Chemoton theory

Title:

Chemoton theory

Personal Author:

Ganti, Tibor

Series:

Mathematical and computational chemistry

Publication Information:

New York, NY : Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers, 2003

Physical Description:

2v.

ISBN:

9780306477850

9780306477836

9780306477843

Subject Term:

Life -- Origin

Available:*

Library	Item Barcode	Call Number	Material Type	Item Category 1	Status
Searching... PSZ JB	30000010099251	QH325 G36 2003 v.1	Open Access Book	Great Book	Searching... Unknown
Searching... PSZ JB	30000010099247	QH325 G36 2003 v.2	Open Access Book	Great Book	Searching... Unknown

Dr. Gànti has introduced Chemoton Theory to explain the origin of life. Theoretical Foundations of Fluid Machineries is a discussion of the theoretical foundations of fluid automata. It introduces quantitative methods - cycle stoichiometry and stoichiokinetics - in order to describe fluid automata with the methods of algebra, as well as their construction, starting from elementary chemical reactions up to the complex, program-directed, proliferating fluid automata, the chemotons.

Chemoton Theory outlines the development of a theoretical biology, based on exact quantitative considerations and the consequences of its application on biotechnology and on the artificial synthesis of living systems.

I. Introduction	p. 1
II. Constructional Elements of Fluid Machines	p. 9
Reaction Chains	p. 9
Chemical reactions as sections of forced trajectories	p. 9
Coupling of chemical reactions	p. 12
Branchings	p. 18
AND-type branching	p. 18
OR-type branchings	p. 21
The Chemical Cycle	p. 22
Characterization of the chemical cycle	p. 22
Cycle stoichiometry	p. 25
Operation rules	p. 25
Examples for the application of the rules	p. 27
Generalization of cycle stoichiometry	p. 30
Kinetics of cycles	p. 31
An example for chemical cycles	p. 32
The catalytic nature of chemical cycles	p. 35
Enzyme reactions	p. 39
General considerations	p. 41
Self-Reproducing Chemical Cycles	p. 43
Simple self-reproducing cycle	p. 44
Kinetics of self-reproducing cycles	p. 53
Examples of self-reproducing cycles	p. 53
Self-consuming cycles	p. 56
Storage and Replication of Information	p. 56
Template processes	p. 57
Example for calculating template polymerization	p. 61
Kinetics of template polymerization	p. 63
General remarks	p. 67
Compartmentalization	p. 68
Stoichiometry	p. 69
Formal kinetics of membrane growth	p. 70
III. Design of Simple Fluid Machines	p. 73
Coupling of Simple Parts	p. 73
Coupling of chemical cycles with reaction chains	p. 73
Coupling of cycles with one another	p. 76
Second-generation cycles	p. 84
Industrial applications	p. 91
Coupling of Self-Reproducing Constituents	p. 97
Coupling of simple parts into self-reproducing systems	p. 97
The coupling of a self-reproducing cycle with a reaction chain	p. 101
Oscillating reaction systems	p. 103
Coupling of self-reproducing cycles and template polymerization: fluid program control	p. 109
Industrial applications	p. 114
IV. Proliferating Fluid Automata	p. 121
The Forms of Genesis	p. 121
Definitions	p. 122
Examples	p. 124
Proliferating Microspheres	p. 127
Coupling, Stoichiometry	p. 128
Operation: growth and division	p. 130
Kinetics	p. 134
Proliferating "Fluid Clockworks"	p. 137
Microspheres with OR-branching	p. 137
Microsphere with an oscillating chemical system	p. 139
Proliferating "fluid clockworks"	p. 141
Chemotons	p. 144
Chemoton coupling	p. 147
Stoichiometry	p. 148
Qualitative survey of operation	p. 150
Kinetics	p. 152
Computer study of operation	p. 155
Chemoton variants	p. 159
V. Outlines of Self-Organizing Fluid Computers	p. 163
Introductory Remarks	p. 163
Constituents of Fluid Computers	p. 165
Connection to the electric field	p. 165
The I-switch	p. 170
The F-switch	p. 176
The C-switch	p. 177
A possible way to realize the C-switch	p. 180
Chemotons of limited proliferation	p. 183
The Basic Network	p. 188
Design of the basic network	p. 188
Operation of the basic network	p. 191
Energy supply of the basic network	p. 193
Shape recognition by light sensitivity	p. 194
Shape recognition by touching	p. 198
Coupling of the basic network to other sensors	p. 199
General remarks	p. 201
Cogitator Networks	p. 202
G-elements	p. 202
Networks consisting of C- and G-elements	p. 203
Basic cogitator network	p. 206
Secondary wiring	p. 207
Associative network	p. 209
The "dream" of the associative network	p. 210
Design of Cogitators	p. 211
Abstractor subunit	p. 211
Decoder subunit	p. 214
Simple cogitator	p. 218
The problem solving ability of the cogitator	p. 220
Cogitators with Time Coder	p. 222
T-elements	p. 222
Simple fluid clockwork	p. 225
Complex fluid clockwork	p. 227
Cogitator with clockwork	p. 228
Activity, Sleeping and Death	p. 229
Activity	p. 229
Selective control of operation	p. 230
Sleeping and dreaming	p. 233
Toward Fluid Robots	p. 237
The cogitator as a robot brain	p. 237
Fluid robots	p. 239
References	p. 241
Index	p. 245
VI. About the World of Living in General	p. 251
What is Life?	p. 251
The ambiguity of the concept of life	p. 251
Views concerning the essence of life	p. 254
The standpoints of some outstanding philosophers	p. 259
The Most General Properties of Living Beings	p. 268
Empirical facts providing the basis for the theory	p. 268
Conclusions	p. 273
Life Criteria	p. 278
Alive, capable of living, dead, nonliving	p. 278
The levels of life	p. 280
Life criteria	p. 282
Chemotons as Living Systems	p. 289
Chemotons satisfy life criteria	p. 289
Chemotons are minimum systems of life	p. 293
VII. Chemical Evolution	p. 297
Setting of Objectives	p. 297
The Date of the Genesis of Life	p. 298
The Genesis of Earth	p. 300
The Primitive Atmosphere	p. 308
Chemical Evolution	p. 311
Introduction	p. 311
Energy source	p. 312
Initial compounds	p. 314
Low-molecular-weight products	p. 315
Abiotic formation of proteinoids	p. 324
Abiogenic formation of nucleic acids	p. 325
Formation of microscopic structures	p. 328
VIII. Biogenesis	p. 331
Models of Biogenesis	p. 331
Experimental models	p. 331
Qualitative theoretical models	p. 332
Quantitative theoretical models	p. 334
Metabolic Network of a Prebiotic Chemoton	p. 338
General aspects	p. 338
Autocatalytic subsystems	p. 340
Connective subsystems	p. 346
Additional pathways	p. 351
A qualitative survey of the operation of the network	p. 354
Quantitative Description of Prebiotic Chemotons	p. 356
Strategy	p. 356
Membrane synthesis	p. 359
Template synthesis	p. 361
Combination of the two subsystems	p. 371
Synthesis of precursors	p. 373
Self-reproducing metabolic network	p. 377
Overall equation of the prebiotic chemoton	p. 378
IX. Prebiotic Evolution	p. 383
Introduction	p. 383
Beginnings of Prebiotic Evolution	p. 384
Conditions of biogenesis on Earth	p. 384
Spontaneous genesis of proliferating systems	p. 388
Spontaneous genesis of chemotons	p. 389
External conditions of early evolution	p. 391
The early evolution of chemotons	p. 394
Appearance of Enzyme Activity	p. 396
The problem of primitive catalysis	p. 396
Evolution of RNAs	p. 400
Development of enzyme RNAs	p. 403
The Origin of Coenzymes	p. 409
General considerations	p. 409
Coenzymes are the remnants of eRNAs	p. 410
The Origin of Genes and the Code	p. 414
The origin of genes	p. 414
The origin of RNA polymerases	p. 416
The appearance of DNA	p. 419
The origin of code	p. 422
Summary	p. 424
X. Exobiological Outlook	p. 427
Introductory Remarks	p. 427
Possibility of the Existence of Non-terrestrial Types of Life	p. 429
Non-carbon-based life	p. 429
Carbon-based life with a non-terrestrial type of metabolism	p. 434
Life of non-terrestrial origin with a terrestrial metabolism	p. 436
Exobiological Studies in the Solar System	p. 437
Dry celestial bodies	p. 437
Mars	p. 440
Galilean moons	p. 449
Giant planets	p. 452
XI. Outlines of a Quantitative Biology	p. 453
Introduction	p. 453
Some Genetic Considerations	p. 455
Self-(re)production without genetic subsystem	p. 455
Reproduction by a "technological recipe"	p. 458
Hereditary properties acquired by adaptation	p. 461
General structure of the genetic material	p. 464
Quantitative Treatment of a Prokaryotic Cell	p. 470
Possibilities and limitations	p. 470
Stoichiometry of the minimum model of prokaryotes	p. 472
The Stoichiometric Principles of Evolution	p. 479
Csanyi's general theory of evolution	p. 479
Stoichiometric principles of the evolution of prokaryotes	p. 483
Evolution to eukaryotes	p. 486
Evolution of eukaryotes	p. 491
Applications in Biotechnology	p. 493
Limits of the prospective development of biotechnology	p. 493
One-step chemical syntheses	p. 496
Chemical syntheses by reaction networks	p. 498
Synthesis of Living Systems	p. 500
The objective of synthesis	p. 500
Neobiogenesis	p. 502
Possibility of an exact proof	p. 506
References	p. 509
Index	p. 539

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