Abstract
Natural supports of information are given by random copolymers such as DNA or RNA where information is coded in the sequence of covalent bonds. At the molecular scale, the stochastic growth of a single copolymer with or without a template proceeds by successive random attachments or detachments of monomers continuously supplied by the surrounding solution. The thermodynamics of copolymerization shows that fundamental links already exist between information and thermodynamics at the molecular scale, which opens new perspectives to understand the dynamical aspects of information in biology.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Andrieux D, Gaspard P (2008) Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 105:9516
Jarzynski C (2008) Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 105:9451
Andrieux D, Gaspard P (2009) J Chem Phys 130:014901
Gaspard P (2012) Self-organization at the nanoscale scale in far-from-equilibrium surface reactions and copolymerizations. In: Mikhailov AS, Ertl G (eds) Proceedings of the International Conference “Engineering of Chemical Complexity”, Berlin Center for Studies of Complex Chemical Systems, July 4–8, 2011. World Scientific, Singapore, pp 4–8. doi:10.1142/9789814390460_0003. ISBN 978-981-4390-45-3
Schrödinger E (1944) What is life? Cambridge University Press, Cambridge
Bennett CH (1979) Biosystems 11:85
Greenleaf WJ, Block SM (2006) Science 313:801
Eid J et al. (2009) Science 323:133
Uemura S, Echeverría Aitken C, Korlach J, Flusberg BA, Turner SW, Puglisi JD (2010) Nature 464:1012
Eigen M (1992) Steps towards life: a perspective on evolution. Oxford University Press, Oxford
Eigen M, Schuster P (1977) Naturwissenschaften 64:541. Ibid, 65:7 (1978). Ibid, 65:341 (1978)
Woo H-J, Wallqvist A (2011) Phys Rev Lett 106:060601
Acknowledgements
This research is financially supported by the Belgian Federal Government (BELSPO), the Communauté française de Belgique, and the Université Libre de Bruxelles.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2013 Springer International Publishing Switzerland
About this paper
Cite this paper
Gaspard, P. (2013). Dynamical Aspects of Information in Copolymerization Processes. In: Gilbert, T., Kirkilionis, M., Nicolis, G. (eds) Proceedings of the European Conference on Complex Systems 2012. Springer Proceedings in Complexity. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-00395-5_58
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-00395-5_58
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-00394-8
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-00395-5
eBook Packages: Physics and AstronomyPhysics and Astronomy (R0)