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Reoccurring Patterns in Hierarchical Protein Materials and Music: The Power of Analogies

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Abstract

Complex hierarchical structures composed of simple nanoscale building blocks form the basis of most biological materials. Here, we demonstrate how analogies between seemingly different fields enable the understanding of general principles by which functional properties in hierarchical systems emerge, similar to an analogy learning process. Specifically, natural hierarchical materials like spider silk exhibit properties comparable to classical music in terms of their hierarchical structure and function. As a comparative tool, here, we apply hierarchical ontology logs that follow a rigorous mathematical formulation based on category theory to provide an insightful system representation by expressing knowledge in a conceptual map. We explain the process of analogy creation, draw connections at several levels of hierarchy, and identify similar patterns that govern the structure of the hierarchical systems silk and music and discuss the impact of the derived analogy for nanotechnology.

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Acknowledgments

We acknowledge support from AFOSR and DOD-PECASE (funded by ONR grant # N00014-10-1-0562). Additional support was received from the German National Academic Foundation (Studienstiftung des deutsches Volkes) and ONR grant # N00014-10-1-0841.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory for Atomistic and Molecular Mechanics, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Mass. Ave. Room 1-235A&B, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA

    Tristan Giesa & Markus J. Buehler

  2. Department of Mechanical Engineering, RWTH Aachen University, Templergraben 55, 52056, Aachen, Germany

    Tristan Giesa

  3. Department of Mathematics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Mass. Ave, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA

    David I. Spivak

  4. Center for Computational Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Mass. Ave. Room 1-235A&B, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA

    Markus J. Buehler

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  1. Tristan Giesa
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  2. David I. Spivak
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  3. Markus J. Buehler
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Correspondence to Markus J. Buehler.

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Giesa, T., Spivak, D.I. & Buehler, M.J. Reoccurring Patterns in Hierarchical Protein Materials and Music: The Power of Analogies. BioNanoSci. 1, 153–161 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12668-011-0022-5

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