The Emergency of Order in Developing Systems

The Emergence of Order in Developing Systems is a collection of papers presented at the 27th Symposium of the Society for Developmental Biology, held in Ithaca, New York in June 1968. Contributors focus on the emergence of orderly patterns during development, touching on topics ranging from the three-dimensional structure of the protein molecule to the polymerization of structural units, the self-assembly of microtubules in axonemes, and the patterning of plant cell walls. This volume is organized into four sections encompassing 11 chapters and begins with an overview of the emergence of order during cellular differentiation and growth, paying particular attention to the spontaneous formation of the three-dimensional structure of proteins. The next chapters explore self-association reactions in solutions of myosin molecules; ordering of subcellular units; factors that order the distribution of microtubules and thus ultimately pattern the shape of the cell; the biochemical organization of cytoplasmic membranes through self-assembly; and patterning in cell walls of higher plants. The book also explains the emergence of order in tissues and organs, and then concludes with a discussion on the emergence of order on the behavioral level. This book will be of interest to developmental biologists and embryologists.