8/30/2023 0 Comments Entropy biology![]() ![]() However, the low entropy associated with one organism structure has been approached diversely. Recent theoretical and experimental investigations are uncovering aspects of development, cancer, and biological evolution, the understanding of which benefits from entropy approaches and, furthermore, entropy content and changes determine their occurrence.įor well-defined chemical components, the absolute entropy of formation from their constituting atomic elements (, accessed on 13 March 2022) has become the most common reference. However, a role of entropy per se has barely been assigned in biology. Enzymes and genes are described, whose control minimizes the rate of production of entropy and could explain selective pressures in biological evolution and the rapid proliferation of cancer cells.įor actual values and changes (Δ), respectively, in processes at the absolute temperature T.įree energy and enthalpy have a clear physical significance, which determines the course of biological processes related to equilibrium constants of reactions and energy requirements. The comparatively very low entropy produced in other processes (approximately 4.8 × 10 2 J K −1 L −1 day −1 in the human body) must be rapidly exported outside as heat to preserve low entropy decreases due to compartmentation and non-equilibrium metabolism. The photosynthetic conversion of radiant energy to biomass energy accounts for most entropy (2.8 × 10 5 J K −1 carbon kg −1) produced by living beings. No other living feature contributes significantly to the low entropy associated with life. ![]() DNA and proteins do not supply significant decreases in thermodynamic entropy, but their low informational entropy is relevant for life and its evolution. The compartmentation of metabolites and the departure from the equilibrium of metabolic reactions account for reductions in entropy of 1 and 40–50 J K −1 L −1, respectively, and, though small, are distinctive features of living tissues. The absolute entropy of the mixed components of non-living biomass (approximately −1.6 × 10 3 J K −1 L −1) is the reference to which other entropy decreases would be ascribed to life. It is readily apparent from the requirements of the Second law of thermodynamics.Attempts to find and quantify the supposed low entropy of organisms and its preservation are revised. We argue that only the information which is generated in the conditions of the information entropy production (mutations and other genome reorganization) in genetic systems of the past generations provides the physical conjunction of entropy and antientropy processes separated from each other in time generations. So far as thermodynamic entropy itself cannot compensate for the high degree of organization which exists in the cell, we discuss the mode of conjunction of positive entropy events (mutations) in the genetic systems of the past generations and the formation of organized structures of current cells. It is assumed that quality, speculative correlation between entropy and antientropy processes taking place both in the past and today in the metabolic and genetic cellular systems may be perfectly authorized for adequate description of the evolution of biological organization. ![]() The article attempts to overcome the well-known paradox of contradictions between the emerging biological organization and entropy production in biological systems. ![]()
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