Statistical Mechanics: Entropy, Order Parameters, and Complexity,
now available at
Oxford University Press
(USA,
Europe).
Living cells are amazingly complex mixtures of a variety of complex molecules
(RNA, DNA, proteins, lipids, ...) that are constantly undergoing reactions
with one another. The kinetics of chemical reactions is usually described
by differential equations, and rarely are statistical fluctuations considered
important. In a cell, the numbers of molecules of a given type can be rather
small: indeed, there is (often) only one copy of the relevant part of DNA
for a given reaction. This module investigates the effects of number
fluctuations on a simple dimerization reaction in a cell, comparing both
the continuum and Gillespie algorithms for the evolution as the populations
are changed.
Last modified: August 24, 2006
Statistical Mechanics: Entropy, Order Parameters, and Complexity,
now available at
Oxford University Press
(USA,
Europe).