| Description |
1 online resource (xix, 264 pages) : illustrations |
| Contents |
Cover; The Complexity Paradox; Copyright; Dedication; CONTENTS; Preface; Acknowledgments; About the Author; 1 The Complexity Paradox; WHAT IS LIFE?; Information Storage and Retrieval; Complex Structure and Organization; Energy Use and Metabolism; Responsiveness to Changes in the Environment; Capacity for Growth and Development; REDEFINING LIFE; A ROADMAP TO THE BOOK; 2 Laws to Live By; NATURE HAS NO CHOICES; THE MOTHER OF ALL LAWS; LAWS ARE NOT ALWAYS RIGHT AND DO NOT PREDICT EVERYTHING; LAWS OF PHYSICS AND REDUCTIONISM; DETERMINISTIC LAWS AND LIFE; 3 Forces of Nature; MASS TRANSIT |
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THE ELECTRIC SLIDEDRIVING FORCES; ALL PUMPED UP; MAY THE FORCE BE WITH YOU; 4 Biological Complexity; SYSTEM CONDITIONS AND STATES; COMPLEXITY MADE SIMPLE; Complex Biological Systems Have Many Components That Interact Nonlinearly and Are Interdependent; Complex Systems Behave Unpredictably; Complex Systems Show Fractal Geometry and Physiology; Complex Systems Exhibit Emergent Properties; COMPLEXITY IN ACTION; COMPLEXITY IN HEALTH AND DISEASE; 5 A Free and Independent Life; THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING STABLE; FEEDBACK CONTROL; ACID-BASE BUFFERS; RHYTHMS OF LIFE; MORE THAN ENOUGH; RANDOM WALKS |
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THE WISDOM OF NATURE6 Altered States; SCHRÖDINGER'S CAT; TOO MANY THINGS CAN GO WRONG; SEARCH AND DESTROY; IN THE EYE OF THE BEHOLDER; MEDICINE WITHOUT BORDERS; BEYOND THERAPY; NOTHING IS SIMPLE; 7 The Trinity; THREE DISEASES; Obesity; Diabetes; CAUSES AND RISKS; WHERE'S WALDO?; PUT THE GUN DOWN; 8 The Mother of All Diseases; A BRIEF CANCER OVERVIEW; A COMPLEXITY PERSPECTIVE; Disease Progression Is Unpredictable; Complexity Is Evident at Multiple Scales; Complex Systems Require Energy; The Root Causes of Disease Are Masked by Complexity; Complexity Offers Multiple Ways to Attack Disease |
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OTHER PERSPECTIVESCancer Development Is a Multistage Process; Cancer Is an Evolutionary and Ecological Process; Cancer Is a Systems Biology Problem; A CONSOLIDATED VIEW; SEARCH AND DESTROY; COMPLEXITY AND PUBLIC HEALTH; Screening; Prevention; 9 Brain Drain; UNIQUE COMPLEXITY; The Brain as an Information Processor; Brain States and Mental States; Modularity and Plasticity; Mind and Body; ROAD TO OBLIVION; 10 Desperately Seeking Methuselah; SEEDS OF AGING; WORN-OUT BODIES; Immune System Failure; Slowed Metabolism; CHEATING DEATH; BUILDING BETTER HUMANS?; Better Housekeeping; Radical Solutions |
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Inflammatory ControlMaking Sense of Aging; AGING AS COMPLEXITY; 11 Emergence Medicine; EMERGENCE; DIMENSIONS OF COMPLEXITY; EVOLUTION VERSUS FUNCTIONAL DYNAMICS; BEYOND COMPREHENSION?; A UNIFIED THEORY OF BIOLOGY; PREDICTIONS; FINAL THOUGHTS; Glossary; Notes; Selected Bibliography; Index |
| Summary |
"Living systems exhibit a fundamental contradiction: they are highly stable and reliable, yet they have the capacity to adapt to changing environmental conditions. This paradoxical behavior arises from the complexity of life--a high degree of order and cooperation that emerges from relatively simple interactions among cellular components. The Complexity Paradox proposes inventive, interdisciplinary approaches to maintaining health and managing and preventing disease by considering the totality of human biology, from the cellular level on up to entire populations of individuals. From the perspective of complexity, which acknowledges that there are limits to what we can know, Kenneth L. Mossman opens the door to understanding essential life processes in new and extraordinary ways. By tying together evolution, functional dynamics, and investigations into how the body processes energy and uses genetic information, Mossman's analysis expresses a unified theory of biology that fills a critical niche for future research in biology, medicine, and public health"-- Provided by publisher |
| Notes |
Includes glossary |
| Bibliography |
Includes bibliographical references and index |
| Notes |
Print version record |
| Subject |
Human biology -- Philosophy
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Medicine -- Philosophy.
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Complexity (Philosophy)
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Biocomplexity.
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Physiological Phenomena
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Philosophy, Medical
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Biological Phenomena
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Pathologic Processes
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MEDICAL -- General.
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SCIENCE -- Life Sciences -- Biology -- General.
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MEDICAL -- Physiology.
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SCIENCE -- Life Sciences -- Human Anatomy & Physiology.
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Biocomplexity
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Complexity (Philosophy)
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Human biology -- Philosophy
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Medicine -- Philosophy
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| Form |
Electronic book
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| ISBN |
9780199330355 |
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0199330352 |
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