This edited monograph presents the collected interdisciplinary research results of the priority program “Information- and Communication Theory in Molecular Biology (InKoMBio, SPP 1395)”, funded by the German Research Foundation DFG, 2010 until 2016. The topical spectrum is very broad and comprises, but is not limited to, aspects such as microRNA as part of cell communication, information flow in mammalian signal transduction pathway, cell-cell communication, semiotic structures in biological systems, as well as application of methods from information theory in protein interaction analysis. The target audience primarily comprises research experts in the field of biological signal processing, but the book is also beneficial for graduate students alike.

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This comprehensive guide, by pioneers in the field, brings together, for the first time, everything a new researcher, graduate student or industry practitioner needs to get started in molecular communication. Written with accessibility in mind, it requires little background knowledge, and provides a detailed introduction to the relevant aspects of biology and information theory, as well as coverage of practical systems. The authors start by describing biological nanomachines, the basics of biological molecular communication and the microorganisms that use it. They then proceed to engineered molecular communication and the molecular communication paradigm, with mathematical models of various types of molecular communication and a description of the information and communication theory of molecular communication. Finally, the practical aspects of designing molecular communication systems are presented, including a review of the key applications. Ideal for engineers and biologists looking to get up to speed on the current practice in this growing field.

This is a detailed history of one of the most important and dramatic episodes in modern science, recounted from the novel vantage point of the dawn of the information age and its impact on representations of nature, heredity, and society. Drawing on archives, published sources, and interviews, the author situates work on the genetic code (1953-70) within the history of life science, the rise of communication technosciences (cybernetics, information theory, and computers), the intersection of molecular biology with cryptanalysis and linguistics, and the social history of postwar Europe and the United States. Kay draws out the historical specificity in the process by which the central biological problem of DNA-based protein synthesis came to be metaphorically represented as an information code and a writing technology—and consequently as a “book of life.” This molecular writing and reading is part of the cultural production of the Nuclear Age, its power amplified by the centuries-old theistic resonance of the “book of life” metaphor. Yet, as the author points out, these are just metaphors: analogies, not ontologies. Necessary and productive as they have been, they have their epistemological limitations. Deploying analyses of language, cryptology, and information theory, the author persuasively argues that, technically speaking, the genetic code is not a code, DNA is not a language, and the genome is not an information system (objections voiced by experts as early as the 1950s). Thus her historical reconstruction and analyses also serve as a critique of the new genomic biopower. Genomic textuality has become a fact of life, a metaphor literalized, she claims, as human genome projects promise new levels of control over life through the meta-level of information: control of the word (the DNA sequences) and its editing and rewriting. But the author shows how the humbling limits of these scriptural metaphors also pose a challenge to the textual and material mastery of the genomic “book of life.”

The International Encyclopedia of Communication Theory and Philosophy is the definitive single-source reference work on the subject, with state-of-the-art and in-depth scholarly reflection on key issues from leading international experts. It is available both online and in print. A state-of-the-art and in-depth scholarly reflection on the key issues raised by communication, covering the history, systematics, and practical potential of communication theory Articles by leading experts offer an unprecedented level of accuracy and balance Provides comprehensive, clear entries which are both cross-national and cross-disciplinary in nature The Encyclopedia presents a truly international perspective with authors and positions representing not just Europe and North America, but also Latin America and Asia Published both online and in print Part of The Wiley Blackwell-ICA International Encyclopedias of Communication series, published in conjunction with the International Communication Association. Online version available at www.wileyicaencyclopedia.com

As well as providing a unified outlook on physics, Information Theory (IT) has numerous applications in chemistry and biology owing to its ability to provide a measure of the entropy/information contained within probability distributions and criteria of their information "distance" (similarity) and independence. Information Theory of Molecular Systems applies standard IT to classical problems in the theory of electronic structure and chemical reactivity. The book starts by introducing the basic concepts of modern electronic structure/reactivity theory based upon the Density Functional Theory (DFT), followed by an outline of the main ideas and techniques of IT, including several illustrative applications to molecular systems. Coverage includes information origins of the chemical bond, unbiased definition of molecular fragments, adequate entropic measures of their internal (intra-fragment) and external (inter-fragment) bond-orders and valence-numbers, descriptors of their chemical reactivity, and information criteria of their similarity and independence. Information Theory of Molecular Systems is recommended to graduate students and researchers interested in fresh ideas in the theory of electronic structure and chemical reactivity.·Provides powerful tools for tackling both classical and new problems in the theory of the molecular electronic structure and chemical reactivity·Introduces basic concepts of the modern electronic structure/reactivity theory based upon the Density Functional Theory (DFT)·Outlines main ideas and techniques of Information Theory

Dr. Yockey presents an introduction to the use of information theory in molecular biology. The book lends to molecular biology a well-developed mathematical foundation and provides mathematical definitions for the vocabulary with which basic questions in molecular biology are debated: information, complexity, order, uncertainty, randomness, and similarity.