Cryptography and Information Protection in the Living World

This paper explores parallels between on epts de ned in ryptography and on epts of biology at di erent levels of organization. Cryptographi settings, in luding the presen e of an eavesdropper are extensive in the realm of plants and animals. It also turns out that priniples of information prote tion show strong similarities between the two dis iplines: omputer s ien e and mole ular biology. Biologi al information, as held by the DNA mole ule, and digital information, as used in digital ommuni ation systems, are subje t to analogous pro edures of prote tion and repair when damaged.