Author : Alexander S. Mikhailov
Publisher : Springer Science & Business Media
Page : 307 pages
File Size : 17,12 MB
Release : 2013-06-29
Category : Science
ISBN : 3662050625
Using simple models this book shows how we can gain insights into the behavior of complex systems. It is devoted to the discussion of functional self-organization in large populations of interacting active elements. The authors have chosen a series of models from physics, biochemistry, biology, sociology and economics, and systematically discuss their general properties. The book addresses researchers and graduate students in a variety of disciplines.
Author : Anamaria Berea
Publisher : BoD – Books on Demand
Page : 100 pages
File Size : 21,19 MB
Release : 2019-03-20
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN : 1789857791
This book is an interdisciplinary effort to understand the evolution of communication from cells to societies, both in living organisms and in non-living ones, such as designed or emergent systems from socio-technological innovations (i.e., digital communication, institutional communication). It aims to provide better understanding of the universal versus contextual patterns of communication that we can potentially classify and identify if we look deeper into the history and evolution of this phenomenon at large. Novel research from a variety of disciplines, such as information theory, biology, linguistics, culture and social science that take a complex perspective is being explored, for an integrated understanding of what communication is at a fundamental level.
Author : Enrico Coen
Publisher : Princeton University Press
Page : 342 pages
File Size : 26,8 MB
Release : 2012
Category : Education
ISBN : 0691149674
A compelling investigation into the relationships between our biological past and cultural progress, "Cells to Civilizations" presents a remarkable story of living change.
Author : Ruha Benjamin
Publisher : Stanford University Press
Page : 268 pages
File Size : 47,3 MB
Release : 2013-05-22
Category : Science
ISBN : 0804786739
“An engaging, insightful, and challenging call to examine both the rhetoric and reality of innovation and inclusion in science and science policy.” —Daniel R. Morrison, American Journal of Sociology Stem cell research has sparked controversy and heated debate since the first human stem cell line was derived in 1998. Too frequently these debates devolve to simple judgments—good or bad, life-saving medicine or bioethical nightmare, symbol of human ingenuity or our fall from grace—ignoring the people affected. With this book, Ruha Benjamin moves the terms of debate to focus on the shifting relationship between science and society, on the people who benefit—or don’t—from regenerative medicine and what this says about our democratic commitments to an equitable society. People’s Science uncovers the tension between scientific innovation and social equality, taking the reader inside California’s 2004 stem cell initiative, the first of many state referenda on scientific research, to consider the lives it has affected. Benjamin reveals the promise and peril of public participation in science, illuminating issues of race, disability, gender, and socio-economic class that serve to define certain groups as more or less deserving in their political aims and biomedical hopes. Ultimately, Ruha Benjamin argues that without more deliberate consideration about how scientific initiatives can and should reflect a wider array of social concerns, stem cell research—from African Americans’ struggle with sickle cell treatment to the recruitment of women as tissue donors—still risks excluding many. Even as regenerative medicine is described as a participatory science for the people, Benjamin asks us to consider if “the people” ultimately reflects our democratic ideals.
Author : Lewis Thomas
Publisher : Penguin
Page : 162 pages
File Size : 43,33 MB
Release : 1978-02-23
Category : Science
ISBN : 1101667052
Elegant, suggestive, and clarifying, Lewis Thomas's profoundly humane vision explores the world around us and examines the complex interdependence of all things. Extending beyond the usual limitations of biological science and into a vast and wondrous world of hidden relationships, this provocative book explores in personal, poetic essays to topics such as computers, germs, language, music, death, insects, and medicine. Lewis Thomas writes, "Once you have become permanently startled, as I am, by the realization that we are a social species, you tend to keep an eye out for the pieces of evidence that this is, by and large, good for us."
Author : Kat Arney
Publisher : BenBella Books
Page : 256 pages
File Size : 34,36 MB
Release : 2020-10-20
Category : Medical
ISBN : 1950665518
Why do we get cancer? Is it our modern diets and unhealthy habits? Chemicals in the environment? An unwelcome genetic inheritance? Or is it just bad luck? The answer is all of these and none of them. We get cancer because we can't avoid it—it's a bug in the system of life itself. Cancer exists in nearly every animal and has afflicted humans as long as our species has walked the earth. In Rebel Cell: Cancer, Evolution, and the New Science of Life's Oldest Betrayal, Kat Arney reveals the secrets of our most formidable medical enemy, most notably the fact that it isn't so much a foreign invader as a double agent: cancer is hardwired into the fundamental processes of life. New evidence shows that this disease is the result of the same evolutionary changes that allowed us to thrive. Evolution helped us outsmart our environment, and it helps cancer outsmart its environment as well—alas, that environment is us. Explaining why "everything we know about cancer is wrong," Arney, a geneticist and award-winning science writer, guides readers with her trademark wit and clarity through the latest research into the cellular mavericks that rebel against the rigid biological "society" of the body and make a leap towards anarchy. We need to be a lot smarter to defeat such a wily foe—smarter even than Darwin himself. In this new world, where we know that every cancer is unique and can evolve its way out of trouble, the old models of treatment have reached their limits. But we are starting to decipher cancer's secret evolutionary playbook, mapping the landscapes in which these rogue cells survive, thrive, or die, and using this knowledge to predict and confound cancer's next move. Rebel Cell is a story about life and death, hope and hubris, nature and nurture. It's about a new way of thinking about what this disease really is and the role it plays in human life. Above all, it's a story about where cancer came from, where it's going, and how we can stop it.
Author : Sherrie L Lyons
Publisher : University of Toronto Press
Page : 291 pages
File Size : 11,54 MB
Release : 2020-07-09
Category : Science
ISBN : 1442635118
More than a history, From Cells to Organisms delves into the nature of scientific practice, showing that results are interpreted not only through the lens of a microscope, but also through the lens of particular ideas and prior philosophical convictions. Before the twentieth century, heredity and development were considered complementary aspects of the fundamental problem of generation, but later they became distinct disciplines with the rise of genetics. Focusing on how cell theory shaped investigations of development, this book explores evolution, vitalism, the role of the nucleus, and the concept of biological individuality. Building upon the work of Thomas Huxley, an important early critic of cell theory, and more recent research from biologists such as Daniel Mazia, From Cells to Organisms covers ongoing debates around cell theory and uses case studies to examine the nature of scientific practice, the role of prestige, and the dynamics of theory change.
Author : Mary Clarke
Publisher : Garland Science
Page : 966 pages
File Size : 15,57 MB
Release : 2020-07-27
Category : Science
ISBN : 1000062651
Stem cell science, encompassing basic biology to practical application, is both vast and diverse. A full appreciation of it requires an understanding of cell and molecular biology, tissue structure and physiology, the practicalities of tissue engineering and bioprocessing, and the pathways to clinical implementation—including the ethical and regulatory imperatives that our society requires us to address. Expectation and debate have been driven by the allure of regenerative medicine using stem cells as a source of replacements for damaged or aged tissues. The potential of stem cell application goes far beyond this. Highly innovative uses of stem cells are emerging as possible therapies for cancers, treating acute damage in conditions such as stroke and myocardial infarction, and resolving a whole range of diseases. Stem Cells: Biology and Application presents the basic concepts underlying the fast-moving science of stem cell biology. This textbook is written for an advanced stem cell biology course. The target audience includes senior undergraduates, first year graduate students, and practitioners in molecular biology, biology, and biomedical engineering. Stem Cells provides a comprehensive understanding of these unique cells, highlighting key areas of research, associated controversies, case studies, technologies, and pioneers in the field.
Author : Itai Yanai
Publisher : Harvard University Press
Page : 295 pages
File Size : 23,5 MB
Release : 2016-01-11
Category : Science
ISBN : 0674425022
Nearly four decades ago Richard Dawkins published The Selfish Gene, famously reducing humans to “survival machines” whose sole purpose was to preserve “the selfish molecules known as genes.” How these selfish genes work together to construct the organism, however, remained a mystery. Standing atop a wealth of new research, The Society of Genes now provides a vision of how genes cooperate and compete in the struggle for life. Pioneers in the nascent field of systems biology, Itai Yanai and Martin Lercher present a compelling new framework to understand how the human genome evolved and why understanding the interactions among our genes shifts the basic paradigm of modern biology. Contrary to what Dawkins’s popular metaphor seems to imply, the genome is not made of individual genes that focus solely on their own survival. Instead, our genomes comprise a society of genes which, like human societies, is composed of members that form alliances and rivalries. In language accessible to lay readers, The Society of Genes uncovers genetic strategies of cooperation and competition at biological scales ranging from individual cells to entire species. It captures the way the genome works in cancer cells and Neanderthals, in sexual reproduction and the origin of life, always underscoring one critical point: that only by putting the interactions among genes at center stage can we appreciate the logic of life.
Author : Alexander Anderson
Publisher : Springer Science & Business Media
Page : 346 pages
File Size : 37,53 MB
Release : 2007-08-08
Category : Mathematics
ISBN : 376438123X
Aimed at postgraduate students in a variety of biology-related disciplines, this volume presents a collection of mathematical and computational single-cell-based models and their application. The main sections cover four general model groupings: hybrid cellular automata, cellular potts, lattice-free cells, and viscoelastic cells. Each section is introduced by a discussion of the applicability of the particular modelling approach and its advantages and disadvantages, which will make the book suitable for students starting research in mathematical biology as well as scientists modelling multicellular processes.
