Fluctuations and Scaling in Biology FROM THE PUBLISHER
During the last decade the well-established tools of statistical physics have been successfully applied to an increasing number of biological phenomena. It is a fruitful approach to systems characterized by fluctuations and/or a large number of very similar units, and such systems are common in biology, whether it be the individuals in the codons of a genetic code or the behavioral responses of macromolecules to thermal fluctuations. This book is thus able to cover a wide range of phenomena, including fractal pattern formation, group motion in organisms from bacteria to humans, or the mechanisms by which fluctuations are rectified in the cell's molecular machinery. This book provides a summary of the majority of recent approaches and concepts born in the study of biological phenomena involving collective behavior and random perturbation, as well as presenting some of the most important new results to specialist researchers.
FROM THE CRITICS
Booknews
Summarizes recent approaches to the study of biological phenomena involving collective behavior and random perturbation, applying the tools developed by statistical physics for interpreting systems dominated by fluctuations and/or many identical units. The six chapters discuss fractal geometry, stochastic processes, self- organized criticality, complex spatial and temporal patterns emerging in biological systems containing many units, microscopic fluctuations in the transport processes within a cell, and the collective motion of organisms, including the patterns developed by pedestrians as they move together. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
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