The Unconventionality of Nature: Biology, from Noise to Functional Randomness

TY - CHAP

T1 - The Unconventionality of Nature

T2 - Biology, from Noise to Functional Randomness

AU - Bravi, Barbara

AU - Longo, Giuseppe

PY - 2015

Y1 - 2015

N2 - In biology, phenotypes’ variability stems from stochastic gene expression as well as from intrinsic and extrinsic fluctuations that are largely based on the contingency of evolutionary and developmental paths and on ecosystemic changes. Both forms of randomness constructively contribute to biological robustness, as resilience, far away from conventional computable dynamics, where elaboration and transmission of information are robust when they resist to noise. We first survey how fluctuations may be inserted in biochemical equations as probabilistic terms, in conjunction to diffusion or path integrals, and treated by statistical approaches to physics. Further work allows to better grasp the role of biological “resonance” (interactions between different levels of organization) and plasticity, in a highly unconventional frame that seems more suitable for biological processes. In contrast to physical conservation properties, thus symmetries, symmetry breaking is particularly relevant in biology; it provides another key component of biological historicity and of randomness as a source of diversity and, thus, of onto-phylogenetic stability and organization as these are also based on variation and adaptativity.

AB - In biology, phenotypes’ variability stems from stochastic gene expression as well as from intrinsic and extrinsic fluctuations that are largely based on the contingency of evolutionary and developmental paths and on ecosystemic changes. Both forms of randomness constructively contribute to biological robustness, as resilience, far away from conventional computable dynamics, where elaboration and transmission of information are robust when they resist to noise. We first survey how fluctuations may be inserted in biochemical equations as probabilistic terms, in conjunction to diffusion or path integrals, and treated by statistical approaches to physics. Further work allows to better grasp the role of biological “resonance” (interactions between different levels of organization) and plasticity, in a highly unconventional frame that seems more suitable for biological processes. In contrast to physical conservation properties, thus symmetries, symmetry breaking is particularly relevant in biology; it provides another key component of biological historicity and of randomness as a source of diversity and, thus, of onto-phylogenetic stability and organization as these are also based on variation and adaptativity.

KW - noise biology

KW - randomness

KW - resilience

KW - diversity

KW - variability

M3 - Conference paper

SN - 9783319218199

VL - LNCS 9252

T3 - Lecture Notes in Computer Science

SP - 3

EP - 34

BT - Unconventional Computation & Natural Computation Conference (UCNC), Auckland (NZ) 31/8 - 4/9/2015

PB - Springer

ER -