The notion of information originated in communication theory and deals with processing of messages in the transmission through channels. In biology, information has a much broader meaning and comprises its creation and maintenance in evolution. Biological information is intimately connected with genetics but other forms of information transfer, so-called epigenetic processes, are indispensable for the development of organisms from a single fertilized cell to adulthood. We shall present an illustrative introduction into modern molecular genetics and evolution. What makes biology unique and life pow-erful is the combination of self-organization and the genetic memory. Models based on simple mathematics provide insight into the creation of complex systems through adaptation. Finally, we shall try to address the question whether the increase in complexity is an inevi-table consequence of biological evolution.
READING LIST
Maynard Smith J and Harper D.
Animal Signals (Oxford Series in Ecology and Evolution) (Paperback) Oxford University Press 2003
Lachmann M, Szamado S, Bergstrom CT.
Cost and conflict in animal signals and human language.
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2001 Nov 6;98(23):13189-94. Epub 2001 Oct 30.
Jablonka, E. & Szathm ry, E. (1995) The evolution of information storage and heredity. Trends Ecol. Evol. 10, 206-211.
Maynard Smith J and Szathmary E
The Origins of Life: From the Birth of Life to the Origin of Language
(Paperback)
Oxford University Press 1999
|
|
Peter SCHUSTER
|
Ordinarius für Theoretische Chemie und Vorstand, Institut für Theoretische Chemie, Universität Wien; Präsident, Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften | |
Chair | |
|
|
Eörs SZATHMARY
|
Professor and Head, Department of Plant Taxonomy and Ecology, Eötvös University, Budapest
Permanent Fellow, Collegium Budapest | |
Chair | |
|
Department of Chemical Physics, The Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot
| | Unit of Interdisciplinary Studies, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, Israel |
| | Visiting Professor, Birla Institute of Science and Technology, Mumbai, India |
| | Adjunct Lecturer, Feinberg Graduate School, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel |
| | Adjunct Lecturer, Faculty of Humanities, Tel-Aviv University, Tel-Aviv, Israel |
Ordinarius für Theoretische Chemie und Vorstand, Institut für Theoretische Chemie, Universität Wien; Präsident, Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften
| 1959-1967 | Chemie- und Physikstudium an der Universität Wien |
| 1968-1970 | Post-Doc am Max-Planck-Institut für Biophysikalische Chemie in Göttingen, Deutschland |
| seit 1973 | o. Prof. für Theoretische Chemie an der Universität Wien |
| 1991-1995 | Gründungsdirektor des Instituts für Molekulare Biotechnologie in Jena, Deutschland |
| seit 1991 | Externes Fakultätsmitglied des Santa Fe Instituts, Santa Fe, USA |
Professor and Head, Department of Plant Taxonomy and Ecology, Eötvös University, Budapest
Permanent Fellow, Collegium Budapest
| | Studied Evolutionary Biology, Theoretical Biology at the Eötvös University, Budapest |
| 1984-1987 | Ph.D. student, Eötvös University, Budapest |
| 1987-1988 | Soros scholar, Brighton University of Sussex |
| 1988-1991 | Research Fellow, Eötvös University, Budapest |
| 1991-1992 | Research Fellow, National Institute for Medical Research, London |
| 1992-1993 | Guest Professor, University of Zürich, Schweiz |
| 1994 | Fellow, Wissenschaftskolleg zu Berlin |
