Molecular Science of Fluctuations Toward Biological Functions
In this monograph, the importance of fluctuations for biological reactions is discussed from various points of view. Understanding the biological reactions at the molecular level is one of the major targets in many scientific fields, including not only ba
- PDF / 10,077,515 Bytes
- 276 Pages / 439.43 x 683.15 pts Page_size
- 9 Downloads / 234 Views
lecular Science of Fluctuations Toward Biological Functions
Molecular Science of Fluctuations Toward Biological Functions
ThiS is a FM Blank Page
Masahide Terazima • Mikio Kataoka • Ryuichi Ueoka • Yuko Okamoto Editors
Molecular Science of Fluctuations Toward Biological Functions
Editors Masahide Terazima Kyoto University Kyoto Japan
Mikio Kataoka Nara Institute of Science and Technology Ikoma Japan
Ryuichi Ueoka Sojo University Kumamoto Japan
Yuko Okamoto Nagoya University Nagoya Japan
ISBN 978-4-431-55838-5 ISBN 978-4-431-55840-8 DOI 10.1007/978-4-431-55840-8
(eBook)
Library of Congress Control Number: 2016930393 Springer Tokyo Heidelberg New York Dordrecht London © Springer Japan 2016 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. Printed on acid-free paper Springer Japan KK is part of Springer Science+Business Media (www.springer.com)
Foreword
Biologists are entranced by the stunning representations of biomolecules derived from X-ray crystallography. Yet these images give a false impression of constancy and rigidity. In solution or in a living cell, biological macromolecules are not static, but rather they are in constant motion because of thermal energy. These fluctuations have a wide range of distance, from short-range oscillations to large-scale domain movements of proteins. They also cover a wide range of times, from picoseconds to milliseconds to minutes and beyond. If these fluctuations had no functional consequence, they would still be of interest to physicists and physical chemists, but not so much to biologists. But some of these fluctuations have profound functional consequences. A key example occurs in enzymatic catalysis, where the binding of substrates and then the molecular motions required to attain the transition state would be impossible without fluctuations. Thus, this volume on the Molecular Science of Fluctuations Toward Biological Functions serves an important purpose. It discusses many biological systems in which fluctuations are im
Data Loading...
