The Organism as a Thermodynamic Mechanism

Nucleocytoplasmic transport: a thermodynamic mechanism.

The nuclear pore supports molecular communication between cytoplasm and nucleus in eukaryotic cells. Selective transport of proteins is mediated by soluble receptors, whose regulation by the small GTPase Ran leads to cargo accumulation in, or depletion from, the nucleus, i.e., nuclear import or nuclear export. We consider the operation of this transport system by a combined analytical and exper...

The Thermodynamic Mechanism of Peptide

Chlamydomonas as a Model Organism.

The unicellular green alga Chlamydomonas offers a simple life cycle, easy isolation of mutants, and a growing array of tools and techniques for molecular genetic studies. Among the principal areas of current investigation using this model system are flagellar structure and function, genetics of basal bodies (centrioles), chloroplast biogenesis, photosynthesis, light perception, cell-cell recogn...

Virus as Organism

Szent-Gy6rgi. The nerve is described as an electro-chemical generator, although it is admitted that the events at the synapses are pirobably "not purely electrical." The theory envisages the electrotonic current as the "master tool of nervous integration." This may be true, but probably will not be proven for many years. In the meanwhile it is confusing to use the vocabulary of the electrical p...

Adaptation as organism design.

The problem of adaptation is to explain the apparent design of organisms. Darwin solved this problem with the theory of natural selection. However, population geneticists, whose responsibility it is to formalize evolutionary theory, have long neglected the link between natural selection and organismal design. Here, I review the major historical developments in theory of organismal adaptation, c...