Theoretical Biology Forum最新文献_第6页

Adaptation, Evolution And Reproduction Of Gaia By The Means Of Our Species. 以人类的方式适应、进化和繁殖盖亚。

IF 1.5 4区生物学

Theoretical Biology Forum Pub Date : 2017-01-01 DOI: 10.19272/201711402003

Roberto Cazzolla Gatti

{"title":"Adaptation, Evolution And Reproduction Of Gaia By The Means Of Our Species.","authors":"Roberto Cazzolla Gatti","doi":"10.19272/201711402003","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.19272/201711402003","url":null,"abstract":"Nowadays, the idea that life affects the development of the planetary environment, and can, in turn, affect the future evolution of itself (in a coevolutionary way) is well-accepted. However, since the proposal of the Gaia hypothesis, there has been widespread criticism. Most of it is related to teleology, the absence of natural selection at a universal scale, and the lack of planetary reproduction. Some of the problems concerning the 'internal' logic of the idea have been resolved. Nevertheless, it is not sure whether Earth can be considered a unit of selection and (therefore) Gaia can adapt according to Darwinian evolution. After Lovelock and Margulis, Gaia has been considered a symbiotic planet composed of biotic (the biosphere) and abiotic (the geosphere-atmosphere) interacting with and coevolving elements. Here I propose why and suggest how a Gaian system should be considered alive in any evolutionary sense. I take into consideration the three principal criticisms and I analyse them following a logic-inductive reasoning. I use thought experiments and analogical arguments to analyse the rationale and the mechanisms by which Gaia evolves and may reproduce. This reasoning could allow rejecting the aforementioned criticisms as outdated and insufficient to discredit the main idea. I argue that without invoking teleology - so without any foresight or planning - a Gaian planet can be considered a coevolutionary system analogous to a multicellular body: a super-unit of selection. I describe different situations according to which Gaia is able to reproduce and transfer her planetary genome to other uninhabited or inhabited planets. Then I suggest that Gaia can face exclusion- competition-coexistence states depending on the fitness of her biota compared to those of the other reproducing biospheres. This demonstrates that Gaia can reproduce and evolve in competition-cooperation with other planets. Some deep implications arise from this evidence, also in light of the recent discovery of a new solar system with Earth-like planets by NASA.","PeriodicalId":54453,"journal":{"name":"Theoretical Biology Forum","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2017-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"36036006","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 6

Photosynthesis: From De Saussure To Liebig. 光合作用:从德索绪尔到李比希。

IF 1.5 4区生物学

Theoretical Biology Forum Pub Date : 2017-01-01 DOI: 10.19272/201711402006

Sergio Pennazio

{"title":"Photosynthesis: From De Saussure To Liebig.","authors":"Sergio Pennazio","doi":"10.19272/201711402006","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.19272/201711402006","url":null,"abstract":"The dawn of photosynthesis, characterized by the research of Priestley, Ingen- Housz and Senebier, culminated in 1804 with a historical essay of Théodore De Saussure. According to the historians, during the first half of the nineteenth century in which the genesis of the cell theory started off, the research on photosynthesis met a phase of stagnation. Indeed, the literature review of the period does not report particular innovation; however, several scientists (botanists, physiologists, and chemists) supported the thesis of De Saussure with a series of analyses that, in our opinion, deserve to be known. Mirbel, De Candolle, Raspail, Berzelius, Payen, Dutrochet, von Mohl, and other scholars attempted to expand knowledge on photosynthesis but were not able to arrive at a theory that was consistent with a functional mechanism, nor with a suitable chemical model to explain the transformation of the water and carbon dioxide into sugars. A classic case of such inadequacy concerns the discovery of chlorophyll. This compound, isolated in 1818 by Pelletier and Caventou, remained an enigma for many years and was never put in relation with the synthesis of starch. The accurate research of von Mohl led this scientist to believe that the granules of chlorophyll were entirely independent of starch granules, although in many cases these latter were observable inside the granules of chlorophyll. Only in the early forties, Justus von Liebig realized that the assimilation of carbon and hydrogen required a series of chemical reactions that, starting from some organic acids, ended in the formation of sugar. In conclusion, our analysis does not lead to define this period as stagnation but rather as transition, in which the concept of photosynthesis was clear, even though difficult to treat under physiological and chemical views. From the sixties, the researches of Julius von Sachs will open a new road, thanks also to the research carried out in the transition period.","PeriodicalId":54453,"journal":{"name":"Theoretical Biology Forum","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2017-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"36036008","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 1

Toward A New Evolutionary Synthesis. 走向新的进化综合。

IF 1.5 4区生物学

Theoretical Biology Forum Pub Date : 2017-01-01 DOI: 10.19272/201711402004

Michael A Flannery

{"title":"Toward A New Evolutionary Synthesis.","authors":"Michael A Flannery","doi":"10.19272/201711402004","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.19272/201711402004","url":null,"abstract":"This essay responds to Peter T. Saunders's call to go Beyond the neo-Darwinist Paradigm. While there is much to commend in his analysis, especially his suggestion that the extended evolutionary synthesis (EES) may not go far enough, he leaves the question of whether this should involve mere revision or total replacement open. A historiographical review reveals significant problems stemming from certain positivist assumptions and commitments within neo-Darwinian orthodoxy and the EES over and above any scientific considerations. As such, mere tweaking of the existing paradigm or its extension will do little to remedy the intellectual prejudices currently plaguing it. A complete overhaul is suggested by applying the López Ontological Demarcation Design (LODD) principle with biology in a multidisciplinary, non-reductionist philosophical framework. Building on the concept of Organismic-Systems Biology (OSB), a component of General Systems Theory (GTS) associated with polymathic biologist Ludwig von Bertalanffy (1901-1972), and cosmic evolution (CE) proposed by UCLA philosopher John Elof Boodin (1869-1950), the outline of a new evolutionary synthesis is offered as a prolegomenon to further study and evaluation.","PeriodicalId":54453,"journal":{"name":"Theoretical Biology Forum","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2017-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"36036005","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 1

Intimate Partner Violence: A Stochastic Model. 亲密伴侣暴力:一个随机模型。

IF 1.5 4区生物学

Theoretical Biology Forum Pub Date : 2017-01-01 DOI: 10.19272/201711402005

Elisa Guidi, Patrizia Meringolo, Andrea Guazzini, Franco Bagnoli

{"title":"Intimate Partner Violence: A Stochastic Model.","authors":"Elisa Guidi, Patrizia Meringolo, Andrea Guazzini, Franco Bagnoli","doi":"10.19272/201711402005","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.19272/201711402005","url":null,"abstract":"Intimate partner violence (IPV) has been a well-studied problem in the past psychological literature, especially through its classical methodology such as qualitative, quantitative and mixed methods. This article introduces two basic stochastic models as an alternative approach to simulate the short and long-term dynamics of a couple at risk of IPV. In both models, the members of the couple may assume a finite number of states, updating them in a probabilistic way at discrete time steps. After defining the transition probabilities, we first analyze the evolution of the couple in isolation and then we consider the case in which the individuals modify their behavior depending on the perceived violence from other couples in their environment or based on the perceived informal social support. While high perceived violence in other couples may converge toward the own presence of IPV by means a gender-specific transmission, the gender differences fade-out in the case of received informal social support. Despite the simplicity of the two stochastic models, they generate results which compare well with past experimental studies about IPV and they give important practical implications for prevention intervention in this field.","PeriodicalId":54453,"journal":{"name":"Theoretical Biology Forum","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2017-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"36036007","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 1

Editorial. Our Coming 100th Anniversary. 社论。即将到来的100周年纪念。

IF 1.5 4区生物学

Theoretical Biology Forum Pub Date : 2017-01-01

David Lambert

引用次数: 0

Editorial. 社论。

IF 1.5 4区生物学

Theoretical Biology Forum Pub Date : 2016-12-01

David Lambert

引用次数: 0

The Perfect Enzyme : Revisiting the Modelling of Initial Proton Transfer in Triosephosphate Isomerase. 完美的酶:重新审视三磷酸异构酶初始质子转移的模型。