VIII
Preface
The chief aim of the S.ymposia on Quantitative Biology of Metabolism,
held every other year at the Biologische Anstalt, Helgoland, is to promote
recognition by producing acceptable results. The first (publ: Helgolander
wiss. Meeresunters., Vol. 9, 1964) comprised 36 papers, most of which dealt
with experimental problems, and included a long discussion on the problems of metabolism under adaptive conditions. But even in 1963, the
need to define and delimit the subject produced some theoretical contributions. The second (publ: Helgolander wiss. Meeresunters., Vol. 14, 1966)
included 41 papers, many considering the general implications of models
and systems, while several outlined models for metabolic regulation and
control based on differential equations or binary logic.
The lines of investigation pursued at the first two Symposia are found
again at the third, some of the contributions achieving an even higher
level of formalization. Four interrelated themes, chief among them the
application of models to metabolism, can now be distinguished. The
section on models is prefaced by a general review of their role in human
cognition. The two main types of model capable of representing metabolism and the reactions of biosystems in general are, depending on the
mathematics involved, either discrete and continuous or deterministic and
stochastic; examples of both are found here. They show how fruitful purely
theoretical considerations can be when applied to otherwise intractable
problems. Certain limitations inherent in the design of computers exclude
mere representation of all possible reactions in a given system; however,
computer efficiency can be improved by the omission of certain terms. It is
interesting that, for certain systems of differential equations, the solutions
are shown not be to elementary.
Several more or less experimental trends in the quantitative biology of
metabolism are illustrated by papers on the effects of temperature, activity
stage, adaptation to temperature and season, growth and aging. Some of
these problems run parallel in animals and plants. Among noxious influences, ionizing radiations playa leading role, and the quantitative aspects of
the mechanisms responsible for protection and damage repair are of great
interest. For models of metabolic control, the optimization of reactions is
of fundamental importance and may be based on irreversible thermodynamics, as well as on the theory of automata. The link with time is of great
importance in the theory of metabolic control and the topic of biological
rhythmicity is also involved. Control mechanisms based on coordination
of elementary reactions display oscillatory features at the cellular, intercellular and systemic levels; the steady state in the central nervous system
is a good example of the power of such coordination. The field of thermoregulation requires a special model.
Thus we may say that these papers represent a cross-section through
several of the main lines of advance of quantitative (theoretical) biology;
Preface
The chief aim of the S.ymposia on Quantitative Biology of Metabolism,
held every other year at the Biologische Anstalt, Helgoland, is to promote
recognition by producing acceptable results. The first (publ: Helgolander
wiss. Meeresunters., Vol. 9, 1964) comprised 36 papers, most of which dealt
with experimental problems, and included a long discussion on the problems of metabolism under adaptive conditions. But even in 1963, the
need to define and delimit the subject produced some theoretical contributions. The second (publ: Helgolander wiss. Meeresunters., Vol. 14, 1966)
included 41 papers, many considering the general implications of models
and systems, while several outlined models for metabolic regulation and
control based on differential equations or binary logic.
The lines of investigation pursued at the first two Symposia are found
again at the third, some of the contributions achieving an even higher
level of formalization. Four interrelated themes, chief among them the
application of models to metabolism, can now be distinguished. The
section on models is prefaced by a general review of their role in human
cognition. The two main types of model capable of representing metabolism and the reactions of biosystems in general are, depending on the
mathematics involved, either discrete and continuous or deterministic and
stochastic; examples of both are found here. They show how fruitful purely
theoretical considerations can be when applied to otherwise intractable
problems. Certain limitations inherent in the design of computers exclude
mere representation of all possible reactions in a given system; however,
computer efficiency can be improved by the omission of certain terms. It is
interesting that, for certain systems of differential equations, the solutions
are shown not be to elementary.
Several more or less experimental trends in the quantitative biology of
metabolism are illustrated by papers on the effects of temperature, activity
stage, adaptation to temperature and season, growth and aging. Some of
these problems run parallel in animals and plants. Among noxious influences, ionizing radiations playa leading role, and the quantitative aspects of
the mechanisms responsible for protection and damage repair are of great
interest. For models of metabolic control, the optimization of reactions is
of fundamental importance and may be based on irreversible thermodynamics, as well as on the theory of automata. The link with time is of great
importance in the theory of metabolic control and the topic of biological
rhythmicity is also involved. Control mechanisms based on coordination
of elementary reactions display oscillatory features at the cellular, intercellular and systemic levels; the steady state in the central nervous system
is a good example of the power of such coordination. The field of thermoregulation requires a special model.
Thus we may say that these papers represent a cross-section through
several of the main lines of advance of quantitative (theoretical) biology;