Finding simplicity in complexity: general principles of biological and nonbiological organization

What differentiates the living from the nonliving? What is life? These are perennial questions that have occupied minds since the beginning of cultures. The search for a clear demarcation between animate and inanimate is a reflection of the human tendency to create borders, not only physical but als...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of biological physics 2009-08, Vol.35 (3), p.209-221
Main Author: Perez Velazquez, Jose L
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Biochemistry
Biological and Medical Physics
Biophysics
brain
Classification
Complex Fluids and Microfluidics
Complex Systems
Complexity
evolution
Evolutionary biology
Fluctuations
information
Logic
Neurosciences
Perspective
Physics
Physics and Astronomy
Rhythms
Soft and Granular Matter
Synchronization
Theory
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:What differentiates the living from the nonliving? What is life? These are perennial questions that have occupied minds since the beginning of cultures. The search for a clear demarcation between animate and inanimate is a reflection of the human tendency to create borders, not only physical but also conceptual. It is obvious that what we call a living creature, either bacteria or organism, has distinct properties from those of the normally called nonliving. However, searching beyond dichotomies and from a global, more abstract, perspective on natural laws, a clear partition of matter into animate and inanimate becomes fuzzy. Based on concepts from a variety of fields of research, the emerging notion is that common principles of biological and nonbiological organization indicate that natural phenomena arise and evolve from a central theme captured by the process of information exchange. Thus, a relatively simple universal logic that rules the evolution of natural phenomena can be unveiled from the apparent complexity of the natural world.
ISSN:0092-0606
1573-0689
DOI:10.1007/s10867-009-9146-z