The Touchstone of Life: Molecular Information, Cell Communication, and the Foundations of Life [1 ed.]
0195118286, 9780195118285, 0195140575, 9780195140576
Trying to find good books to review on cell biology just isn't easy, but I've been looking. Werner Loewenstein
Table of contents : Contents......Page 8 Acknowledgments......Page 14 Introduction......Page 16 PART ONE. INFORMATION AND THE ORIGINS OF LIFE......Page 20 Maxwell's Demon......Page 22 What Is Information?......Page 25 The Information-Entropy Trade-Off......Page 28 The Act of a Molecular Demon......Page 31 How the Molecular Demons in Organisms Gather Information......Page 32 Organisms Are Densely Packed with Information......Page 34 The Law that Rules It All......Page 35 The Universal Quartet of Forces and Its Soloist in Molecular Organization......Page 38 Origins......Page 41 The Elusive Wellspring of Information......Page 43 Debut of the Cosmic Quartet......Page 44 From Symmetric to Asymmetric Molecules......Page 47 The Advantages of Molecular Complementarity......Page 50 The Animated Moment: The Begetting of Information Circularity......Page 51 A Synoptic View of the Beginnings......Page 52 The Lively Twig of the Cosmic Tree......Page 53 The Missing Hand: A Phylogenetic Mystery......Page 55 The Hobson's Choice of Molecular Evolution......Page 58 Chance and Determinism......Page 59 The Retreat of Scientific Determinism: Deterministic Chaos......Page 61 The Randomness that Contains Information......Page 63 Molecular Organization from Chaos......Page 64 The New Alchemy and the First Stirrings in the Twiglet of the Cosmic Tree......Page 67 A Question of Time......Page 70 How to Pull the Information Rabbit from the Cosmic Hat......Page 73 A Simple Organic Genesis......Page 74 The Energy for Organizing Molecules with High-Information Content Must Be Supplied in Small Doses......Page 75 The Energy Flux Nursing Biomolecular Organization......Page 76 Light into Bonds into Information......Page 78 Slam-Bang Is No Substitute for Information......Page 80 The Molecular Jigs......Page 81 Information Is Transferred from Molecule to Molecule by Weak and Strong Electromagnetic Interactions......Page 84 Molecular Relays: The Foolproof Genies......Page 86 The Molecular Machines for Coherent Transfer of Information......Page 89 The Proteus Stuff......Page 90 Transmission of Information by Weak Forces Hinges on Goodness of Molecular Fit......Page 91 Weak Forces Are Good for Da Capos in Information Transfer: The Useful Nook in Interacting Atomic Fields......Page 92 Why Proteins Do Not Run Out of Wit......Page 93 The Recharging of the Protein Demons......Page 96 The Limits of Biological Demons and Demon Watchers......Page 97 How Sloppy Demons Save Information......Page 98 Chemical Performance Guides the Selection of Molecular Complementarity in the Laboratory of Evolution......Page 99 An Evolutionary Hypothesis of Conservative Selection......Page 100 An Evolutionary Thought Experiment......Page 101 The Why and Wherefore of the Conservative Selection......Page 107 The Principle of Evolutionary Information Economy......Page 108 Keeping Things in the Family of Adam and Eve Has Its Advantages......Page 111 The Vestiges of Ancient Information......Page 112 The First Commandment of Evolution......Page 113 Rolling Uphill......Page 114 The Basic Loop......Page 115 Why Mutations Don't Rub Off Folded Molecular Structures......Page 117 And Why They Rub Off Linear Structures......Page 118 Mutatis Mutandis......Page 120 Cybernetic Loops and the Mass Capture of Photon Information......Page 121 Natural Selection Is Not a Gentle Game......Page 122 The Garden of Eden......Page 123 The Oldest Circus on Earth......Page 127 PART TWO. INFORMATION FLOW INSIDE CELLS......Page 130 The Flip Sides of Information: Life's Two Realms......Page 132 The Two Major Information Streams......Page 134 The Quintessence of Conservation of Information: DNA......Page 136 The Information Subsidy for DNA Replication and Error Correction......Page 140 Information Is Pumped into DNA as It Leaks Out......Page 141 The Spooling of the Golden Thread......Page 142 Cells Know More Than They Let On......Page 143 DNA's Various Information Tiers......Page 144 The First-Tier Code......Page 146 The Genetic Code......Page 147 Transcription......Page 151 Splicing......Page 152 The Genie that Dances to Its Own Tune......Page 154 A Punishment that Fits the Crime......Page 156 How to Bridge the Information Gap......Page 157 Seek and Find......Page 159 How to Keep Molecular Information Broadcasts under Wraps......Page 160 The Virtues of Molecular Coherence......Page 161 The Transfiguration Called Biological Specificity......Page 162 The Maturing of Biological Communication......Page 163 How Biological Systems Break the Fetters of Quantum Chemistry......Page 164 The Creative Kaleidoscope......Page 165 The Paradox of the Progressive Reactionary......Page 167 What If the Cellular Information Stream Ran Backward?......Page 168 The Elusive Second Wheel of Change......Page 170 Can Organisms Promote Useful Mutations?......Page 171 Three Protein Designs for Tapping Positional Information from DNA......Page 173 What Do Proteins See Where They Plug into the DNA?......Page 175 If the Mountain Will Not Come to Mahomet . . .......Page 177 The Multiplex Adaptor......Page 178 Supramolecular Organization Out of Molecular Hum......Page 180 A Ledger for Supramolecular Information......Page 182 PART THREE. INFORMATION FLOW BETWEEN CELLS......Page 184 The End of the Cell Era: The Merger of Circuses......Page 186 The Innards of the Cell Membrane......Page 188 Strategies for Breaching the Membrane Barrier......Page 191 The Bare Bones of Intercellular Communication......Page 193 The Intercellular Communication Channels......Page 194 The Imperturbable Biological Signal Stuff......Page 197 "Nature's Sole Mistake"......Page 198 How to Get a Message Through a Noisy Channel: The Second Theorem......Page 200 The Virtues of Redundant Small Talk......Page 201 What Is a Code?......Page 203 Why There Are No Double-Entendres in Biological Communications......Page 205 The Question of the Origin of Natural Codes......Page 207 The Why and Wherefore of Encoding......Page 209 What Can We Learn from Game Theory?......Page 211 The Master Demons of Intercellular Communication......Page 213 The Game of Seek and Find in the Membrane......Page 215 The Communications Between Cells Are Lean in Information But Rich in Meaning......Page 216 How to Pull the Strings of a Cell......Page 217 Telecontrol......Page 218 The "Emanations from Organs"......Page 220 The Pervasive Messengers......Page 222 Tango à Trois......Page 223 The DNA Multiplex and Remote Gene Control......Page 226 The Rise of a Demon......Page 228 The Intercellular Functions of the DNA Multiplex......Page 229 Demons with an Esprit de Corps......Page 230 A Smoke Signal......Page 232 Cyclic AMP......Page 235 The Information Relays in the Cell Membrane......Page 237 The Alpha Demon......Page 239 The Alpha Merry-Go-Round......Page 240 The G-Show Libretto......Page 242 Crescendos......Page 244 The Cast of Characters......Page 245 Ion Channels as Maxwell Demons......Page 246 How to Make Signals from Informational Chicken Feed......Page 249 A Small Ion with Cachet: The Calcium Signal......Page 255 Signal Mopping: An Economical Cure for Cross Talk......Page 257 The Shoo-in Called Calcium......Page 260 A Streamlined G-Map......Page 261 T Junctions and Organismic Harmony......Page 262 Snapshots of Two T Demons......Page 264 The G-Pathway in Synopsis......Page 268 11 Intercellular Communication Cheek-by-Jowl......Page 269 Membrane Hot Spots: The Syncretic Communication Unit......Page 270 The Case for Syncretic Communication......Page 272 How Syncretic Information Flows......Page 274 The Information-Crossover Gambit......Page 276 Metamorphosis......Page 280 The Cell-to-Cell Channels......Page 282 How They Form......Page 283 How Cells Are Excommunicated and When......Page 287 How to Achieve Control in One's Birthday Suit......Page 289 The Channel Shutter......Page 290 A Channel Yin-Yang......Page 292 What Goes Through the Cell-Cell Channels......Page 293 Viewing the Signals Through the Looking Glass of Game Theory......Page 295 E Pluribus Unum......Page 297 The Regulation of Cellular Growth......Page 301 The Cellcosm-in-the-Dish......Page 304 How Do Cells Know Their Number?......Page 305 Parlez Vous Cellulaise?......Page 307 Where Canalicular Communication Holds the Trump Card......Page 308 A Model of Growth Control for Small Cell Populations......Page 309 A Model for Large Cell Populations......Page 312 Controls for Two Seasons......Page 315 λ Determines Cellular Growth......Page 316 What Is Cancer?......Page 317 λ Is Reduced in Cancer......Page 319 A Cancer Cure in the Test Tube......Page 320 Our First Line of Defense......Page 321 A Ray of Hope......Page 323 Neuronal Communication and Computation......Page 325 Consciousness......Page 328 Quantum Coherence......Page 330 Quantum Computations?......Page 333 Two Worlds Unbridged......Page 337 PART FOUR. THE SCIENCE OF THE PECULIAR......Page 342 14 How Can You Explain So Wise an Old Bird in a Few Words?......Page 344 The Mistress We Can Live Without......Page 345 The Arduous Minuet......Page 347 The Processing of Information Called Science......Page 348 The Limits of Scientific Knowledge......Page 350 Epilogue......Page 354 The Form-Giving Principle......Page 356 The Ripening of an Afterthought......Page 357 Recommended Reading......Page 360 References......Page 363 C......Page 379 D......Page 380 H......Page 381 M......Page 382 P......Page 383 S......Page 384 Z......Page 385