Why DNA?

From DNA Sequence to Biological Complexity

AvAndrew Travers

Inbunden, Engelska, 2022

718 kr

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Beskrivning

Information is central to the evolution of biological complexity, a physical system relying on a continuous supply of energy. Biology provides superb examples of the consequent Darwinian selection of mechanisms for efficient energy utilisation. Genetic information, underpinned by the Watson-Crick base-pairing rules is largely encoded by DNA, a molecule uniquely adapted to its roles in information storage and utilisation.This volume addresses two fundamental questions. Firstly, what properties of the molecule have enabled it to become the predominant genetic material in the biological world today and secondly, to what extent have the informational properties of the molecule contributed to the expansion of biological diversity and the stability of ecosystems. The author argues that bringing these two seemingly unrelated topics together enables Schrödinger's What is Life?, published before the structure of DNA was known, to be revisited and his ideas examined in the context of our current biological understanding.

Produktinformation

Utgivningsdatum:2022-02-17
Mått:158 x 235 x 15 mm
Vikt:500 g
Format:Inbunden
Språk:Engelska
Antal sidor:222
Förlag:Cambridge University Press
ISBN:9781107056398

Utforska kategorier

Tillämpad fysik inom Naturvetenskap och teknik
Biokemi inom Naturvetenskap och teknik
Biovetenskap inom Naturvetenskap och teknik

Mer om författaren

Andrew Travers is an Emeritus Scientist at the Medical Research Council Laboratory of Molecular Biology (MRC LMB) and a Visiting Scientist in the Department of Biochemistry at the University of Cambridge. His research focuses on the use of the genetics and biochemistry of bacteria and Drosophila to study the mechanisms of chromatin folding and unfolding. He started his academic career at the MRC LMB before spending two years as a post-doc in Jim Watson's lab at Harvard University, where he co-discovered the first of the RNA polymerase sigma factors.

Recensioner i media

'The essence of the book is in its title. The DNA structures and topology are described so clearly that the reader perceives these intricacies as pure evolutionary elegance, and understands WHY it is only in its balance of stability and agility that life could have started its journey. This book explains how DNA has become the fascinating prism, made of a fabric of complexity and information, into which the living reflects itself. My opinion is passionate because I have been thinking about the same problems for decades, and here I find many of the answers. Especially: what makes DNA so unique? It is a text that I keep reading over again.' Ernesto Di Mauro, IBPM, National Research Council, Rome

Innehållsförteckning

Acknowledgements; Preface; 1. The perennial question; 2. The nature of information – information, complexity and entropy; 3. DNA – the molecule; 4. The evolution of biological complexity; 5. Cooperating genomes; 6. DNA, information and complexity; 7. Origins; 8. The complexity of societies; 9. Why DNA – and not RNA?; General reading and bibliography.