Biological Kinetics

The central purpose of this book is to illustrate the premise that examination of the kinetics of biological processes can give valuable information concerning the underlying mechanisms that are responsible for these processes. Topics covered range from cooperativity in protein binding, through receptor-infector coupling, to theories of biochemical oscillations in yeast and slime mold. In addition, an introduction to the explosively growing theoretical topic of chaos details attempts to apply this theory in physiology. The material in this book originally appeared as part of the volume Mathematical Models in Molecular and Cellular Biology (edited by Lee A. Segel and now out of print). Each article has been revised and updated.

As interest in theoretical biology grows, so does the need for an accessible link between these theories and experiments. The central purpose of this book is to illustrate the premise that examination of the kinetics of biological processes can give valuable information concerning the underlying mechanisms that are responsible for these processes. Topics covered range from co-operativity in protein binding, through receptor-infector coupling, to theories of biochemical oscillations in yeast and slime mould. In addition, an introduction to the explosively growing theoretical topic of chaos details attempts to apply this theory in physiology. The material of this book originally appeared as part of the volume Mathematical Models in Molecular and Cellular Biology (edited by L. A. Segel). However each article has been revised and updated.

Preface; Fundamental concepts in biochemical reaction theory; Equilibrium binding of macromolecules with ligands; Allosteric and induced-fit theories of protein binding; Positive and negative cooperativity; Graphical representations for tetramer binding; Enzyme induction; Molecular models for receptor to adenylate cyclase coupling; Models for oscillations and excitability in biochemical systems; Control of neurotransmitter release: use of facilitation to analyze the regulation of intracellular calcium; Acceptable and unacceptable models of liver regeneration in the rat; Chaos; Index.

As interest in theoretical biology grows, so does the need for an accessible link between these theories and experiments. The central purpose of this book is to illustrate the premise that examination of the kinetics of biological processes can give valuable information concerning the underlying mechanisms that are responsible for these processes.