Overview and Introduction: Thermodynamics, Adaptation and Complexity in Life

ORAL  · Invited

Abstract

This talk will provide an introduction and overview of the conceptual role of thermodynamics in living cells. An overview of the history of the field will be presented, beginning with Lotka’s seminal work in 1922 and summarizing subsequent developments up to the present. Leading perspectives on our understanding of adaptation, emergence, dynamics, and control across scales, from metabolism to evolving ecosystems, will be discussed.

*This work was supported by the DOE Biological and Environmental Research program, through project 74860, and through the DOE Advanced Scientific Computing Research program through project 85677. PNNL is operated by Battelle for the US Department of Energy under Contract DE-AC06-76RLO.

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Presenters

  • William R Cannon

    • Pacific Northwest Natl Lab

Authors

  • William R Cannon

    • Pacific Northwest Natl Lab