1999 Agora Meeting on Fluctuations in Biological Systems
Agora'99
Sigtuna, Sweden
August 3-7, 1999
Organized by
Agora for Biosystems
Sponsored by
International Union for Pure and Applied Physics (IUPAP)
More information and registration at
http://www.theophys.kth.se/~hali/agora/agora99
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SCOPE
This interdiscplinary conference on fluctuations in biological systems
will be held in the small old town of Sigtuna, Sweden, Aug 3-7, 1999,
and is following upon a series of workshops, where the first was held in
Sigtuna, Sep 4-9 1995 (Sigtuna Workshop 95). The approach on these
meetings is theoretical as well as experimental, and the meetings are
intended to attract participants from various fields, such as biology,
physics, and computer science. A number of invited speakers will provide
presentations on the fundamental problems, but participants are invited
to submit abstracts on topics related to those listed below. The number
of participants is limited to approx. 150.
MOTIVATION
Life is normally associated with a high degree of order and
organization. However, disorder -- in various contexts
referred to as fluctuations, noise or chaos -- is also a crucial
component of many biological processes. For example, in evolution random
errors in the reproduction of the genetic material provides a variation
that is fundamental for the selection of adaptive organisms. At a
molecular level, thermal fluctuations govern the movements and functions
of the macromolecules in the cell. Yet, it is also clear that too large
a variation may have disastrous effects. Uncontrolled processes need
stabilizing mechanisms. More knowledge of the stability requirements of
biological processes is needed in order to better understand these
problems, which also have important medical applications. Many diseases,
for instance certain degenerations of brain cells, are caused by failure
of the stabilizing mechanisms in the cell. Stability is also important
and difficult to achieve in biotechnological applications.
There is also randomness in structure and function of the neural
networks of the brain. Spontaneous firing of
neurons seems to be important for maintaining an adequate level of
activity, but does this "neuronal noise" have any other significance?
What are the effects of errors and fluctuations in the information
processing of the brain? Can these microscopic fluctuations be amplified
to provide macroscopic effects? Often, one cannot easily determine
whether an apparently random process is due to noise, governed by
uncontrolled degrees of freedom, or if it is a result of "deterministic
chaos". Would the difference be of any importance for biology?
Especially, could chaos, which is characterized by sensitivity and
divergence, be useful for any kind of information processing that
normally depends upon stability and convergence?
OBJECTIVE
The objective of this meeting is to address questions and problems
related to those above, for a deeper understanding of the effects of
disorder in biological systems. Fluctuations and chaos have been
extensively studied in physics, but to a much lesser degree in biology.
Important concepts from physics, such as "noise-induced state
transitions" and "controlled chaos" could also be of relevance for
biological systems. Yet, little has been done about such applications
and a more critical analysis of the positive and negative effects of
disorder for living systems is needed. It is essential to make concrete
and testable hypotheses, and to avoid the kind of superficial and more
fashionable treatment that often dominates the field. By bringing
together scientists with knowledge and insights from different
disciplines we hope to shed more light on these problems, which we think
are profound for understanding the phenomenon of life.
TOPICS
Topics include various aspects, experimental as well as theoretical, on
fluctuations, noise and chaos, in biological systems at a microscopic
(molecular), mesoscopic (cellular), and macroscopic (network and
systems) level.
Contributions are welcome regarding, among others, the following topics:
- Biological signals and noise
- Neural information processing
- Synaptic fluctuations
- Spontaneous neural firing
- Macromolecular dynamics
- Dynamics of microtubuli
- Ion channel kinetics
- Cell motility
- Medical implications
INVITED SPEAKERS
Per Andersen, Dept. of Neurophysiology, Oslo University, Norway
Hans Braun, Dept. of Physiology, University of Marburg, Germany
Michael Conrad, Dept. of Computer Science, Wayne State University,
Detroit, USA
Anders Ehrenberg, Dept. of Biophysics, Stockholm University, Sweden
=C5ke Flock, Dept. of Physiology and Pharmacology, Karolinska Institutet,
Sweden
Hans Frauenfelder, Los Alamos National Laboratory, New Mexico, USA
Louis De Felice, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennesee, USA
Hermann Haken, Institute of Theoretical Physics and Synergetics, Univ.
of Stuttgart, Germany
Riitta Hari, Low Temperature Lab, Helsinki University of Technology,
Finland
John Hopfield, Dept. of Molecular Biology, Princeton University, USA
Scott Kelso, Center for Complex Systems, University of Florida, Boca
Raton, USA
Christof Koch, Div. of Biology, Caltech, USA
Simon Laughlin, Dept. of Zoology, University of Cambridge, UK
Uno Lindberg, Dept. of Cell Biology, Stockholm University, Sweden
Matsuno, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Nagaoka Univ. of
Technology, Japan
Frank Moss, Dept. of Physics, University of Missouri, St Louis, USA
Erik Mosekilde, Dept of Physics, Technical University of Denmark,
Lyngby, Denmark
Sakire P=F6gun, Center for Brain Research, Ege University, Turkey
Rudolf Rigler, Dept. of Medical Biochemistry and Biophysics, Karolinska
Institutet, Sweden
Stephen Traynelis, Dept. of Pharmacology and Physiology, Emory
University, Georgia, USA
Peter Wolynes, Dept. of Chemistry, Univ. of Illinois, USA
Jim J. Wright, Mental Health Research Institute of Victoria, Melbourne,
Australia
Michail Zhadin, Dept. of Physiology, Pushchino, Russia
PRE-REGISTRATION and abstract submission can preferably be done via the
Agora'99 home page:
http://www.theophys.kth.se/~hali/agora/agora99
REGISTRATION FEES
Regular: 1500 SEK (ca 190 USD) before June1 ---- 2000 SEK
after June 1
Students: 800 SEK (ca 100 USD) before June 1 ---- 1000 SEK
after June 1
DEADLINE for abstract submission: May 1, 1999.
FURTHER INFORMATION available from:
Hans Liljenstrom
Theoretical Physics
Royal Institute of Technology
SE-100 44 Stockholm, Sweden
and
Agora for Biosystems
Box 57, SE-193 22 Sigtuna, Sweden
Phone: +46-8-790 7167
Fax: +46-8-10 48 79
Email: hali@theophys.kth.se
WWW: http://www.theophys.kth.se/~hali