Chapter#2 ~Information Science prepared by Huriye Gürsel

Discussion Topics What distinguishes a living ‘thing’ from a non-living ‘thing’? How is ‘information’ encoded in a living system and in a non- living system? Do you really know what the word ‘scientific theory’ stands for? What conditions are required for DNA, a sophisticated information source, to be formed? Which disciplines of science concern the laws of living and non-living systems?

alternatively; operationally impossible Def. Information that which can be communicated through symbolic language. distinction between meaningful information & data In the field of Information Science, probability terms: Possible ~ a non-zero probability Feasible ~ capable of being done Probable ~ possible of occurence more than 50% Infeasible ~impractical, not capable of being put in practice alternatively; operationally impossible 5. Impossible ~ a zero chance of occurence

Main Categories of Information Information is everywhere! Main Categories of Information Shannon Information Functional Information Prescriptive Information

Shannon Information A mathematical measure of probability... Random data which does not require meaning!

Functional Information Data which requires meaning! Eg. Traffic Lights Information; sent by the source, understood by the receiver, a method of safe travel is ensured!

Prescriptive Information Alternative name: Instructional Information The receiver must have the knowledge of the source’s alphabet, rules & encryption to depicher the message & act on it. Eg. Matlab, latex

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INFORMATION Non-living system Living system something that exists! there exists a unique information code: GTG CCA GCA GCC GCG GTA ATT CCA GCT CCA ATA GCG TAT ATT AAA GTT GCT GCA GTT AAA AAG From apples to elephants, bacteria to humans; all living things carry this specific coding in each cell of theirs.!

LIFE? How could a non-living material develop the hardware (chemistry) and software (information) known to be required by all living organisms? How did nature develop the arbitrary protocols for communication and coordination among the thousands of computers in each cell?

Otherwise, life fails to exist! Living ‘thing’ Non-living ‘thing’ Capability for growth, reproduction, respiration, metabolism, movement. Capable of responding to stimuli. Capable of evolving and adapting to their environment. Life requires fully functional DNA, RNA, ATP, enzymes and other proteins. Otherwise, life fails to exist! some seem to display growth; however the process does NOT occur by metabolic rxns which is the characteristic of a living thing! movement: due to external influence

Life & Information Although there exists no agreed definition of life, all living organisms are information processors. They store a genetic database and replicate it, with occasional errors. Thus, providing the raw material for natural selection. Require energy to continue their existence.

PHYSICS CHEMISTRY BIOLOGY All Linked Together! PHYSICS CHEMISTRY BIOLOGY

INFORMATION SCIENCE INFORMATION Information scientist: Living Things DNA Classical Information Quantum Information Information scientist: a sender & a receiver physicist: a system & an observer INFORMATION

Let us start from information in living ‘systems’ INFORMATION SCIENCE Let us start from information in living ‘systems’

The Miller Urey Experiment In1953, biochemists Stanley Miller and Harold Urey, conducted an experiment which demonstrated that several organic compounds could be formed spontaneously by simulating the conditions of Earth's early atmosphere…

This research is both a link to the experimental foundations of astrobiology as well as an exciting result leading toward greater understanding of how life might have arisen on Earth! Carl Pilcher, Director of the NASA Astrobiology Institute

INFORMATION? Cells are the basic building blocks of all living things.

The Code of Life DNA ~ Deoxyribonucleic acid code of life

The Coding Sequence The code letters: A, C, G & T The sequence of the four bases encodes genetic structures used in the development & functioning of all known living organisms. Once organised, this information is what makes up the genes and genes contain the recipes for the components of life. Chemically, the DNA for all living matter is the same. However, the uniqueness to all of the species lays in the INFORMATION content of the DNA (the actual information embedded in that chemistry) and is very different.

DNA Double Helix Nucleotides: “building blocks of DNA”

A Closer Look at Nitrogenous Bases