Chance In Biology
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Chance In Biology
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Author : Mark Denny
language : en
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Release Date : 2011-10-23
Chance In Biology written by Mark Denny and has been published by Princeton University Press this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 2011-10-23 with Science categories.
Life is a chancy proposition: from the movement of molecules to the age at which we die, chance plays a key role in the natural world. Traditionally, biologists have viewed the inevitable "noise" of life as an unfortunate complication. The authors of this book, however, treat random processes as a benefit. In this introduction to chance in biology, Mark Denny and Steven Gaines help readers to apply the probability theory needed to make sense of chance events--using examples from ocean waves to spiderwebs, in fields ranging from molecular mechanics to evolution. Through the application of probability theory, Denny and Gaines make predictions about how plants and animals work in a stochastic universe. Is it possible to pack a variety of ion channels into a cell membrane and have each operate at near-peak flow? Why are our arteries rubbery? The concept of a random walk provides the necessary insight. Is there an absolute upper limit to human life span? Could the sound of a cocktail party burst your eardrums? The statistics of extremes allows us to make the appropriate calculations. How long must you wait to see the detail in a moonlit landscape? Can you hear the noise of individual molecules? The authors provide answers to these and many other questions. After an introduction to the basic statistical methods to be used in this book, the authors emphasize the application of probability theory to biology rather than the details of the theory itself. Readers with an introductory background in calculus will be able to follow the reasoning, and sets of problems, together with their solutions, are offered to reinforce concepts. The use of real-world examples, numerous illustrations, and chapter summaries--all presented with clarity and wit--make for a highly accessible text. By relating the theory of probability to the understanding of form and function in living things, the authors seek to pique the reader's curiosity about statistics and provide a new perspective on the role of chance in biology.
Chance In Biology
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Author : Mark W. Denny
language : en
Publisher:
Release Date : 2000
Chance In Biology written by Mark W. Denny and has been published by this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 2000 with Biomathematics categories.
Chance And Necessity
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Author : Jacques Monod
language : en
Publisher: Vintage
Release Date : 1972
Chance And Necessity written by Jacques Monod and has been published by Vintage this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 1972 with Philosophy categories.
Anti Chance
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Author : E. Schoffeniels
language : en
Publisher: Elsevier
Release Date : 2016-07-29
Anti Chance written by E. Schoffeniels and has been published by Elsevier this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 2016-07-29 with Science categories.
Anti-Chance: A Reply to Monod's Chance and Necessity is a critique of Jacques Monod's essay on the natural philosophy of modern biology. It explores the concepts of chance and necessity, central themes of Monod's work, and specifically whether life is the result of coincidence of diverse independent chains of causality or, on the contrary, whether it obeys the more fundamental concept of chance as proposed by the Danish School of physicists. Questions such as the chance or the inevitability of it all, the sites and sizes of the knowledge gaps and as to whether they will be filled with physics and chemistry on the one hand or seasoned with metaphysics on the other, are examined. This book is comprised of 10 chapters and begins with reflections on biology and the argument that biology can only enrich itself by abandoning a teleological or finalist mode of thought. The discussion then turns to probabilities of chance, with emphasis on three different mechanisms of the intervention of chance. Subsequent chapters focus on the link between thermodynamics and biological order; the basis for a theoretical biology and 14 propositions to which the fundamental attributes of cells can be reduced; the molecular basis of instinct; and the relationship between speech and consciousness. The applicability of cybernetics to biological systems and their component metabolic cycles is also considered, along with the structure of chance. This monograph will be of interest to scientists in fields ranging from biology and natural philosophy to physics, chemistry, and physiology.
Chance In Evolution
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Author : Grant Ramsey
language : en
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
Release Date : 2016-10-25
Chance In Evolution written by Grant Ramsey and has been published by University of Chicago Press this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 2016-10-25 with Science categories.
This illuminating volume explores the effects of chance on evolution, covering diverse perspectives from scientists, philosophers, and historians. The evolution of species, from single-celled organisms to multicellular animals and plants, is the result of a long and highly chancy history. But how profoundly has chance shaped life on earth? And what, precisely, do we mean by chance? Bringing together biologists, philosophers of science, and historians of science, Chance in Evolution is the first book to untangle the far-reaching effects of chance, contingency, and randomness on the evolution of life. The book begins by placing chance in historical context, starting with the ancients and moving through Darwin to contemporary biology. It documents the shifts in our understanding of chance as Darwin’s theory of evolution developed into the modern synthesis, and how the acceptance of chance in Darwinian theory affected theological resistance to it. Other chapters discuss how chance relates to the concepts of genetic drift, mutation, and parallel evolution—as well as recent work in paleobiology and the experimental evolution of microbes. By engaging in collaboration across biology, history, philosophy, and theology, this book offers a comprehensive overview both of the history of chance in evolution and of our current understanding of the impact of chance on life.
Chance Calculation And Life
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Author : Thierry Gaudin
language : en
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
Release Date : 2021-04-23
Chance Calculation And Life written by Thierry Gaudin and has been published by John Wiley & Sons this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 2021-04-23 with Computers categories.
Chance, Calculation and Life brings together 16 original papers from the colloquium of the same name, organized by the International Cultural Center of Cerisy in 2019. From mathematics to the humanities and biology, there are many concepts and questions related to chance. What are the different types of chance? Does chance correspond to a lack of knowledge about the causes of events, or is there a truly intrinsic and irreducible chance? Does chance preside over our decisions? Does it govern evolution? Is it at the origin of life? What part do chance and necessity play in biology? This book answers these fundamental questions by bringing together the clear and richly documented contributions of mathematicians, physicists, biologists and philosophers who make this book an incomparable tool for work and reflection.
The Logic Of Chance
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Author : Eugene V. Koonin
language : en
Publisher: FT Press
Release Date : 2011-06-23
The Logic Of Chance written by Eugene V. Koonin and has been published by FT Press this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 2011-06-23 with Science categories.
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.
Purpose In A World Of Chance
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Author : William Homan Thorpe
language : en
Publisher:
Release Date : 1978
Purpose In A World Of Chance written by William Homan Thorpe and has been published by this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 1978 with Biology categories.
Chance Development And Aging
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Author : Caleb Ellicott Finch
language : en
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Release Date : 2000
Chance Development And Aging written by Caleb Ellicott Finch and has been published by Oxford University Press, USA this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 2000 with Aging categories.
Chance, Development, and Aging analyzes a subject that has been largelyignored until now: the sources of individual variations in development and agingthat cannot be attributed to genes or the external environment. And by doing so,this book develops new insight on aging and the individual. Gathering andscrutinizing evidence from diverse sources, the authors examine thosedifferences in individuals that arise during development and those that mightinfluence outcomes of aging. Through their research, they pose a new set ofquestions about the contribution of chance events during development, andalthough chance variations during development are well known within thesub-fields of developmental biology, there has been little recognition of theiraffects on variations in adult form and function. Here, the authors confrontthis issue with a fascinating hypothesis: chance variations in form andfunction, arising through development, affect individual base-line functions andindividual responses to the external environment and so modify outcomes ofaging. This book will undoubtedly benefit gerontologists, geneticists,reproductive biologists, and physiologists, and it will fascinate all thoseinterested in the outcomes of aging.
Evolution And The Machinery Of Chance
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Author : Marshall Abrams
language : en
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
Release Date : 2023-07-10
Evolution And The Machinery Of Chance written by Marshall Abrams and has been published by University of Chicago Press this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 2023-07-10 with Science categories.
An innovative view of the role of fitness concepts in evolutionary theory. Natural selection is one of the factors responsible for changes in biological populations. Some traits or organisms are fitter than others, and natural selection occurs when there are changes in the distribution of traits in populations because of fitness differences. Many philosophers of biology insist that a trait’s fitness should be defined as an average of the fitnesses of individual members of the population that have the trait. Marshall Abrams argues convincingly against this widespread approach. As he shows, it conflicts with the roles that fitness is supposed to play in evolutionary theory and with the ways that evolutionary biologists use fitness concepts in empirical research. The assumption that a causal kind of fitness is fundamentally a property of actual individuals has resulted in unnecessary philosophical puzzles and years of debate. Abrams came to see that the fitnesses of traits that are the basis of natural selection cannot be defined in terms of the fitnesses of actual members of populations, as philosophers of biology often claim. Rather, it is an overall population-environment system—not actual, particular organisms living in particular environmental conditions—that is the basis of trait fitnesses. Abrams argues that by distinguishing different classes of fitness concepts and the roles they play in the practice of evolutionary biology, we can see that evolutionary biologists’ diverse uses of fitness concepts make sense together and are consistent with the idea that fitness differences cause evolution. Abrams’s insight has broad significance, for it provides a general framework for thinking about the metaphysics of biological evolution and its relations to empirical research. As such, it is a game-changing book for philosophers of biology, biologists who want deeper insight into the nature of evolution, and anyone interested in the applied philosophy of probability.