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Book Cover
E-book
Author Yockey, Hubert P

Title Information theory, evolution, and the origin of life / Hubert P. Yockey
Published Cambridge ; New York : Cambridge University Press, 2005

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Description 1 online resource (xi, 259 pages) : illustrations
Contents The genetic information system -- James Watson, Francis Crick, George Gamow and the genetic code -- The central dogma of molecular biology -- The measure of information content in the genetic message -- Communication of information from the genome to the proteome -- The information content or complexity of protein families -- Evolution of the genetic code and its modern characteristics -- Haeckel's Urschleim and the role of the central dogma in the origin of life -- Philosophical approaches to the origin of life -- Error catastrophe and the hypercycles of Eigen and Schuster -- Randomness, complexity, the unknowable and the impossible -- Does evolution need an intelligent designer?
Summary Information Theory, Evolution and the Origin of Life presents a timely introduction to the use of information theory and coding theory in molecular biology. The genetical information system, because it is linear and digital, resembles the algorithmic language of computers. George Gamow pointed out that the application of Shannon's information theory breaks genetics and molecular biology out of the descriptive mode into the quantitative mode and Dr Yockey develops this theme, discussing how information theory and coding theory can be applied to molecular biology. He discusses how these tools for measuring the information in the sequences of the genome and the proteome are essential for our complete understanding of the nature and origin of life. The author writes for the computer competent reader who is interested in evolution and the origins of life
Bibliography Includes bibliographical references (pages 219-249) and index
Notes Print version record
Subject Molecular biology.
Information theory in biology.
Evolution (Biology)
Life -- Origin.
Information theory.
Molecular Biology
Information Theory
Evolution
Biogenesis
Origin of Life
molecular biology.
SCIENCE -- Life Sciences -- Molecular Biology.
Information theory
Evolution (Biology)
Information theory in biology
Life -- Origin
Molecular biology
Form Electronic book
ISBN 0511115377
9780511115370
9780511546433
0511546432