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Molecular Information Theory: Solving the Mysteries of DNA

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Modelling in Molecular Biology

Part of the book series: Natural Computing Series ((NCS))

Summary

DNA is the foundation stone of molecular information. Therefore, any theory that accounts for the basic molecular properties and behaviours of DNA inside the living cell can be viewed as constituting a molecular information theory. It is posited that the necessary and sufficient conditions for unraveling the workings of DNA are the successful construction of a computer model of the living cell that (i) takes into account not only information but also free energy transactions mediated by molecular machines, (ii) utilizes sequence-specific conformational strains of biopolymers (called conformons) as the immediate driving force for all teleonomic functions of molecular machines, and (iii) implements cell language in the form of fuzzy if-then rules at the levels of both molecular machines and the living cell. One important application of computer models of the cell is thought to be in the field of DNA microarray data analysis. It is suggested that, without computer models of the cell, it might be nearly impossible to extract meaningful biological information from microarray data.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ

    Sungchul Ji

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  1. Sungchul Ji
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Computer Science, Romanian Academy of Sciences, 700506, Iasi, Romania

    Gabriel Ciobanu

  2. Institute of Advanced Computer Science, Leiden University, Niels Bohrweg 1, 2333 CA, Leiden, The Netherlands

    Grzegorz Rozenberg

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© 2004 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Ji, S. (2004). Molecular Information Theory: Solving the Mysteries of DNA. In: Ciobanu, G., Rozenberg, G. (eds) Modelling in Molecular Biology. Natural Computing Series. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-18734-6_7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-18734-6_7

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-642-62269-4

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-18734-6

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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