthusiasm from those who believed it would enable huge advances in our understanding of human evolution. However, vocal criticism soon emerged. Physical anthropologists accused Project organizers of reimporting racist categories into science. Indigenous-rights leaders saw a "Vampire Project" that sought the blood of indigenous people but not their well-being. More than a decade later, the effort is barely off the ground. How did an initiative whose leaders included some of biology's most respected, socially conscious scientists become so stigmatized? How did these model citizen-scientists come to be viewed as potential racists, even vampires? This book argues that the long abeyance of the Diversity Project points to larger, fundamental questions about how to understand knowledge, democracy, and racism in an age when expert claims about genomes increasingly shape the possibilities for being human. Jenny Reardon demonstrates that far from being innocent tools for fighting racism, scientific ideas and practices embed consequential social and political decisions about who can define race, racism, and democracy, and for what ends. She calls for the adoption of novel conceptual tools that do not oppose science and power, truth and racist ideologies, but rather draw into focus their mutual constitution.

The Logic of Chance

Author : Eugene V. Koonin
Publisher : FT Press
ISBN 13 : 013262317X
Total Pages : 530 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (326 download)

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Book Synopsis The Logic of Chance by : Eugene V. Koonin

Download or read book The Logic of Chance written by Eugene V. Koonin and published by FT Press. This book was released on 2011-06-23 with total page 530 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Logic of Chance offers a reappraisal and a new synthesis of theories, concepts, and hypotheses on the key aspects of the evolution of life on earth in light of comparative genomics and systems biology. The author presents many specific examples from systems and comparative genomic analysis to begin to build a new, much more detailed, complex, and realistic picture of evolution. The book examines a broad range of topics in evolutionary biology including the inadequacy of natural selection and adaptation as the only or even the main mode of evolution; the key role of horizontal gene transfer in evolution and the consequent overhaul of the Tree of Life concept; the central, underappreciated evolutionary importance of viruses; the origin of eukaryotes as a result of endosymbiosis; the concomitant origin of cells and viruses on the primordial earth; universal dependences between genomic and molecular-phenomic variables; and the evolving landscape of constraints that shape the evolution of genomes and molecular phenomes. "Koonin's account of viral and pre-eukaryotic evolution is undoubtedly up-to-date. His "mega views" of evolution (given what was said above) and his cosmological musings, on the other hand, are interesting reading." Summing Up: Recommended Reprinted with permission from CHOICE, copyright by the American Library Association.