T. Gánti
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- April 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780198507260
- eISBN:
- 9780191584886
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198507260.003.0002
- Subject:
- Biology, Evolutionary Biology / Genetics
This chapter is a revised version of the second part (‘Solutions’ of Gánti's book Contra Crick, or The Essence of Life. Responding to Crick's ‘panspermia’ hypothesis of his book Life Itself: Its ...
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This chapter is a revised version of the second part (‘Solutions’ of Gánti's book Contra Crick, or The Essence of Life. Responding to Crick's ‘panspermia’ hypothesis of his book Life Itself: Its Origin and Nature, which attributes the chemical origin of life on Earth to inoculations of organic molecules from space, the chapter offers a set of reflections of the problems to be solved in both signs of life research, and more broadly in the search for principles governing the living state.Less
This chapter is a revised version of the second part (‘Solutions’ of Gánti's book Contra Crick, or The Essence of Life. Responding to Crick's ‘panspermia’ hypothesis of his book Life Itself: Its Origin and Nature, which attributes the chemical origin of life on Earth to inoculations of organic molecules from space, the chapter offers a set of reflections of the problems to be solved in both signs of life research, and more broadly in the search for principles governing the living state.
Cole Mathis
- Published in print:
- 2020
- Published Online:
- June 2020
- ISBN:
- 9780190915650
- eISBN:
- 9780197506066
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780190915650.003.0006
- Subject:
- Biology, Bioethics
This chapter draws inspiration from statistical physics to describe a statistical category that can be termed the “living state.” References to a living state can be found throughout origin of life ...
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This chapter draws inspiration from statistical physics to describe a statistical category that can be termed the “living state.” References to a living state can be found throughout origin of life and astrobiology science. Some researchers have used the concept of the living state to explicitly place biological phenomena within the epistemological scope of statistical physics. Within this framework, biological phenomena at a given scale of organization are explained and understood by appealing to the statistical properties of the dynamics of the smaller and larger scales. This is analogous to how distinct states of matter are understood by appealing to the statistical properties of atoms, with the important distinction that statistical physicists have historically not included constraints from larger levels of organization, which are essential in determining the properties of living systems. This conception of the living state may enable astrobiologists to integrate progress from different disciplinary perspectives into a quantitative theory of life.Less
This chapter draws inspiration from statistical physics to describe a statistical category that can be termed the “living state.” References to a living state can be found throughout origin of life and astrobiology science. Some researchers have used the concept of the living state to explicitly place biological phenomena within the epistemological scope of statistical physics. Within this framework, biological phenomena at a given scale of organization are explained and understood by appealing to the statistical properties of the dynamics of the smaller and larger scales. This is analogous to how distinct states of matter are understood by appealing to the statistical properties of atoms, with the important distinction that statistical physicists have historically not included constraints from larger levels of organization, which are essential in determining the properties of living systems. This conception of the living state may enable astrobiologists to integrate progress from different disciplinary perspectives into a quantitative theory of life.
