AJP - Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology, Vol 245, Issue 1 1-R9, Copyright © 1983 by American Physiological Society
Network thermodynamics: a candidate for a common language for theoretical and experimental biology
D. C. Mikulecky
Effective interaction between theory and experimentation in biology
requires that there be a common language, which workers in both areas
understand. Because the backgrounds of biomedical researchers are often
more descriptive than quantitative, it would be useful to have a
diagrammatic method for defining models of systems that would easily
translate into a rigorous quantitative description susceptible to computer
simulation. Network thermodynamics is the next logical step in the
evolution of thermodynamic thinking and meets these criteria. Network
thermodynamics has already begun to be used in a variety of areas in
experimental biology and is accessible to direct use by the experimenter.
Network thermodynamics is not restricted by the traditional constraints on
classical and nonequilibrium thermodynamics, such as reversibility,
linearity, nearness to equilibrium, etc. Since living systems are
inherently hierarchical in their nature, the network approach incorporates
this feature in a natural way and, in a sense, supplies the "missing link"
between traditional physics and chemistry and the vitalists' concern for
the complexity of living systems. In the future, the use of a common
language for theoretical and experimental biology should result in an
increased understanding of human biology by the scientific community.
