The synchronized flashing of fireflies at night. The spiraling
patterns of an aggregating slime mold. The anastomosing network of
army-ant trails. The coordinated movements of a school of fish.
Researchers are finding in such patterns--phenomena that have
fascinated naturalists for centuries--a fertile new approach to
understanding biological systems: the study of self-organization.
This book, a primer on self-organization in biological systems for
students and other enthusiasts, introduces readers to the basic
concepts and tools for studying self-organization and then examines
numerous examples of self-organization in the natural world.
Self-organization refers to diverse pattern formation processes
in the physical and biological world, from sand grains assembling
into rippled dunes to cells combining to create highly structured
tissues to individual insects working to create sophisticated
societies. What these diverse systems hold in common is the
proximate means by which they acquire order and structure. In
self-organizing systems, pattern at the global level emerges solely
from interactions among lower-level components. Remarkably, even
very complex structures result from the iteration of surprisingly
simple behaviors performed by individuals relying on only local
information. This striking conclusion suggests important lines of
inquiry: To what degree is environmental rather than individual
complexity responsible for group complexity? To what extent have
widely differing organisms adopted similar, convergent strategies
of pattern formation? How, specifically, has natural selection
determined the rules governing interactions within biological
systems?
Broad in scope, thorough yet accessible, this book is a
self-contained introduction to self-organization and complexity in
biology--a field of study at the forefront of life sciences
research.
General
Is the information for this product incomplete, wrong or inappropriate?
Let us know about it.
Does this product have an incorrect or missing image?
Send us a new image.
Is this product missing categories?
Add more categories.
Review This Product
No reviews yet - be the first to create one!
Welcome to Loot.co.za!
Sign in / Register |Wishlists & Gift Vouchers |Help | Advanced search
